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Xytech
08-09-2011, 07:52 AM
Hi All,

I am trying to decide on a speaker upgrade and any advice would be useful. To give you an idea of my present situation, I am using a fairly decent Pioneer amp (VSX-520K), with not so decent speakers… (Dream acoustics, aprox $100 off ebay). These speakers have actually been surprisingly decent, but are giving way and I want to upgrade to something good!!

What I am looking for is something that will above all play classical music well. This includes chamber music, symphonies, operas, etc. I have had a look at Axiom m60 and m80 speakers but have not really looked beyond this so far. Any advice therefore, would be useful. A few considerations to guide your thoughts:

-I need 2.0 speakers (no 5.1, and I will probably purchase a sub at some point in the future)
-These speakers are used solely within my (smallish) bedroom
-The volume is consequently not ever ridiculously loud but is always at a decent level
-I don’t really want to upgrade the amp unless absolutely necessary. It is rated at 6 ohm, output per channel 130 watts
-Budget is under $2000 (Australian)
-I would preference floor standing speakers over bookshelves as I have the space and like the sound/size.

The problem with the Axiom m80 is that they seem to want a 4 ohm amp – I am not sure how much of an impediment this is/what would happen if I plugged those speakers into my sub.

Anyway, any advice you could provide would be fantastic.
Many thanks,
Xytech

blackraven
08-09-2011, 08:19 AM
You have a lot of options available. Here's a few to consider- PSB T-6's, Monitor Audio RX-6's or RS6's if you can find them. I'm sure others will chime in and give you some suggestions.

RGA
08-09-2011, 11:16 AM
In a smaller room have a look at the Audio Note AX Two floorstanding speaker.

Check out this month's issue of Hi-Fi Choice where they review an entire AZ Two stereo system. The speakers are $1300 GBP. So I don't know how that converts but it may be about par in the U.S. Difficult to find however - but they're very good - they are full range and measured down to below 30hz and have an excellent midband and treble - All they're speakers are geared for classical - they just happen to do everything else well as well.

But do try to listen to speakers before you buy them - there are so many reviews. If you must buy unheard try and look at speakers that have somewhat wide spread acceptance from different parts of the world. If 8 magazines all like the sound of them then you may have something but if it is only 1-2 reviewers that really love them enough to buy them and others are very luke-warm then you never know.

My advice for any gear is
1) listen for yourself
2) if one can't be followed then read reviews closely - try and get a consensus from as many different reviewers as possible
3) good reviews are good - but did the reviewer also buy it.
4) assign a weight to them. If the reviewer listens mainly to the music you listen to get a sense of what they like - in other words if they listen mostly or strictly to classical music and so do you then they are speaking more to your sensibilities and preferences. So if that reviewer raves about speaker ABC and he listens to classical then maybe you give a weight of 5 to that review. If I like a speaker and I listen to all forms of music but maybe only 30% to classical then my review may only warrant a weight of 2. Someone who clearly listens to techno and rap or is clearly more interested in home theater may like FGH so you give it a weight of 1.

Then after you have done that for say 5 different speakers in your price range - add up the weighting and you may very well see one speaker taking a very commanding lead - in which case you are playing the probabilities a little better. And you don't really have to have the exact same model number - the Axiom line has a similar voice so if you see a Hi-Fi Choice review of a standmount in the line and an Absolute Sound review of the floorstander - it's ok to count them since they will sound very similar.

Don't be concerned with the looks or numbers of drivers - there are lots of ways to get deep commanding bass and IMO the best ones tend to be two way designs. The AX Two I mentioned is a two way floorstanding box but has excellent bass depth well below 30hz and because there are less drivers the sound will be more uniform as an instrument like a cello passes from one driver to the next.

In less expensive speakers lots of woofers is usually always problematic - it's almost never done well even in very expensive models. Though these kinds of speakers can generally play a lot louder - I find that advantage is moot in most average sized listening rooms. Kind of like a camera with 16 megapixels - that's all fine but if the camera with 6megapixels has a much higher quality lens it will take far better pictures.

Enochrome
08-09-2011, 06:47 PM
I agree with the Monitor Audio picks. I believe the RS6's got a an outstanding review in Stereophile. Why not look at the Totem line, in particularly the Arro, of floorstanding speakers. They are not known to reach down low, but with rest of the frequency range they are highly regarded and are always purchased quickly on Audiogon (which says something about their reputation).

Poultrygeist
08-11-2011, 04:02 AM
I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Axioms. I have a pair of Algonquins ( outdoor M3's ) which are excellent. Since it only has a filter for a crossover, the driver is allowed to run full range, a huge advantage is delivering a wonderful midrange.

"The midrange is where we live" - Paul Klipsh

RGA
08-12-2011, 05:44 PM
Someone provided me a link of the Hi-Fi Choice review of the AN AZ Two speakers - Audio Note Zero System review from TechRadar UK's expert reviews of Audio systems (http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/audio-systems/audio-note-zero-system-963545/review)

It has two pages at bottom you need to click page 2