Hi Fi Speaker suggestions

[Ollie_H_]

Hello, I've been into the expensive hobby of vinyl for about a year now. Im now at the point where I'm ready to start upgrading my setup. My current speakers are Fluid Audio C5. My plan is to buy some speakers and get a second hand amp after. I listen to music with vinyl but also thru aux to my phone. Im just looking for any suggestions on the best bookshelf speakers for under about 600 AUD.  Im a uni student so 600 is really pushing it but for the sake of the forum that's the number ill throw out lol. Trying to slowly accumulate and build a reasonable setup. Hope you guys can help, any advice is appreciated :))

[Little_Joe]

Hey Ollie. I recommend that you go to Frank Prowse and check out the Wharfedale D320 speakers. They are small, within your price range and pretty good for their size and price.  Alternatively, you could check out the classifieds on here (you may need to post a few more times to get access to them) as you can regularly find a good deal. 

 

[Ollie_H_]

thanks so much! ill for sure check out those speakers!

 

[Al.M]

For the benefit of others your current speakers are $450 rrp small two way driver  active Studio monitors with five inch woofers here https://www.storedj.com.au/fluid-audio-f5-fader-series-5-studio-monitors-pair

Later edit: these 

 

Around AuD $250.

 

Haven’t heard your speakers but active speakers can be quite good and punch well above a similar priced passive speaker with separate amp so you may not achieve much by getting another $600 rrp passive speaker apart from the separate amp having more controls and inputs.

 

If you are willing to go used for the amp then why not same for speaker, which can double or triple it and potentially get a $1200-2000 speaker depending on how old you are willing to accept. Good condition well cared for used speakers up to 1-15 years plus can be found and resale to get money back later on. Another way is to get something like a used Monitor Audio Bronz 2 or similar for around $200-300 and $300 used amp and stay in budget.

 

Have a look around for good looking and well reviewed used speakers and come back here for comments. Also, if you have space larger floorstanding speakers with more bass can be good.

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Al.M

[Ollie_H_]

6 minutes ago, Al.M said:

For the benefit of others your current speakers are $450 rrp small two way driver  active Studio monitors with five inch woofers here https://www.storedj.com.au/fluid-audio-f5-fader-series-5-studio-monitors-pair

 

Haven’t heard your speakers but active speakers can be quite good and punch well above a similar priced passive speaker with separate amp so you may not achieve much by getting another $600 rrp passive speaker apart from the separate amp having more controls and inputs.

 

If you are willing to go used for the amp then why not same for speaker, which can double or triple it and potentially get a $1200-2000 speaker depending on how old you are willing to accept. Good condition well cared for used speakers up to 1-15 years plus can be found and resale to get money back later on. Another way is to get something like a used Monitor Audio Bronz 2 or similar for around $200-300 and $300 used amp and stay in budget.

 

Have a look around for good looking and well reviewed used speakers and come back here for comments. Also, if you have space larger floorstanding speakers with more bass can be good.

hey, I hope this is how I reply lol, just got my account today and the forum layout is annoying me. I should've specified I'm willing to go second hand for the speakers too! I certainly think ur right. My current speakers tho aren't f5s, they are c5s which are a couple hundred bucks cheaper. Definitely good advice tho thanks very much!

[muon*]

Maybe look for some second hand Focal Chorus 706

https://www.focal.com/en/home-audio/high-fidelity-speakers/chorus-700/bookshelf-speakers/chorus-706

 

and an integrated amp suitable to power them, also secondhand.

[MattyW]

At that price point I'd suggest building a pair of open baffles around the Lii Audio F15 drivers. Nothing else will come close and if you add Fountek KP2.0 ribbons as super tweeters down the track about as good as it gets period. You'll want to use caps to the value of 2uF to limit the tweeters. I have a mate running this exact combination and he massively prefers it to his heavily upgraded Yamaha NS1000m's.

 

A baffle can be as simple as a suitable driver mounted in a sheet of MDF. Use brackets from Bunnings as the stand and run wiring direct to the driver. Due to the efficiency of the driver it opens up some very nice sounding, low wattage class A amplification options down the track Low wattage translates to lower cost. I'd suggest amps based around the Nelson Pass Amp Camp Amp circuit 

 

End game performance on a budget. Even though the rest of your system will continue to evolve and improve you will never need another pair of speakers. The only caveat is: These are 15" drivers. You need space.

 

There are metal 15" speaker grills which will prevent damage to those lovely drivers, and Founteks are fully enclosed though those would not fit into your budget initially. Just leave space for the potential to add later. Most users of the F15's don't bother with super tweeters though it really boils down to personal preference.

 

Open Baffle examples

 

With the right speakers and amp your source component will determine your overall sound. The way it should be 

Edited June 23, 2020 by MattyW

[Al.M]

Perth Gumtree has pair of Focal Chorus 705 for $200.

[Al.M]

1 hour ago, MattyW said:

At that price point I'd suggest building a pair of open baffles around the Lii Audio F15 drivers. Nothing else will come close and if you add Fountek KP2.0 ribbons as super tweeters down the track about as good as it gets period. You'll want to use caps to the value of 2uF to limit the tweeters.

 

A baffle can be as simple as a suitable driver mounted in a sheet of MDF. Use brackets from Bunnings as the stand and run wiring direct to the driver. Due to the efficiency of the driver it opens up some very nice sounding, low wattage class A amplification options down the track. I'd suggest amps based around the Nelson Pass Amp Camp Amp circuit 

 

End game performance on a budget. Even though the rest of your system will continue to evolve and improve you will never need another pair of speakers. The only caveat is: These are 15" drivers. You need space.

 

There are metal 15" speaker grills which will prevent damage to those lovely drivers, and Founteks are fully enclosed though those would not fit into your budget initially. Just leave space for the potential to add later. Most users of the F15's don't bother with super tweeters though it really boils down to personal preference.

 

Open Baffle examples

 

With the right speakers and amp your source component will determine your overall sound. The way it should be 

Would a $46 kit 9w Class T amp work on those baffle speakers such as https://www.decibelhifi.com.au/t-amps-1/

 

How much for the drivers delivered to Aust?

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Al.M

[MattyW]

17 minutes ago, Al.M said:

Would a $46 kit 9w Class T amp work on those baffle speakers such as https://www.decibelhifi.com.au/t-amps-1/

 

How much for the drivers delivered to Aust?

 

I've no idea how the current class D amps sound. My experience with class D has been the S.M.S.L. SA50, SA98E, AD18 Pro and Q5 Pro..... They sounded great before I experienced better. It all comes down to what you're accustomed to I guess. The F15's will improve as source and amplification improve.

 

The F15's are big, but light. Maybe message Lii Audio on their Facebook group and find out shipping costs. I used the FAST-10S which was cheap to ship, and the W-15 woofers which were quite pricey to ship being large and heavy so I can't say. I think my mate said his cost about $700 shipped?

 

I believe a worthwhile expense as these will continue to improve as the system improves. They'll never be a bottleneck. Good value for the price really.

Edited June 24, 2020 by MattyW

[vadimz]

Can't go wrong with Krix.

[Ollie_H_]

5 hours ago, MattyW said:

At that price point I'd suggest building a pair of open baffles around the Lii Audio F15 drivers. Nothing else will come close and if you add Fountek KP2.0 ribbons as super tweeters down the track about as good as it gets period. You'll want to use caps to the value of 2uF to limit the tweeters. I have a mate running this exact combination and he massively prefers it to his heavily upgraded Yamaha NS1000m's.

 

A baffle can be as simple as a suitable driver mounted in a sheet of MDF. Use brackets from Bunnings as the stand and run wiring direct to the driver. Due to the efficiency of the driver it opens up some very nice sounding, low wattage class A amplification options down the track Low wattage translates to lower cost. I'd suggest amps based around the Nelson Pass Amp Camp Amp circuit 

 

End game performance on a budget. Even though the rest of your system will continue to evolve and improve you will never need another pair of speakers. The only caveat is: These are 15" drivers. You need space.

 

There are metal 15" speaker grills which will prevent damage to those lovely drivers, and Founteks are fully enclosed though those would not fit into your budget initially. Just leave space for the potential to add later. Most users of the F15's don't bother with super tweeters though it really boils down to personal preference.

 

Open Baffle examples

 

With the right speakers and amp your source component will determine your overall sound. The way it should be 

okay thankyou for that. Ive certainly thought about it but currently i have a pretty small room. Maybe say 3m x 6m roughly. So i dont think i really have the space for such big boys. Id love to do a project like that in the future but i just dont think it would work for my current set up. I also have heard having drivers too big in a small room really just muddy the clarity with thick bass. Thanks so much tho! you sound like u really know ur stuff :))

[wen]

I'll second the monitor audio bronze 2, i have the bx2, neutral sounding and they have great bass for their size, front ported which makes it less fussy with room placement, even new good value if you can get a great deal

[MattyW]

1 hour ago, Ollie_H_ said:

okay thankyou for that. Ive certainly thought about it but currently i have a pretty small room. Maybe say 3m x 6m roughly. So i dont think i really have the space for such big boys. Id love to do a project like that in the future but i just dont think it would work for my current set up. I also have heard having drivers too big in a small room really just muddy the clarity with thick bass. Thanks so much tho! you sound like u really know ur stuff :))

That's most unfortunate 

[Cloth Ears]

16 hours ago, Ollie_H_ said:

 Im now at the point where I'm ready to start upgrading my setup. My current speakers are Fluid Audio C5. My plan is to buy some speakers and get a second hand amp after. I listen to music with vinyl but also thru aux to my phone. Im just looking for any suggestions on the best bookshelf speakers for under about 600 AUD.  Im a uni student so 600 is really pushing it ...

Ollie, I'd probably go looking for speakers that are pre-loved (rather than new) in order to get something that works. And to do that, you'd need to be looking at your amplifier first. Those speakers you've got are fairly reasonable - but they are nearfield monitors. Which means they are more for picking faults in a mix than they are for providing a soundstage.

 

If you looked in the Classifieds (which I don't believe you can, yet) you would find a pair of KEF X300A wireless speakers - similar to yours, but probably better able to do the soundstage thing than your current ones. They would provide you with an idea of what you're looking for in a single package, rather than having to buy a separate amp and speakers. And for the price (OK, it's $100 over your speaker budget) they would definitely do better. OK, in my opinion.

 

6 hours ago, MattyW said:

At that price point...

LOL - I'd like to see the bookshelf that you could fit these into as OBs...

[Ollie_H_]

24 minutes ago, Cloth Ears said:

Ollie, I'd probably go looking for speakers that are pre-loved (rather than new) in order to get something that works. And to do that, you'd need to be looking at your amplifier first. Those speakers you've got are fairly reasonable - but they are nearfield monitors. Which means they are more for picking faults in a mix than they are for providing a soundstage.

 

If you looked in the Classifieds (which I don't believe you can, yet) you would find a pair of KEF X300A wireless speakers - similar to yours, but probably better able to do the soundstage thing than your current ones. They would provide you with an idea of what you're looking for in a single package, rather than having to buy a separate amp and speakers. And for the price (OK, it's $100 over your speaker budget) they would definitely do better. OK, in my opinion.

 

LOL - I'd like to see the bookshelf that you could fit these into as OBs...

thanks for that. I actually can look in the classifieds now :)) so u think finding a good amplifier is probably the first step in this saga? ill definitely keep my eyes peeled. Those kefs look clean as but they would break the bank as im a uni student lol

[muon*]

Choose speakers you like that sound good to you, then amplification to suit those speakers.

 

At least that is the best way to approach this situation.

[Cloth Ears]

30 minutes ago, muon* said:

Choose speakers you like that sound good to you, then amplification to suit those speakers.

 

At least that is the best way to approach this situation.

I think that's the whole problem in a nutshell - amp first or speakers? In this budget range, a SS integrated amp is the only think that might squeak in (in the $200-$400 range we're looking at), which leaves roughly the $200-$400 range for the speakers. Unless you already know your speakers (and I don't think Ollie does - or he wouldn't be asking) then you'd be taking pot luck buying a pair. And "sound good to you" is a luxury you can only get when you can audition (not something that can happen much at the moment.

 

Ollie, the reason I suggested the KEFs was that they would sound good and an amplifier is not required - but if $600 really is the upper limit, then I might rethink. But, first, you can always (politely) offer a lower figure (and include postage with that) if you really want something.

But, smaller, two-way speakers will probably be best in your budget range. You can probably buy bigger ones, but they won't sound better (probably).

Maybe you could try looking in Gumtree in your local area. I see small system around here all the time. Some are surprisingly priced. And if they don't match your needs, you can probably advertise them again at the same price?

[muon*]

@Cloth Ears

 

My thoughts were along the line of used Focal 706 for around $400 and and something like a NAD 3020 or a low end Sansui like a AU-317 or something around $200.

[Cloth Ears]

6 minutes ago, muon* said:

@Cloth Ears

 

My thoughts were along the line of used Focal 706 for around $400 and and something like a NAD 3020 or a low end Sansui like a AU-317 or something around $200.

I would certainly recommend that set-up if you can get it. The focal would be good and the NAD would certainly work as a starting point (and they never go down in value!) Any of the Sansuis from the 70's or early 80's are a good bet also. And not to mention a couple of other integrated manufacturers - AMC and Proton.

 

[bjs]

Mate, I had Audioengine active speakers for a while and they were really good. You would be looking at their second from top range new or their top range second hand. I think they sound pretty good and are pretty easy to setup too.

[Frank Prowse Hi-Fi]

4 hours ago, wen said:

I'll second the monitor audio bronze 2, i have the bx2, neutral sounding and they have great bass for their size, front ported which makes it less fussy with room placement, even new good value if you can get a great deal

The new Bronze series is out so there may be some deals out there if anybody has some stock (we dont!).
 

 

 

 

[PauliD]

Hey I thought I'd chime in as I am currently running some Fluid F5's in my lockdown work desk setup. I picked up a Yamaha SW315 second hand for $100 and it has really made for a fun setup (Schitt Modi 2 into Elekit preamp). I am listening near field but the extra body the sub brings even with its low power is smile inducing. My main setup is Kef Q900, Sunfire HRS 12, CXA80 and CXN has more micro detail, bigger sound stage and can go loader, this little setup is great. So maybe dig through gumtree or the classifieds here for a cheap sub to add in the meantime? Just an idea and good luck.

[Ollie_H_]

4 minutes ago, PauliD said:

Hey I thought I'd chime in as I am currently running some Fluid F5's in my lockdown work desk setup. I picked up a Yamaha SW315 second hand for $100 and it has really made for a fun setup (Schitt Modi 2 into Elekit preamp). I am listening near field but the extra body the sub brings even with its low power is smile inducing. My main setup is Kef Q900, Sunfire HRS 12, CXA80 and CXN has more micro detail, bigger sound stage and can go loader, this little setup is great. So maybe dig through gumtree or the classifieds here for a cheap sub to add in the meantime? Just an idea and good luck.

yeah my mate has a sub he bought for 180 bucks that hes gna sell me for mates rates. was gna add that in once i get an amp. :)) cheers for the insight 

[Al.M]

21 hours ago, muon* said:

@Cloth Ears

 

My thoughts were along the line of used Focal 706 for around $400 and and something like a NAD 3020 or a low end Sansui like a AU-317 or something around $200.

I’ve seen older model Monitor Audio Bronz for as low as $100-200 and the legendary NAD 3020 for $60-250 if you are quick off the mark, although only 20w on paper it behaves like a 50w and go down to 2 ohm speaker load so drives nearly anything. The current Perth Gumtree Focal 705 for $200 is good. Others to lookout for are Wharfedale Diamond series ($50-150)  in particular the early Kevlar woofer version that Ken Kessler the famous audio reviewer recon it’s was as good as another legendary Ls3/5a design.

 

Its possible to put together a beer budget bang for buck used audiophile system for under $200 if patient and some luck, resulting in head turning good midrange, speed, punchy and musicality at the loss of some refinement vs spending more.