Speaker and/or Audio Upgrade - £6k budget

Freakbro

Freakbro

Freakbro

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Right, I don't know whether I'm posting this to get you guys to talk me in to or out of my upgrade idea!

I currently have a dolby atmos A/V setup running 5.1.4, but unfortunately I have blown one of my front speakers earlier in the year, so have been looking to upgrade the 5 surround speakers. The current specs are :

A/V Amp : Denon X4400-H
Fronts : B&W 602.5 S3
Rears : B&W 686
Centre : B&W HTM62
Sub : Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Ceiling : Kef Ci160QR

I also have been thinking of adding in a decent stereo amp (the Denon has pre-outs) to get a decent dedicated music setup in the process as well.

My first issue is that the room isn't that big at 4.25m x 3.5m, so even though I like floorstanders at the front, anything too big will overpower the room, especially given I can't get the speakers a lot of distance away from the walls.

This is where I did like the B&W 602.5's as they have a front firing bass port, which helps allow them to sit closer to the walls than the usual rear ported floorstanders.

Initially I was looking in the 1.5k - 2.5k range to replace the 5.1 speakers, and these had caught my eye and get very good reviews https://www.klhaudio.eu/category/floorstanders/kendall but they are a niche American brand and trying to find anywhere to demo them (especially during Covid) has been fruitless so far. Also, they are quite large, rear firing and I think will over power the room tbh.

But, back to budget, I've recently sold a second car and am not looking to replace it, so I have this £6k going spare at the minute and thought I'd put it to good use with the crazy idea of why not spend all that and get something 'special' - which tbh, will last me the rest of my life (I've had those 602.5's for over 20 years!)

So I noticed while reading a lot of reviews, that a few places used PMC twenty5 23's as their "reference" set of speakers and on reading reviews of them, they seem very highly respected. https://www.whathifi.com/pmc/twenty523/review

Now another big plus for these are they are for small/medium sized rooms. They are approx the same size as my 602.5's and are front ported, the down side is they are very expensive! But, they have just released the newer model, the twenty5 23i series and I have found a retailer with the older models, new, but now discounted.

So, is this a crazy idea? Are these overkill for an A/V system? Is the Denon going to do them justice?

It would mean spending the entire budget on 5 speakers (That comes to just over £6k so I can't even fit the sub into that) and I would then have to wait to add a stereo amp in at a later date.
 
Focal Chora & Anthem would be my go to.

I demoed the 826-D straight from listening to Kraftwerk in Atmos on a 7.2.4 KEF R system (about £35K system) and honestly, the difference was small at best. They were seriously good value for money.

Anthem's Room Correction completely changed HiFi for me, more so than any speaker I've listened to. I believe they've just announced new AVRs too.

Edit: I'd also be looking for a new sub. This is about the best value for money you'll get. Sure, you can get better, but I'm not sure it would be worth the money :)

http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/P12300SB-PR.html?utm_source=Website&utm_medium=P12-300SB_PR&utm_campaign= P12-300SB_PR
 
MrRockliffe said:
Focal Chora & Anthem would be my go to.

I demoed the 826-D straight from listening to Kraftwerk in Atmos on a 7.2.4 KEF R system (about £35K system) and honestly, the difference was small at best. They were seriously good value for money.

Anthem's Room Correction completely changed HiFi for me, more so than any speaker I've listened to. I believe they've just announced new AVRs too.

Edit: I'd also be looking for a new sub. This is about the best value for money you'll get. Sure, you can get better, but I'm not sure it would be worth the money :)

http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/P12300SB-PR.html?utm_source=Website&utm_medium=P12-300SB_PR&utm_campaign= P12-300SB_PR
Click to expand...

Just reading some reviews and they sound good, but it is saying more for Med/Large rooms and their physical size is quite a lot bigger than the current 602.5s

Focal Chora 826 = 30 x 39 x 105cm

B&W 602.5 = 21 x 30 x 85cm

It's just with the sofa/swivel chair and other bits and bobs in the room, there's not the greatest amount of room to give them.

And thanks for the sub option, I always knew the Wharfedale was a budget one and I've never been that impressed with it. I was thinking of just not running a sub if I spent the budget on the 5 PMCs.

I guess my question above boils down to, what is going to give me the better noticeable upgrade, a set of speakers with the amp I have now or a new amp and speakers. Especially for A/V usage, I do like detail and clarity.

dacads said:
Have you applied acoustic treatment to the room?
Click to expand...

I have run the Denon audyssey setup when I first installed it if that's what you mean.
 
Freakbro said:
I have run the Denon audyssey setup when I first installed it if that's what you mean.
Click to expand...

He's referring to acoustic panels :-)


Freakbro said:
Just reading some reviews and they sound good, but it is saying more for Med/Large rooms and their physical size is quite a lot bigger than the current 602.5s

Focal Chora 826 = 30 x 39 x 105cm

B&W 602.5 = 21 x 30 x 85cm

It's just with the sofa/swivel chair and other bits and bobs in the room, there's not the greatest amount of room to give them.

And thanks for the sub option, I always knew the Wharfedale was a budget one and I've never been that impressed with it. I was thinking of just not running a sub if I spent the budget on the 5 PMCs.

I guess my question above boils down to, what is going to give me the better noticeable upgrade, a set of speakers with the amp I have now or a new amp and speakers. Especially for A/V usage, I do like detail and clarity.
Click to expand...

It's a shame they won't fit :(

I would be cautious with reviews - no one can really tell you what sounds good/bad.

Based on my experience, spending good money on a good AVR is well worth it.

Perhaps have a look at whether anyone is doing any home trials on the new Anthem AVRs.

I've also demoed the new 603s and personally thought they sound excellent.

I wouldn't not have a sub - it makes a world of difference when integrated properly :-)
 
MrRockliffe said:
He's referring to acoustic panels :)
Click to expand...

Oops, as you can tell, I'm a bit of a noob with this :o

It's a shame they won't fit :(

I would be cautious with reviews - no one can really tell you what sounds good/bad.

Based on my experience, spending good money on a good AVR is well worth it.

Perhaps have a look at whether anyone is doing any home trials on the new Anthem AVRs.

I've also demoed the new 603s and personally thought they sound excellent.

I wouldn't not have a sub - it makes a world of difference when integrated properly :)
Click to expand...

Cheers, ok I'll look more into the AVR options as part of the budget. A friend of mine wants an upgrade from their soundbar and would be interested in the Denon & the speakers I have now.

The 603s would be good as I could probably keep the rears I have (though I would like a better centre) but they are rear ported unfortunately.

I'd like to put together some options then demo some once shops have reopened.
 
No worries, thought I’d ask.

GIK acoustics is a good website IIRC not only for panels but actual advice. They have their own software which lets you model your room then send it to them for free advice.

spending £6k without any acoustic treatment would be pointless as you wouldn’t be getting the best out of your room and speakers.

So what will be better is to spend some of that on getting the recommended panels etc

should still leave you with £5k or less for speakers depending on what you buy
 
Agreed with the above.
Before you go start throwing large amounts of dosh at stereo kit:
- Get some decent room correction in place and working well. You'll find that it's just as useful with more expensive speakers as your existing, and facilitates the use of what might appear to be stupidly large speakers in small rooms. Doesn't your existing Denon AVR already include something?
- Additional room treatment is useful, and again will work with both cheap and expensive gear
 
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