best standmount speaker for £150

Following a long discussion with bottleneck and others, i have finally decided to look out for 3 amps :
-Denson Beat B100
-Naim NAC12s + NAP160 power amp
-UNICO RESEARCH amp
(thanks to bottleneck)

now comes the tough choice on speakers
we came to conclusion that floormount wouldn't sound good in my room

because of those amps, which are all around 300 quid, my budget is limited to strictly under 200 quid, and prefer under the £150 margin. (only between 150 and 200 if its a beast)
checked a couple out, couldn't decided and havn't got the knoledge.
therefor i turn to the public in a new thread.

can anyone name me good speakers for £150ish?
i have found some Acoustic Energy Aesprit 301 (not really standmount i think) for £39.99... bargain? (used in show rooms)

i am off to france now, i will have a look at this thread in 2 days.
thanks (don't disapoint me i am very happy with this forum up to now)

 

if you didn't mind buying s/h and you wanted an absolute bargain, and would work well in small rooms, you could of had these:-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14993&item=5790489610&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

other than that, what about some original rega elas? floorstanders again, but superb to boot.

 

na i do mind buying floorstanders, as the room is too small for them... besides they are dearer

 

neither of these are too twee, and I know you like your bass..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14991&item=5791135788&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14991&item=5791654037&rd=1

 

nb I feel a bit guilty about reccomending the Unison Research Unico. It would sound great, but it has a valve in it, and the amplifier is mosfet.

This means it gets hot, and should be turned off when not in use. The valve will need changing every few years (probably 3-5), at a cost of less than £20.

If that sounds like a pain in the ass, I'd get the Densen Beat B100 personally. Its a lot of amp for £350.

Something else that occured to me - you could get a Linn Classic. Thats one single box that has a CD player, a radio and an amplifier in it. ''Just add speakers''.

Thats usually a bollocks idea, but Linn are an expensive make so it would be pretty decent. I see them on ebay for £350-£400 ish. If you live with a woman she would think it looks great.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4787&item=5792559505&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

 

if you can find some, QLN Qubic 111s go with Densen Beat 100s like bread and Flora. Erm, thats quite well. Astounding little speakers, but afaik only sold by one retailer in the UK and that was a fair few years back.

Acoustic Energy AE300s pump out really quite a lot of bass from 40cm tall standmount enclosures, as do Mordaunt Short MS30i Classics.

Those Densen amps are great...i'd have that one out of the 3 like a shot

 

who's seen these... an original pair of Maxims! wow!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14991&item=5792939821&rd=1

 

I didn't follow your original thread on this, but some thoughts:

The third on your list is actually a Unison Research Unico, of which there are several variants. If you can source one for £300 you'd get the audio bargain of the century. As mentioned above, these are hybrid designs, but don't let that bother you (they warm up quickly, the valves will last for years [they're in the pre not the power] and are easy and cheap to replace when required). To my ears this amp is demonstrably superior to all the others, primarily musically but you should also consider other factors, eg. it will drive most speakers comfortably, much more so than the Naim. It will be much newer than the Naim and probably more reliable. It also has remote control, which neither of the others do. £300 is very low for one of these, but there is one on epay that may be worth a punt (no, not mine!)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3280&item=5792045639&rd=1

As to the Naim gear, well the combination mentioned will be very old (a minimum of almost 20 years for the 160 and 25 years for the 12s). So, you'll have to get serviced ones (pass them by if they've not been serviced). Obviously not remote contolled (this is obviously of no sonic benefit, but important to many). Naim kit can be good, but don't get sucked in to the Naim legend. It's all very quirky stuff (DIN connections on the pre; pre taking power from the power amp; special consideration to speaker cable and length blah, blah). If you really want to try Naim, then I'd go for a Nait 3 (an integtrated amp).

The Densen is a very good inegrated, with a very individual design. Again, £300 sounds low to me, but if you can get one for that figure then this would be a good choice. The Densen is more pacey than the UR, but not as refined. No remote though.

As to speakers, I'd look out for some Proac Tablettes, early examples of which you sould be able to get for under £150. These will astonish you.

Good luck!

 

I dont really understand this... presumably your going to have the speakers on stands? In which case they'll be just as big as something like Ela's.... (which are superb, btw).

 

Musically the best standmount for my money in that price range would be a secondhand pair of Epos ES-12 or ES11. For good bass and a fairly decent sound would have to agree the B&W 602s (usually a pair on ebay) represent a good deal. Or the 601s if you want something a little smaller.

 

I'd sort the amp out first and then find some speakers that are a good match.

Don't discount buying s/h or ex-demo from a dealer, this time of year there are some 'bargains' to be had. I've just picked up some cosmetically perfect KEF Q15's for a kitchen system for £50 from a local dealer, retail at £200.

BTW I'd disagree about LinearMans comments about old NAim amps need a service, I had a 17 year old pre-power that sounded great from day 1 to the day I sold them, never serviced, although I concede that servicing 'may' make them sound better, it isn't a mandatory requirement. I would agree though that maybe a newer NAIT3 should be on your shopping list if you are considering Naim. But also you should budget for some NACA5 speaker cable if you buy Naim, readily available s/h but not much discount over new.

Mr Perceptive

 

Try some b&w 601's or 602's they have a wobbly bass, it might not bother you. go to a dealer and try the latest models as they sound the same as the the 601'2 602'2 IMO, then look on ebay

 

Royd,s!

 

according to some, floormount sound bad in a small room (room is no problem at all, its the area)

 

will that i mean i actually have a limited time to listen to my music? if so how many hours? i usually listen between 1-3 hours of music (3 being at the most)

 

Hi Roy,

A good analogy would be to pretend that the amplifier has a lightbulb in it. The bulb (or valve) will burn out after so many years. A replacement will be somewhere between £8 and £20, and you will have to open the amp to change it. It will just plug in, just like a lightbulb.

You know when they are soon to go, because the amp will start sounding bad. It does no harm to let it go pop before its changed.

It is definately less fit and forget than a densen though, which doesnt have any valves.

Chris

 

There are plenty of floorstanders that are quite slender of appearance and will sound great in a small room, even against a wall. The Mission 773e would be a very good example and should be available for very little money now. £400 when new, Richer's were knocking them out at £199 when they were discontinued. You should easily get a good pair for £100 - £150. Great speakers. Mission M53 would be good too.

I echo whoever said B&W 601/602 are not great in the bass. I wasn't impressed either. Their treble is a little insistent too and will show up a poor source.

 

thx guys. boat to catch. keep posting suggestions please,and links

 

hmmm personally for some reason I cannot fathom, naim amps sound most engaging to my ears.

I have said this b4, but I know a thing or 2 about solid state (and valve amp) topoligies, and i thought the naim would be totally different, have some magic...its very normal, too normal, no tricks at all.

puzzling, it sounds so much better than a lot of amps.

naim my pic

anyway speakers...?

cultish ones for these

regas kytes are fab but little bass.

I would go for hi quality, not really mass production, so that means proacs, harbeths, if you can get em for the cash,

qln yes,
spicas,
curas,
epos',
I like b/w 601s,

perhaps even wharfdale 8.1 they have had good write ups, not heard myself, I suspect herr kessler was using hyperbole.

dynaudio cheapers s/h you may get audience 40, perhaps pmc

 

what is a price for second hand 602,s u guys would pay§ (sorry french keyboard) also no more suggestions?