Thanks AlexP,
I appreciate the varied list of options. It’s going to take a while to go through them all properly. But I notice your suggestions include both standmounts and floorstanders, and if we assume everything else is equal – say ease of placement, non-rear ported (if possible) etc., do you feel I should favour a floorstander or a standmount in this space? A part of me still likes the idea of say the Proac Tablette 10 Signature, but wondering if it’s legit in this amount of space to be on the shortlist? I really don’t want to listen to more than 3 or 4 speakers to make up my mind.
Best regards,
Sorabji
With a limited budget I’d certainly advise secondhand. Amps go on forever, though might need recapping after a while (IIUC Naim recommend 10 years, some brands still performing as original after 20 years and more without a service.
I bought my first amp (kit form) new, and the next one new, thereafter only secondhand. Speakers the same - with one pair kept for 25 years (then about 40 years old) and still going strong in a friend’s house. But I’ve bought sources new - which is particularly important I think for CD players, as I found after they only last about 10 years (with lots of use) before needing the mechanism repairing/adjusting or replacing, meaning a new unit if service fix no longer available.
In terms of problems, one preamp had an oddity at about 18 years old when playing very loud, the moving coil input I was using going into oscillation on one channel - which wouldn’t have been an issue except that as I was playing very loud, it blew the bass speaker driver on that channel. (A secondhand driver was readily available on eBay at minor cost - actually a pair, so I then had a spare in case ever happened again, which it didn’t.) The only problem with speakers (other than aforementioned and another occasion where incorrect switch-on with amp powered up caused a thump that damaged a midrange unit - again easily replaced), have been: 1) one pair of speakers manufactured in mid 1970s suffered deterioration of the foam surround on its mid drivers After about 15 years - a not uncommon problem with some types of foam, and maybe for that reason went out of popularity for manufacture). I bought a replacement surround kit which I fitted, and they still working well in a son’s system 30 years on. And 2) when using measuring software to check my room response I found the supertweeter in one of a pair of 45 year old speakers was distorting at one frequency, not noticed by me when playing music, but I changed anyway. I recapped those speakers at that same point because it made sense to do so - but didn’t notice any significant improvement! And finally, there is a myth around that new speakers are necessarily better than old ones: it is simply untrue as a generalisation, though of course there are good modern designs - just as there are good old speakers that have lasted well.
The other thing with speakers is that of all components they make the biggest subjective difference to the sound of a system, defining the character of the music you hear, and speakers can sound very different from one another, even at the same price point (including at exalted prices). So you really have to hear the speakers before buying - ideally in your own home if possible, otherwise in a room as similar to yours as possible, or with some speakers you are familiar with as reference, and preferably driven by the same system as you would be using.
Dear Innocent_Bystander,
That certainly provides a good overview and framework to the second hand consideration, thank you. So, generally buying 2nd hand is not as scary as I thought! Though it may present additional hurdles if I wanted to hear them at home before deciding. In any case, once I have a shortlist of 3 or 4 speakers, my aim is to listen to them at home.
The first one on that list will be the Neat Iota Alpha’s (given their apparent synergy with Naim, that may work well as a yardstick). The second speaker is likely to be the KEF R3, because I generally like the sound signature that reviewers all seem to be in agreement about.
I’ve looked up a couple of dealers already, and so far none doing home demos, only shop demos, which kind of defeats the purpose of being able to hear them in my ‘awkward’ space. My main question now is, which speakers are likely work best with the ATOM in my environment? If a specific speaker is likely to work best because of known factors – and it happens to be more than I can afford (£1,600), then second-hand might be the way to go. And I’m even prepared to reposition the speakers away from the wall during my listening sessions (because this seems to be a common requirement for the majority of designs).
Thanks again,
Sorabji
Hi again Sorabji, my Dynaudios are approx 20cm from wall, so bunged up rear ports it does the trick.
Just a thought @Sorabji… think about how and when you will most often play music; speakers that only ‘work’ when repositioned for ‘serious’ listening are unlikely to be popular when playing backgammon, and I wouldn’t want to encourage you to turn a really nice social room into a hifi laboratory!
Hmm, interesting.
Thanks AndyR,
Food for thought.
Cheers,
Sorabi
I suggested both stand mounts and floor-standers to give you options: aesthetic, functional and performance. As concepts, both speaker-types have advantages and disadvantages that are characteristics of the breed. However, these are largely generalisations to which there are exceptions, for example, some stand mounts can produce ‘more bass’ than typical floor standers. My personal preferences based on aesthetics is for smaller speakers to be placed on suitable furniture and for floor standers to have their own space. Some would much rather have a stand mount speaker placed on stands.
One final option, which you will either like or not, the Davone Moxi. - a compact floor standers with an Eames style about it. Admittedly above max budget but worth looking up.
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my Dynaudios are approx 20cm from wall, so bunged up rear ports it does the trick.
I can confirm the same. my dyns are 30 cm from rear wall but one of them has to be 8 cm from side wall (yes, awkward room too there) so that started sounding good only when I put a port plug in that one. PS: My shortlist for upgrade has got Totem Sky’s on it too, they reportedly sound well close to a rear wall, and also reportedly keep up well with Atom PRAT. Haven’t heard them yet though, Amsterdam isn’t really close to Canada.
I adjust in Roon. It enables you to adjust both balance and timing (to compensate from sitting an unequal distance from each speaker). My listening rather dictates speaker placement and I found the timing adjustment made a noticeable difference to sound quality when listen from my preferred position.
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