New (used) speaks for bedroom

[topspeed]

Our new bedroom set finally arrived and my acoustically beautiful but aesthetically challenged black Mission Argonauts look hideous beside our new cherry armoire. I mentioned how great our surround B&W CDM 1NT's (red cherry) would look and would you believe the wife actually told me to go buy a pair! She's a keeper, you betcha! Unfortunately, they are out of production and finding a pair is proving to be quite a challenge. So...

I'm looking for a nice pair of standmounts to fill a 15' x 16' room powered by a Marantz 2230. Not a ton of power but I don't crank it in the br anyway. They don't have to be the last word in music reproduction because I do all of my serious listening on the main system however I do want to sound good. I lean towards a "british" sound and want to spend around $600 (including stands if possible, but not necessarily). Finally, they have to be available in a dark cherry or complementary finish. Remeber, it has to match the new furniture.

I found these at Audiogon and wondered if any of you have heard them?
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.p...673&class&3&4&
I've heard Platinum's floorstanders (model?) and came away impressed by their clarity although I've never heard this model.

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.p...612&class&3&4&
I've never heard the Von schweikert but have read rave reviews and we all know how reliable those are. Any real world assessments?

I'm in a pretty remote area so I'll be driving at least 2 1/2 hours to demo either speaker at a dealer but I wanted to get your opinions and/or suggestions first.

Thanks in advance

[RGA]

Hmm...does not the 303 or 602S3 fit this bill? Or do you just want to try something a bit different than always B&W? Can't blame you - may as well go with soemthing a bit different to keep yourself amused.

Go with something of a different design perhaps. Non metal tweeter non slim line design. Why not have a different kind of presentation? People seem to like those Magnepans? fit your budget? I know not an aesthetic match but you get the idea.

[topspeed]

I never considered the "different" aspect of my search but I now that I think about it, you're right. I'm very happy with my B&W' s but for the BR it'd be nice to go another direction. The Maggies need to be too far from the wall and I sincerely doubt my old Marantz is up to the task of their notorious load challenges. Some MMG's sound fun but there's simply no way. I refuse to get caught up in the upgrade-hell where new speaks demand new amps and onandonandon. RGA you've heard a ton of product, have you encountered the Von schweikert's? Any other suggestions?

Thanks
top

[F1]

.... They don't have to be the last word in music reproduction because I do all of my serious listening on the main system however I do want to sound good. I lean towards a "british" sound and want to spend around $600 (including stands if possible, but not necessarily). Finally, they have to be available in a dark cherry or complementary finish. Remeber, it has to match the new furniture.
...

What about Wharfedale Evo
http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/evolution.htm


or JMlab Chorus
http://www.audioplusservices.com/frame.html


or Monitor Audio GR10
http://www.monitoraudio.com/products...ference_10.htm


Or good luck in finding CDM-1NT.

[46minaudio]

Here you go..Maple wood veneer with that British sound.Asprit 300c.These can be bought on ebay for $200 plus $15 shipping new from dealer.
http://www.acoustic-energy.co.uk/pro...dspeakers.html

Another is av123.com.These are also made with a wood veneer.From reading forums these apear to have the laid back sound.
http://www.av123.com/products_catego...eakers&brand=3

[bmw-k]

I will second the Wharfedale EVO10's for the bedroom. To my ears, they sound 90% as good as their larger floor-stander designs. Fantastic clarity and response from about 80hz up. Below that, they tend to get a little muddy. Personally, I think their German Silk-dome tweeters may be one of the best. In my Vivaldi 4-seasons testing, the Wharfedale offerings had the best clarity and detail for Violins and Harpsichord.

For the Br, I think they woud do damn well. On top of it, their wood finished are quite lovely...

[RGA]

It's nice to see good ol Wharfedale getting some more chatter and certainly they're an option.

I have not heard any but the new diamond series which were good and they're the entry level line.

They do have a soft dome tweeter s hey right there they're going to sound tonally different. You could try som Linn Kans or maybe Katan.

And naturally if Audio Note is in your area I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the Absolute Zero one or two (AZ Two). http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/a...ero_system.htm
http://www.fsaudioweb.com/reviews/au...ro_iaudio.html

And of course the Mission M70 line, Quads(both are Wharfedale's sister companies).

Some wharfedales are a bit tough to drive so be cautious of what you choose.

[topspeed]

Does anyone know what the price range of the JM Lab's or Warfi's is? Hopefully they are in the $600 range I want.

I haven't heard Linn speaks in a looong time but bought my Missions over the Helix which at the time used a horn loaded tweeter. I do remember that was a very tough call as it was a terrific speaker, especially when driven by a Counterpoint front end (anybody else remember them?) Cool hybrid ss/tube stuff. Apparently not cool enough tho

Thanks for the suggestions and keep 'em coming. I've never shopped in the price range so I really have no idea what's available unfortunately.

[F1]

... Does anyone know what the price range of the JM Lab's or Warfi's is? Hopefully they are in the $600 range I want.
.

Last time my friend bought Chorus 706 (not the newer S version) for Singapore $450, which is equivalent to USD 265. I bought my Cobalt 806 (also not S version) for about equivalent to USD 600 on discount. Big improvement over 706, like a veil is removed from the speaker. The new 806S is under USD 800. I think the US price is higher, but not sure by how much. Yea.. I bought Marantz SR7300 for under USD 600...

[topspeed]

That's a serious discount F1, where'd you get them? I actually found a dealer 30 minutes away that carries both VSA and JM Lab but doesn't have the new Chorus 706S in yet. He also allows in-home demos so I'm excited about that. My first set of speakers were Warfi's so I'll look into them. After more research, I also ran across the Epos m12. Glowing reviews again but I'm looking for real world assessments. Any takers?

Thanks again.

[thepogue]

the linn's I heard last week seemed over-priced for the speaks...pretty laid back. The Von Stewben's (you know what I mean) were quite nice but the B&W's I heard next blew them away the 805's. In fact I liked the 805 better then the linn 10k speakers...of course the salon owner told me me ears were broken...but I'm not surprised....the shop was very lonely...I'm a nOrh owner and I'd highly recommend them for a BR sys. great sound stage and the 3.0 are cheap cheap cheap!! and purddy too!! good luck!

[F1]

That's a serious discount F1, where'd you get them? .

Well, too bad you have to cross Pacific ocean to get them. Except my Cobalt 806, the rest of the prices I mentioned are considered normal price in Singapore.
Good luck.