Best floorstanders for under £400

MrRockliffe said:
You might be able to get a pair of 684 S2 for that price. Skinnier than other floor standers I've seen too, and really nice sound. B&W generally have a brighter sound signature, but it's definitely not harsh. Stereo separation is excellent too
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They look nice. Can see an ex demo set for £399. Would that be a good buy?

Looking at the spec, sensitivity is quite low, so might not be a good pairing for my N9?
 
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MrRockliffe said:
Where are they from, as you may be able to send them back if you're finding them under powered?

Also, are you selling your current pair to fund them, or could they be used to get a better amp if you find it's not quite powerful enough?
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Canterbury Audio, in store only I think.

Moving my current 2020i's upstairs to use with my Audiolab M-One on my PC.

Want something a little more grand for the living room. But I do like the sound from the 2020i's, the N9 drives them perfectly.
 
MrRockliffe said:
Compare with the B&W. I'm sure they would be driven fine, but perhaps worth going on AVForums and asking over there.

E.g. I've seen my 685 S2 driven by 30W absolutely fine
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That's 30W but with no reference to impedance, frequency, THD or whether it's RMS or not.

30Wpc R.M.S. in to 8 Ohms at 20Hz-20kHz, 0.05% THD is a repectable power level. Most good budget British Hi-fi amps from the 80s and 90s were in that range, and with their large toroidal transformers and decent output transistors they could generate a fairly healthy curent swing so did just find with the less efficient bookshelf speakers they were typically paired with. This is because the power measurement was done in a way that left a lot in reserve.

The N9 is a decent product, but the marketing men like to have big numbers to shout about. Measuring at 6 Ohms, and a higher THD (1%), possibly 1 channel driven rather than 2, most likely peak power rather than RMS, and at 1kHz where the amp is most efficient, all makes the final result look good on paper, but in real world situation it'll translate to something around 15-20W per channel measure in Hi-fi terms.

You could still have some fun with that as long as you weren't after room shaking volume.

If the dealer has an N9 or Marantz equivalent in stock then deffo arrange a listening session. Or take the N9 down.
 
lucid said:
That's 30W but with no reference to impedance, frequency, THD or whether it's RMS or not.

30Wpc R.M.S. in to 8 Ohms at 20Hz-20kHz, 0.05% THD is a repectable power level. Most good budget British Hi-fi amps from the 80s and 90s were in that range, and with their large toroidal transformers and decent output transistors they could generate a fairly healthy curent swing so did just find with the less efficient bookshelf speakers they were typically paired with. This is because the power measurement was done in a way that left a lot in reserve.

The N9 is a decent product, but the marketing men like to have big numbers to shout about. Measuring at 6 Ohms, and a higher THD (1%), possibly 1 channel driven rather than 2, most likely peak power rather than RMS, and at 1kHz where the amp is most efficient, all makes the final result look good on paper, but in real world situation it'll translate to something around 15-20W per channel measure in Hi-fi terms.

You could still have some fun with that as long as you weren't after room shaking volume.

If the dealer has an N9 or Marantz equivalent in stock then deffo arrange a listening session. Or take the N9 down.
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Thanks for the technical explanation there Lucid :)
 
It looks like I'm a little limited with what speakers I can go for with the N9 really.

Of the ones I'm looking at, it seems the monitor audio bronze 5 and the fyne audio f302 would probably be the best bet.
 
lucid said:
That's 30W but with no reference to impedance, frequency, THD or whether it's RMS or not.

30Wpc R.M.S. in to 8 Ohms at 20Hz-20kHz, 0.05% THD is a repectable power level. Most good budget British Hi-fi amps from the 80s and 90s were in that range, and with their large toroidal transformers and decent output transistors they could generate a fairly healthy curent swing so did just find with the less efficient bookshelf speakers they were typically paired with. This is because the power measurement was done in a way that left a lot in reserve.

The N9 is a decent product, but the marketing men like to have big numbers to shout about. Measuring at 6 Ohms, and a higher THD (1%), possibly 1 channel driven rather than 2, most likely peak power rather than RMS, and at 1kHz where the amp is most efficient, all makes the final result look good on paper, but in real world situation it'll translate to something around 15-20W per channel measure in Hi-fi terms.

You could still have some fun with that as long as you weren't after room shaking volume.

If the dealer has an N9 or Marantz equivalent in stock then deffo arrange a listening session. Or take the N9 down.
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Blimey, that's some good info there, thanks.

Just looked up the specs of my old British 1990's amps (Arcam Alpha 8r and 8p) and you're more-or-less bang-on: 50 Watt - 8 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.01% - 2 channels.
 
There is a lot of anal owners on avforums too. Personally I don't care if the damage can only be seen when up close. Nobody is going to be on top of them. I touched up the feet on mine using nail polish on the black stands for instance you can't tell unless you are right on top looking at them.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
There is a lot of anal owners on avforums too. Personally I don't care if the damage can only be seen when up close. Nobody is going to be on top of them. I touched up the feet on mine using nail polish on the black stands for instance you can't tell unless you are right on top looking at them.
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Each to their own I suppose. I too would rather save money than worry about minor superficial damage. Speakers don’t tend to go wrong unless they are misused and the extra money is always better off in my pocket than someone else’s.
 
Pros: more detailed, tighter, with a wider sound stage

Cons: need more driving (higher volume) before they come alive. Less bass extension. A bit more revealing of any shortcomings in the music and/or source.


Whether or not someone likes the sound of any speaker is very subjective. The specs only give part of the story. The acid test is listening to them with your amplifier to see if they're a good electrical match, then listening critically to hear if they give the sort of sound presentation you enjoy.
 
lucid said:
Pros: more detailed, tighter, with a wider sound stage

Cons: need more driving (higher volume) before they come alive. Less bass extension. A bit more revealing of any shortcomings in the music and/or source.


Whether or not someone likes the sound of any speaker is very subjective. The specs only give part of the story. The acid test is listening to them with your amplifier to see if they're a good electrical match, then listening critically to hear if they give the sort of sound presentation you enjoy.
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Thanks lucid, pretty much as I thought. These would probably be superior speakers if my amp was up to it.

I think I'm leaning towards the monitor audio bronze 5's at the moment. Or maybe the Dali Zensor 5's.
 
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