Best speakers you have ever used?

[hornetstinger]

Sound good to me as they are, as did the 800d3s I had before.

Paired with McIntosh MA12000 & Naim ND555, I've yet to hear anything better & I demoed most things in this price bracket.

I have some decent room treatment, haven't tweaked anything on the amp's EQ.

I haven't read anything suggesting boosted highs and mids, as you suggest. The reviews seem to say the opposite & it's not something I've picked up on.

B&w house sound is bright. Perhaps your avr, room treatment, and/or room correction reduces it? I've had b&w granted lower end model and reflects it , plus feedback of people with experience in that brand. Or indeed you like the brighter presentation.

B&W Matrix 801 Series 2 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 2: Measurements Stereophile's analysis of the B&W Matrix 801 was published long before the magazine acquired the DRA Labs and Audio Precision measurement systems used for its loudspeaker reviews. As my wife owns a pair of the big B&Ws, however, I have measured the speaker at various...

www.stereophile.com

 

[wozzizname]

Best I've owned were Proac Response 3's, the best I've heard probably Apogee Scintillas, though I haven't been to any HiFi shows for years now.

 

[aoaaron]

thanks

totally agree about the sub

i am keeping the Monolith as a stop gap because i hope to move house within the next six months

depending on the 'new' listening environment i will have two or possibly four new subs

currently powering everything with 3no Lyngdorf SD2400 power amps and a Trinnov Altitude 16AV Processor

using a Panasonic UB9000 as my dvd player and 'disc spinner' (yes, i still love cds)

when i move i will probably get a dedicated cd player

and before you ask

yes, my advisor/consultant wanted me to get away from all physical media and basically go to totally online streaming services

and again call me old but i like physical media and my IT/computer skills are abysmal and in my small village BT streaming speeds are dreadful

hell, i still buy and read paper books

I also have a stop gap Monolith BK . I have just seen a sale on Monoprice so might replace it now with another 15''/.


Monoprice have a sale on subwoofers. I'd definitley check them out. They're extremely good value IMO. Very close/similar to Arendal.

Perlisten would be the next step up but if ur paying perlisten money, you should just get JTR as they measure better and are insane.

i wouldnt go all online. sounds like a silly idea where you will be tied to one ecosystem. i like kaleidoscope PQ is great but tying all ur purchases to a company which can just die out sucks, a streamed bitrate on a big screen shows flaws. and most streamers dont do full fidelity audio.

what size screen u got?

on my 170'' incher.. even my family can tell the difference streamed vs local

 

[hornetstinger]

I also have a stop gap Monolith BK . I have just seen a sale on Monoprice so might replace it now with another 15''/.


Monoprice have a sale on subwoofers. I'd definitley check them out. They're extremely good value IMO. Very close/similar to Arendal.

Perlisten would be the next step up but if ur paying perlisten money, you should just get JTR as they measure better and are insane.

i wouldnt go all online. sounds like a silly idea where you will be tied to one ecosystem. i like kaleidoscope PQ is great but tying all ur purchases to a company which can just die out sucks, a streamed bitrate on a big screen shows flaws. and most streamers dont do full fidelity audio.

what size screen u got?

on my 170'' incher.. even my family can tell the difference streamed vs local

The 10" Monoprice is currently £285.

 

[NickK]

I’ve built a pair of nearfield speakers with mark audio chn50s. They work well (baltic birch ply with wool etc). The main thing is they’re small and mid-treble speakers. My old castle harlechs (1/4 wave) run rings around them.

I’m building my own amps (tube/SS) and low noise test gear.

 

[aoaaron]

The 10" Monoprice is currently £285.

I'd be looking at the 15'' but yeah the 10/12'' are steals. however they dont quite hit 10-12hz in room.

 

[hornetstinger]

I'd be looking at the 15'' but yeah the 10/12'' are steals. however they dont quite hit 10-12hz in room.

£694 on the auction site for the 15"

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

B&W 801d4... I have them.

I really want to experience the Avantgarde Trios some point soon, but haven't had the opportunity yet.

The chap who sold me the Ta'us, replaced them with a pair of avantgarde trios, so I made a point of grabbing a listen. As expected, awesome in some areas. Unfortunately, I found the driver integration a little bit off, almost felt like listening to different speakers. Left me a bit underwhelmed at the price. My preference were the JBL everests, which did the efficiency bit very nicely, but also delivered a beautifully consistent sound.

 

[aoaaron]

£694 on the auction site for the 15"

I'm very tempted mate.... !!!! very!!.. for the gaming room. Correct that I can put one of my monitors ontop of it tooo so I'm guessing a subwoofer and a monitor stand for the price of 1 right?

 

[TOW]

The chap who sold me the Ta'us, replaced them with a pair of avantgarde trios, so I made a point of grabbing a listen. As expected, awesome in some areas. Unfortunately, I found the driver integration a little bit off, almost felt like listening to different speakers. Left me a bit underwhelmed at the price. My preference were the JBL everests, which did the efficiency bit very nicely, but also delivered a beautifully consistent sound.

Those JBLs look funky, I hadn’t heard of them before.

I read there is a big difference in the old vs new Avantgardes… your description sounds like the old version. They’re supposed to have worked that out in the new variant, but I have to try for myself before that kind of purchase.

No rush though, im really happy with the 801d4s, I don’t feel like anything is lacking. Although the upgrade from 800d3 was more noticeable than I expected.

 

[bamby]

The 10" Monoprice is currently £285.

thanks for your advice

 

[bamby]

I also have a stop gap Monolith BK . I have just seen a sale on Monoprice so might replace it now with another 15''/.


Monoprice have a sale on subwoofers. I'd definitley check them out. They're extremely good value IMO. Very close/similar to Arendal.

Perlisten would be the next step up but if ur paying perlisten money, you should just get JTR as they measure better and are insane.

i wouldnt go all online. sounds like a silly idea where you will be tied to one ecosystem. i like kaleidoscope PQ is great but tying all ur purchases to a company which can just die out sucks, a streamed bitrate on a big screen shows flaws. and most streamers dont do full fidelity audio.

what size screen u got?

on my 170'' incher.. even my family can tell the difference streamed vs local

thanks for your advice

i agree that JTR is best at this price point

have a new Sony XR - 65A95K OLED - fully calibrated after 200 hours run in

it produces a stunning image IF fed a decent source

i will not watch SD on this tv as it literally makes my eyes bleed, lol

 

[pieman109]

IMF ALS40 speakers, old school anglophile (I think thats what they called it)

 

[LabR@t]

XLS Series 15" 3-Way Passive Speaker​

 

[aoaaron]

£694 on the auction site for the 15"

I ended up grabbing 3 of them. 5 Total now!

 

[Lowe]

Had the pleasure a while back of auditioning some PMC QB1 XBD-A

https://pmc-speakers.com/products/professional/active/qb1-xbd

Absolutely insane bits of kit. Had to go listen to AM radio for an hour to re-calibrate my ears afterwards

 

[Flibster]

I really liked the Tag McLaren F1's that a friend had for a while. They weren't subtle though. Bright red floorstanders.

 

[DustyMiller]

I'm still rocking a pair of Bose 701 Series 1 speakers from the mid 90's

Bose 701 Floorstanding Speaker

 

[ODuffer]

Linn Helix II were the best I've ever had, I should have kept them, I got rid of them when I moved flat.
I'm now using Tannoy Revolution R2, pretty good but not as good.