58 replies to this topic

[mattjtaylor2809]

Hi All,

I'm about to replace my Monitor Audio S6's that I've had for close to 10 years which I use in my main living area as part of a HT system but with an integrated amp running these speaker via HT bypass.

I'm changing them to see if I can squeeze a bit more musicality when I'm playing 2CH stereo (via appleTV into a tube DAC). At some stage I also plan to replace the 2CH amp (Arcam A32) to a pre/pwer combo (possible Emotiva) to hopefully give me a combination which is a tad more "musical" or warmer Vs analytical / bright....

On top of my list are Monitor Audio's latest Silver RX6's or Vaf's DC-7's but wanted know if I should listen to anything else? It will need to have a matching centre.

I'm in Adelaide so we don't get access to a lot of gear unfortunately.

Any suggestions, pls let me know your thoughts!

Cheers Matt

[GAT474]

There's a pair of Legend Kantu 6 speakers for clearance located in Sydney.
I think they don't include transport. I had the Kantu 4's and they were terrific.
http://www.legendspe.../Clearance.html

[rantan]

My suggestion for the OP is to go to Challenge Hi Fi in Prospect.
I also live in Adelaide and it is the only decent hi fi shop that has a range of speakers available for demo.

Good luck with auditioning any Monitor Audio however. There are no true dealers here and the distributor is unhelpful and totally useless.

[Chill3]

First stop using the Apple TV as a source, these have issues in that they resample everything to 16/48 they do not pass 16 /44.1 bit perfect
the Airport express ($109) will pass 16 / 44.1 bit perfect
or as I have found connect direct to DAC with USB or optical - makes a big difference
Other option is spend $250 or so on a Squeeze Box Touch
garbage in garbage out - sort the source first before upgrading the speakers (and it can be done for not much money )

[Sub Sonic]

I have a pair of DC-X's for sale (current model) in the FS section if you are interested...

Regards,

SS

[mattjtaylor2809]

Thanks Everyone,

Had a good session at Vaf yesturday & quite impressed with the DC-7's but felt the integration between tweeter & bass was just a little "off" which resulted in the voicing on some disc's go to the back & become ever so sightly shrouded (IMO)? This could have been the recording on CD or maybe the Vincent set up we were using & maybe not enough for me to discount of even buy them?

Sub Sonic - I did see your sale & it does represent excellent value for money but on two counts I can't go down this road due to size & colour; both of which aren't very wife friendly!

I've spoken to the guys at Challenge Hi Fi & will go & listen to speakers there but I'm not a familiar with the brands they stock although I have had some KEF's in the past. I'm also due to demo the Monitor Audio's at Vision Living on Greenhill road during the week.

[Luc]

PRO-AV back up the road from VAF have a range of speakers and good little enclosed lounge to listen to their range of speakers. I enjoyed the time I was in their shop and nothing was too much truoble and they looked after a hot and very dry stranger from outta town...>>> Pro-AV

[frankn]

Thanks Everyone,
I've spoken to the guys at Challenge Hi Fi & will go & listen to speakers there but I'm not a familiar with the brands they stock although I have had some KEF's in the past. I'm also due to demo the Monitor Audio's at Vision Living on Greenhill road during the week.

I'm suprised that you haven't heard of Sonus Faber, Paradigm, Ambience, Quad, Tannoy and the like. Where have you been hiding the last 20years?
Challenge have the most extensive range of speakers/models actually on display (and therefore to listen to) in-house of any retail outlet in Adelaide, probably all of SA. They are helpful and I think pretty good on pricing.

[mattjtaylor2809]

Hi Luc - I assume this was the SONY shop on Magill Rd? I've been in a few times & listen to KRIX speakers which I didn't really excite me all that much but I may go & have another look.

Frankn - Apologies if I gave the impression I didn't like or rate the guys at Challenge Hi Fi because I do & agree that they do have the biggest rage in SA - In a scattered, randon kinf=d of way! In terms of thier range of speakers on display, I'm keen to listen to the Paradigm (Studio 60's), which I should have said but I've had Kef's (twice), & I'm not that interested in QUAD or Tannoy; I think Sonus Faber will be out of my price range but will check.

I also think it's gets to the point of listening to too many speaker on too many different set ups & it just gets too confusing.

Cheers
Matt

[DoggieHowser]

I'm not sure how much KEF sells for here but I was quite taken by the Q900.

[rantan]

If anyone is thinking of buying KEF, wait a few weeks and check out the new R series. Some of my sources tell me that they are seriously good and one of KEF's best ever ranges.

[Luc]

Hi Luc - I assume this was the SONY shop on Magill Rd? I've been in a few times & listen to KRIX speakers which I didn't really excite me all that much but I may go & have another look.

I'm not good on roads in Adelaide but I walked from it to VAF and yes they had the Krix neuphonics which I didn't like, being driven by some Marantz amps in various configs and they had some Aurum Cantus speakers which I really did enjoy playing my choice of music, I actually enjoyed them more than the various VAF's I listened too but that could also be the fact that my VAF listening was done in a noisy showroom and not a dedicated sound room.

[mattjtaylor2809]

and they had some Aurum Cantus speakers which I really did enjoy playing my choice of music, I actually enjoyed them more than the various VAF's I listened too but that could also be the fact that my VAF listening was done in a noisy showroom and not a dedicated sound room.

Maybe I'll go & have a listen to the Aurum Cantus - what is "your choice in music", may I ask?

[Luc]

Matt I just took half a dozen cd's that I really like and that I thought might give me some comparisons to my speakers here at home.

I took Beethoven's Pastorals which really test a speaker out because of the rapid rise in tempo and volume, the Krix didn't do a good job of it I thought butthe Aurum's had me closing my eyes. Also played some fine acoustic guitar and African Oud music which has the knack of testing the higher frequencies due to the accompanying odd percussion instruments. Took some Radiohead ' The Bends' and some jazz and some brass/swing/rock/Parisian cafe music combo from Beirut(the group not the city) which again tested the speakers because of the almost instant changes in volume that lustily blown brass can do, the kind that makes you sit up in your seat if you've been dozing. Also took some music that is from some very obscure East London DJ's which could be described as fusion nu jazz x acid jazz meets Adele...that made even Philip at VAF ask what it was!

I liked the ribbon tweeter in the Aurums, there was really nice clarity apparent in the top end

I hope they still have some so you can listen for yourself

[mattjtaylor2809]

Thanks Luc,

Always interesting to see what people are listening to, especially when demo'ing speakers which I find quite difficult as you constantly change environments & set up's so it can make it hard to compare. When I get it down to a choice of two, I will see if I can bring them home to demo in situ.

When I demo'd the Vaf's the other day, I actually took a selection of music I'm listening to now (Temper Trap, City & Colour, Band Of Skulls, Tool & Shelby Lynne) as apposed to the old favourites (Doves, Jeff Buckley, Zero + others) as I found during the last demo (bought Summoners from Adelaide Speakers), that the music I used then, I don't actually listen to that much anymore so I thought, what the point of that, apart from familiarity & bought along more recent stuff I've been listening to @ home!

[DoggieHowser]

I am a big fan of the Aurum Cantus range as well. I think Mark Levinson's new company (which does not bear his name any more) rebrands one of the higher end models from AC.

[RockandorRoll]

Buy Rantans Orpheus Apollos in the classifieds - unless they sold already

great speakers when i heard them at the high fi show.

[DAMO 1147]

Buy Rantans Orpheus Apollos in the classifieds - unless they sold already

great speakers when i heard them at the high fi show.

+1
As Molly used to say " Do yourself a favour" and give those an audition - Bargin in the FS section now. Garanteed to save you some $$.

Depending on your tastes IMHO the Apollo's are right up there with speakers in your price range. Hard to do better.

Edited by DAMO 1147, 06 August 2012 - 01:56 PM.

[mattjtaylor2809]

Hi Guys,

I've PM'd Rantan's & will audition.

Cheers All

[mattjtaylor2809]

I auditioned the Paradigm Studio 60's yesturday @ Challenge Hi Fi & was very impressed with their immersive sound that just enveloped you even when they were not in their optimal position. They were being driven by a full Bryston system which would cost something around $15K so not sure how they would fair using lest expensive kit but impressive non the less. Maybe a little out of my price range as they're $3,100.

I'm off to listen to Rantan's Apollo's today & Challenge Hi-Fi suggested I listen to the KEF Q series.

Cheers
Matt

[L J T]

Matt, I have the smaller Paradigm Studios and they are running off Emotiva gear. They are less picky of what drives them. I think they perform well for the money. I hadn't heard them until early this year and was so impressed I bought them. They are more forgiving with lesser recordings and seem to shine with better recordings.

[pelennor]

Since you're in Adelaide, consider Adelaide Speakers ( http://www.adelaidespeakers.com/ ). They seem to be getting a following online for good value for money speakers, and you should be able to audition them somewhere. Pretty sure I've read of a few people using Adelaide / Emotiva combos too.

[mattjtaylor2809]

Hi Plennor,

Thanks for your post but I do actually have a full HT set up from Adelaide Speakers so well versed in what they offer. They do offer excellent value for money but I want to look elsewhere this time as I've not been 100% happy with the set up. Pls don't get me wrong, I still think for the money they're hard to beat & my issue could be room associated as I think I bought too big a speaker for the space.

Cheers
Matthew

[Frog]

i've got some VAF DC-7's in black if you like? I did the tweeter upgrade and then switched back to the older model as there was a sense of cohesion in these which I felt was not quite honoured in the new ones. Having said that, VAF's are fairly neutral and if your source is lean, they'll not be a great combo. I was shocked by how bad I felt VAFs sounded in the factory showroom compared to how they sounded at home and at the homes of others. Otherwise, I can recommend Focal 8x6V's - very neutral and musical.

[emesbee]

PRO-AV back up the road from VAF have a range of speakers and good little enclosed lounge to listen to their range of speakers. I enjoyed the time I was in their shop and nothing was too much truoble and they looked after a hot and very dry stranger from outta town...>>> Pro-AV

I only discovered this shop by accident last weekend, would you believe. Just had a quick look around, as it was getting near to closing time. Noticed they sell Krix and B&W speakers. I think there is only one dedicated auditioning room, from what I could see, mainly set up for home theatre. Staff seemed friendly on first impressions.

[Luc]

i've got some VAF DC-7's in black if you like? I did the tweeter upgrade and then switched back to the older model as there was a sense of cohesion in these which I felt was not quite honoured in the new ones. Having said that, VAF's are fairly neutral and if your source is lean, they'll not be a great combo. I was shocked by how bad I felt VAFs sounded in the factory showroom compared to how they sounded at home and at the homes of others. Otherwise, I can recommend Focal 8x6V's - very neutral and musical.

That's what I thought when I heard their range and I'd of loved to heard the 33's[?] in my little room here.

I only discovered this shop by accident last weekend, would you believe. Just had a quick look around, as it was getting near to closing time. Noticed they sell Krix and B&W speakers. I think there is only one dedicated auditioning room, from what I could see, mainly set up for home theatre. Staff seemed friendly on first impressions.

I'd forgotten about their B+W's, guess I just blanked them out as being unobtainable for me at the time(and still...lol).

Yep one room and the staff were very laid back...kinda like, "Hey look there's a guy in the listening room....(an hour later)...he's still there..."

[RockandorRoll]

That's what I thought when I heard their range and I'd of loved to heard the 33's[?] in my little room here.

There really is no comparison, they may as well be from different manufacturers (ive owned both)

The first thing you notice is how muffled the DC7's sound in the top and the lack of midrange kick. Miles apart, which they should be for the price difference

Matt, i believe it was you who played Band of Skulls on the 33's at a VAF night. That song made me buy those speakers, still play it all the time. However for hard rock and if you ever border into metal, id strongly suggest ML1's. I know they are only bookshelves but they pack more punch than the DC7's

[Grimmie]

OK so it's a little left field but 2.5K to play with and the intention to send probably the same again on a 2-ch amp in the (near-ish?) future you would be wise (ho-ho-ho) to consider these active and quite beautiful speakers, both sonically and aesthetically they are the bees knees. Very hard to imagine anything in their class for around 4.9K though I guess to double the budget is a hard one to consider.

http://www.stereo.ne...-whise-ha-1500/

Send me a PM if you would like advice on the seller etc.

[jeffl]

Hi Matt
If I had $2.5K to spend on a new pair of speakers , would very carefully read full articles on Zaphs < http://www.zaphaudio.com/ZRT.html > Both 2 & 2.5 versions
Please note , the Tweeters and Woofers were used in this 2009 review of YG-Acoustics "Best Loudspeakers in the World" Anats .
As tested here < http://www.stereophi...nal_loudspeaker >
.
And Sonys < http://www.stereophi...ar1-loudspeaker >
.
Above three will give you a general idea of the sound these beauties make .
.
Then a call to Edward at Adelaide Speakers on 8358-2015 < http://www.adelaides...-bookshelf.html > , to discuss the Box details etc.
.
If you don't start with superb , low distortion drivers , you won't get "Natural Sound" .
Hope you get the looks and Fidelity you're after .
.
Regards , Jeff

[LHC]

I only discovered this shop by accident last weekend, would you believe. Just had a quick look around, as it was getting near to closing time. Noticed they sell Krix and B&W speakers. I think there is only one dedicated auditioning room, from what I could see, mainly set up for home theatre. Staff seemed friendly on first impressions.

I can believe it as Pro AV don't really market themselves as a Hi Fi shop. The owner and staff are quite nice. They allowed me to take home two pairs of speakers for home audition, although I did not make a purchase in the end.

I may start a separate thread to stocktake all hi fi shops currently operating in Adelaide. [Edit: here http://www.stereo.ne...286#entry745286]

Edited by LHC, 08 August 2012 - 11:07 PM.

[digitalhome]

Raise your budget & get the Paradigm Studios. You wont regret it!

[mattjtaylor2809]

Hi All,

Listened to the Apollo's tonight as was very impressed. Different to the Paradigm Studio 60's but similar in the way they enveloped you in the sound. I thought the Apollo's were a little more analytical but that could have been the North Star transport & DAC via the Luxman Amp @ Rantans?

Still to audition the Monitor Audio's & maybe a few others but I've ruled out the DC-7's as compared to the Paradigms & the Apollo's, they're not in the same league.

RocknRoller - Yes, that was me & I thought we played them on the bigger signature speakers, the i93's which we did again on Saturday when i was in Vaf with the Mrs. Great to hear you're still listening to the excellent Band of Skulls. My wife & I recently went to Sydney to see them & they we fantastic. Check our their latest album, Sweet Sour, if you haven't already.

Thanks to everyone else's contributions.

I'll post my thoughts on the MA's soon.

Cheers
Matt

[mttel]

Hi All,

I'm about to replace my Monitor Audio S6's that I've had for close to 10 years which I use in my main living area as part of a HT system but with an integrated amp running these speaker via HT bypass.

I'm changing them to see if I can squeeze a bit more musicality when I'm playing 2CH stereo (via appleTV into a tube DAC). At some stage I also plan to replace the 2CH amp (Arcam A32) to a pre/pwer combo (possible Emotiva) to hopefully give me a combination which is a tad more "musical" or warmer Vs analytical / bright....

On top of my list are Monitor Audio's latest Silver RX6's or Vaf's DC-7's but wanted know if I should listen to anything else? It will need to have a matching centre.

I'm in Adelaide so we don't get access to a lot of gear unfortunately.

Any suggestions, pls let me know your thoughts!

Cheers Matt

Matt,
Agree Challenge is an Alladins cave of top gear, however if you are not is a rush and don't mind a bit of travel then also consider:

Sound Vision Studio on Greenhill Road (formerly Vision living) they have B&W, Focal, Krix and Jamo, use to have Sonique but not sure if they still do, have one of the best "if I won lotto" HT rooms around, 2 or 3 demo rooms

Dennis White A2V on Unley rd - Dynaudio, Q Acoutstics, EPOS, PSB and canton, friendly staff and not pushy but are Dyn bias, 1 dedicated demo room and 5 open demo areas

BSS on Port Road - haven't been in for a while and only ever seen Wharfedale, couple of demo rooms could be worth a look.

Good luck with the search.

Michael

[mattjtaylor2809]

Hi Michael,

I didn't know Denis White stocked Dynaudio so I will follow them up as I do like this brand do speaker. I always felt from the few visits a few years back that he wasn't a "real" player in SA but maybe I need to challenge my own assumptions!

His TV adds are awful!

Cheers
Matthew

[mttel]

matt,
no probs and I would suggest that the TV ads are aimed at the HN buyer and then they educate them about sound once they are in the door.

I will pre empt my next comments by declaring that my last 3 purchases have been from Dennis (DYN SCX centre, 2x Definitive Technology SC1 subs upgrading from SC3 and a NAD 775HD AVR) so there is some familarity with them.

I have always found them knowlegable, friendly and helpful, I haven't but I know of other forum members who have, by negotiation, taken gear home to try out. With the Def techs I effectively traded these in to upgrade and I know that Dennis does do this if the gear is good quality and a salable recognised brand.

Based on my experience I can recommend them.

Michael

[DAMO 1147]

Matt good to see you on the Auditoin road.

Be careful not to confuse 'a little more analytical' with non fatiguing - some speakers in the price range jump out initially but get tiresome in the long term. Good Luck.

[LHC]

I didn't know Denis White stocked Dynaudio so I will follow them up as I do like this brand do speaker.

If you are interested in Dyn then I suggests you ask to audition the X32 at Denis. Its RRP is just outside your budget, but Denis can do deals and give discounts. I bought my pair from him and are pleased with them.

It will take some convincing for Denis to let you take home a pair of speakers for auditioning, but it can be done. If you like the sound and show them that you are very serious.

[rantan]

If you are interested in Dyn then I suggests you ask to audition the X32 at Denis. Its RRP is just outside your budget, but Denis can do deals and give discounts. I bought my pair from him and are pleased with them.

It will take some convincing for Denis to let you take home a pair of speakers for auditioning, but it can be done. If you like the sound and show them that you are very serious.

Indeed it will. I tried once and was faced head on by 3 brick walls.

Also, don't expect the sales staff to actually tell the truth or be accurate about anything. The Dynaudio speakers are good and worthy and acomplished, but they don't have any magic. Also, may your God help you if you dare to tell them you like something else that you have heard.
The one and only speaker language spoken there is Dynaudio and although the company has a motto "Danes don't lie ", the same cannot be said for the DW A2V staff.

[mattjtaylor2809]

Hi All,

The only real experience I've had with DYN is in my x2 Volvo's car's I've had over the years. Both cars had very impressive sounding rig's runnign DYN speakers, but that's it!

Not sure how that equates itself to home?

MA's RX6's today & then decision time I think!.

Cheers
Matt

[Arg]

What is your size limit? I have noticed you reject a couple of speakers that suggests you want a quite small floorstander.

[mattjtaylor2809]

Guys,

Listened to the X32's today @ DW & was very impressed with the sound & scale from what are pretty small floorstanders. I have to say they they're very "agressive" in their praise for Dynaudio & thie dislike of other manufacturers which I found a little off putting. I said I had Monitor Audio's & he said he didn't rate these American speakers, which when I corrected him, i,e, they're British, he then said they're American sounding?

None the less they sounded very nice & natural without any flabbiness in the bass or shrill in the treble. The only concern I have is the size relative to my I room & how they compare to the Apollo's tha I listened to @ Rantan's.

I'm off to listen to the Monitor Audio RX6's now but I'm concerned as they're straight out of the box so certainly not run in & I know from experience these speakers take a while to run in.

Cheers all

PS. Arg, not discarding bigger speakers, just working within a budget & the brands I'm looking at their pricing is out of reach.

[mattjtaylor2809]

Hi All,

The Monitor Audio's were too tight, straight out of he box at my listening session today. Not helped by having them connected to a HT set-up & my disc's being played via a BD player via HDMI compared to the rest of my auditions on dedicated 2 CH set-ups. I've said I will come back next week to audition again to give them more time to run in & we will repeat the audition on a dedicated 2 CH set up (Musical Fidelity I think).

Having said all that, they did have a very impressive mid-range & excellent timing, really moving with the music which I like; they just didn't do the high frequencies any real justice & the bass response was a tad tight compared to 3 yr old X32's & 6 month old Apollo's.

I think I'm leaning towards the Dynaudio X32's or the Orpheus Apollo's.

Cheers
Matt

[Arg]

....PS. Arg, not discarding bigger speakers, just working within a budget & the brands I'm looking at their pricing is out of reach.

OK then try a piece of local product excellence, the Krix Harmonix. These guys don't muck around with fads and compromises, they are beautifully engineered top to bottom, and fully built and tested in-house.

You might need to call the factory to find where you can get a quality audition.

[edit] There is a matching centre, the Vortex.

Edited by Arg, 16 August 2012 - 11:40 AM.

[mattjtaylor2809]

Hi Arg,

I did see these in Vision Living on Greenhill Rd, they're definately a beast of a speaker, or am I thinking of another of their range?

Not sure they will fit into my plan & I think over $3k?

Cheers
Matt

[Arg]

Hi Matt, the Harmonix is 2350 RRP (check the link), maybe the 'beast' you saw was the Neuphonix which is about 100mm 'deeper'.

I did ask you about size limits!