Who will help me?

[woltersen]

Well first of all: Hi!
I'm a beginning audio enthousiast of 16 years old and I'm putting together my first set. I recentley bought a Yamaha AX-396 amplifier (stereo) and now I need to buy a set of speakers. Now heres where I need your help, I have absolutely no clue what to look for and the people that help you in the shops don't seem to take 16 year olds very seriously... Anyway I like listening to rock music, mostly alternative rock like Coldplay, Travis, Radiohead but allso Queens of the Stone Age. As far as the budget goed, after buying the amp H have about 250 euros left. Of course I went to have a look in the shops myself and I found some Infinity's. They were infinity reference 71 MK 2 speakers and they cost 99 euro's a piece. So if you can give me any advice on what to be looking for, I'd really apreciate it. Allso I know my budget isnt very high, but hey! neither is the pay at my local supermarket :p
Awaiting you answers,
Wouter Kruithof (the Netherlands)

[thepogue]

like what type of speakers are avalible in your area? and size of you room...?

[skeptic]

Heaven help me for adding to the world's burden of noise pollution and contributing to the delinquincy of a minor but the truth is that there is a product line made just for you. It's called Cerwin Vega. It is not accurate and not what any audiophile would call high fidelity. Look for a used pair on e-bay or elsewhere. A pair of 12" or 15" three way speakers should be within your budget. It will undoubtedly result in you getting thrown out of wherever you live even if it is your parent's home. (I can't believe I'm being so irresponsible as to do this.)

[Woochifer]

Heaven help me for adding to the world's burden of noise pollution and contributing to the delinquincy of a minor but the truth is that there is a product line made just for you. It's called Cerwin Vega. It is not accurate and not what any audiophile would call high fidelity. Look for a used pair on e-bay or elsewhere. A pair of 12" or 15" three way speakers should be within your budget. It will undoubtedly result in you getting thrown out of wherever you live even if it is your parent's home. (I can't believe I'm being so irresponsible as to do this.)

I would hope that's a thick veil of sarcasm in that recommendation! The CV E-series speakers (which are the ones that have the 12" and 15" drivers) are ill suited for alternative rock like Coldplay or Radiohead. If anything, the CVs work much better with rock music recorded before the 1980s, since they're basically the last remaining throwback to the old West Coast sound exemplified by the vintage JBL L-series models. Modern recordings have much more dynamic range, and the CVs are better suited to boosting the bass and highs with older analog sources than trying the same thing with newer digital recordings that already emphasize the midbass and highs. If anything, even a pair of B&Ws will blast out most alternative rock recordings with the aggression appropriate for the music, but with much better resolution in the midrange (and even with alternative, most of the sounds remain with the vocals and the guitars).

[DPM]

I don't know if these brands are available in your country, but if they are, you should check out speakers from B & W, Paradigm, PSB, and Energy. I believe all of these companies have speakers available at the price point you mention.

Dave M

[woltersen]

sry bout that reply, I pressed the wrong button. O course Ive been looking around in some shops and there were two brands that were affordable. Firts there was the Infinity reference 71 MK 2 that cost 99 euros )the 31 and 41 are allso available at 49 and 69 euros) and there was the audiopro stage 66 now Ive never heard of audiopro so I was wondering if any of you has...
DPM, the only brand thats available here (that ive seen) is BW and they are all very expensive (I mean like 500 euros or more).
About the size of my room, I have a bedroom in the space underneath the roof (dont know the word :) ) It has giagonal walls if you know what i mean like this:

/\
| |
someyhing like that anyway, the room itself is quite big for a bedroom.
Te shape is rectangular. Id ay that the part of my walls that goes upwards is about 1 meter after that they start to go diagonal towards esch other (like in the pic). I hope Ive given enough info if not pls ask for more.
Wouter

[Geoffcin]

sry bout that reply, I pressed the wrong button. O course Ive been looking around in some shops and there were two brands that were affordable. Firts there was the Infinity reference 71 MK 2 that cost 99 euros )the 31 and 41 are allso available at 49 and 69 euros) and there was the audiopro stage 66 now Ive never heard of audiopro so I was wondering if any of you has...
DPM, the only brand thats available here (that ive seen) is BW and they are all very expensive (I mean like 500 euros or more).
About the size of my room, I have a bedroom in the space underneath the roof (dont know the word :) ) It has giagonal walls if you know what i mean like this:

/\
| |
someyhing like that anyway, the room itself is quite big for a bedroom.
Te shape is rectangular. Id ay that the part of my walls that goes upwards is about 1 meter after that they start to go diagonal towards esch other (like in the pic). I hope Ive given enough info if not pls ask for more.
Wouter

Cambridge Soundworks M80. You can get them online from the manufacturer on Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3066743388&category=14991

This speaker is a classic 3-way. They have a great warm sound, and very low distortion. They also look great too! I'm probably going to pick up a pair myself for my office, or to move into my HT setup, as I've got an idea to use my S300's with my computer sound system.

[RGA]

Go to your local book store and try and find the magazine Hi-Fi CHoice or What Hi-Fi.

B&W's DM 303 list at 179.00Pounds for both. This is probably the best bet at playing all forms of music well at this price range. The Mission M71 is a bit smoother in the highs but a little laid back for rock. Wharfedale's Diamond 8.2 is pretty good here too but tougher to drive and not quite as open sounding. The North American speakers typically are overpriced in Europe and rarely compete in these lower price ranges.

Old Infinity was dreadful, new Infinity...well if it sounds like typical Harman they're best avoided like the plague IMO. But indeed, buy what moves you.

Hi-fi choice uses a listening panel - blind, level matched as is possible etc. They are not always right because it is a preference in the end. Here is a review of the 303 and a few other Infinity speakers - that particular Infinity you're looking at is not on their site but may in fact be in the magazine...can't give all their reviews away for free after all.
The B&W 602S3 is $300.00 and would be my first choice if you can get it a bit cheaper...a bigger bolder sound. But the 303 can fill a bedroom very well.

The 303
http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=1387
The 602S3
http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=2451

Infinity
http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=2646
http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=1953
http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=471

Tannoy makes a cheaper floorstander and standmount that may be your cup of tea. I have not heard them but http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=2453 http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=773

They may not be the best suited for rock but you never know until you try it out.

Lastly the Mission M73 is a huge favorite as a budget floorstander and for the money truly is one of the best and one of the only sub 1kCDN floorstanders that I can eve remotely stomach listening to. 199pounds a pair if you can find them are certainly worth the time.

The standmounts all require you to buy stands - the floorstander won't. And while you lose a bit of speed and delicacy in the midrange and while most floorstanders create obnoxious box resonance the M73 is perhaps the best behaved of the lot and may offer more of a full scale sound than some of the others. (A lot better than the newer M50 series which has copied a lot of the metal tweeter north American sound and ruined their speaker IMO). http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=1198

Lot of good starts here...