Ongoing Speaker Saga

Ok before i start i apologise for the likely length of this post

I am currently living in university halls and so could not accomodate my wharfedale pacific pi-30 speakers i was using at home, so have reverted to the pi-10's i was using as rears in my AV system as main speakers for my hifi. However, next year i will be living in a house, and so will be able to use my AV setup once again, this time though i intend the AV and hifi to be totally seperate, meaning my hifi will be without speakers

Knowing this i auditioned a few speakers in the £300ish range and chose the Kef Q1 as the sound i liked best from Quad 11L, MA Bronze B2 and MS902sigs. I decided to wait until August to buy them as they may have gone down in price though and my Wharfedale's are plenty fine for now!

HOWEVER, i have had another re-think and the way i see it i have two options which are:

1. Buy a new pair of speakers for hifi (floorstand or standmount) and use the pacific cinema set for the AV

OR

2. Buy a cheap AV speaker packaage (Wharfedale diamond 8 series £150 ex dem?) and use the Pacific 30's back as the hifi speakers.

I am more inclined to go for the first option but would also like to know about the benefits of bi-amping. I really want to try out the Celestion A1's but with 4ohm impedence am i right in thinking my Arcam A65plus will struggle to drive them (its only 40wpc). If i was to say get a p75plus power amp and biamp i am presuming this would solve the problem (and add to the cost ).

And last question (i promise), what benefits do you think adding the p75plus power amp will have when driving my pacific 30's? I am intrigued to know whether the difference will be worth the £300 it will cost for the amp.

Once again i apologise for the length of the post and all the questions, hope you can be of some help

 

Are pacific 30s the ones with the tweeter mounted in a pod above the cabinet? I'm running an A&R A60, and I've got one a stand alone integrated, and another with a matching power amp. The benefits of using the power amp are a more focused sound, transient bass notes are sustained without trouble for longer and the sound generally seems more controlled. Note: it does not make it any louder.

 

Yes they have the tweeter on top of the cabinet, much like the more expensive B&W models. I have been offered a P75+ power amp for £270 from my local dealer and am really toying with the idea. I have to say the prospect of keeping the Pacific 30's is starting to appeal to me. I have only really used them in AV use but the few times i heard them through the hifi i was impressed. Does anyone else have any expereince of using the Arcam A65+/P75+ combo? Cheers

 

I heard an Alpha 9 (I think; it was definitely an alpha amp at about £400) on its own, and then with its matching power amp, this is a bit more similiar to the amps your talking about. It was a nice improvement but personally I'd prefer to spend the money on sources; unless you've got good sources already. I'm facing either saving for a new CDP or a Power Amp for my TAG McLaren integrated, and it seems the money would be better spent on the CDP. It depends what part of your system needs the funds the most. It sounds like this is actually speakers in your case. Why not get the best speakers you can afford for your hifi (assuming 2 channel is your priority, and you can use you "left-overs" for home cinema), and wait until you can get a power amp at a later date.

 

Just noticed you live in Plymouth...good to see I'm not the only young person with a decent hifi in this city...

 

Hi thanks for your help. My source is a Nad c541i but i am reluctant to change that, ive only had it for just over a year. I think new speakers are really whats needed. Any suggestions for around £400 (standmount or floorstanders) would be welcome. Mostly listen to rock music. As for living in Plymouth, i think i am the only person in student halls who actually understands what a good hifi is! The usual comments of "well it goes loud" are about as complimentary as it gets

 

You should be able to get some Tannoy Revolution R3s for that or less, which would be nice...

 

Nice, but probably not enough of an improvement on the Wharfedales to be really worthwhile IMO - the Pacifics were really pretty decent (although they're in the unfortunate position of being the one speaker range uglier than the Mission M5's )