Quite impressed really...

I've just given my brother a pair of TDL Nucleus 2 standmount speakers (richer sounds cheapy), and I have to say I'm pretty damn impressed, especially for the money. The cabinet feels sturdy, and all the edges are nicely radiused, with the vinyl wrap also covering the front, making them look a little more passable than most cheap standmounts with the grilles off. At the back there are some quite hefty twin binding posts (yup, you can biwire them).

They sound pretty good too. My brother's system is pretty modest (Pioneer PDS-801 CD player (about 10 years old), Pioneer A103 amp (my first amp, not a bad sound for the money, but power is.... limited)), but these really lifted the sound compared to the mission 731s he was using (borrowed) before. They're satisfyingly full (but not overblown) in the bass for their size and cost. At the moment a little slow, but they're right out of the box, so with a good few hours running in they should loosen up and speed up somewhat.

They're not going to make me put the meadowlarks up for sale, but if you're after a cheap pair of speakers for a second system or something they're very well worth checking out at the price!

 

Speaking of good cheap speakers, I've discovered some crackers lately. For instance, the £200 (I believe) Mordaunt-Short 902 Signatures. Great standmounts for the money - very dynamic and detailed, and with a decent hifi amp, they sound pretty enjoyable.

One I discovered today at the Scottish Hifi & Home Cinema Show here in Edinburgh was the JM Lab Chorus 714, which is a £400 floorstander that sounded absolutely superb for the money. Of course, it was mated with several grand's worth of Moon electronics, but still... Had a lovely, natural balance, good bass, good midband, good treble, good looks, nice & dynamic - really did everything right. Very impressive. (And this was right after listening to some mega-big, mega-expensive, and mega-delicious Dali Euphonias, so it was doubly impressive that the wee £400 JM Labs would sound good after that...)

Tying it in to some of the other threads on old vs. new equipment, I think the one area that is constantly making real and tangible improvements over older kit is the budget stuff. There's a lot of surprisingly good kit available for not much money (especially if you're willing to buy a model from a year or two ago!)

Dunc

 

I also have the Mordausnt Short Declaration 902 signatures. At first i was a bit reserved but after a good long running in they have blossomed to become a fantastic sound. The detail is impressive and voices sound rich and sublime. Solidly built and sturdy posts for bi wire. They did struggle a little when there are a lot of instruments playing at once and the sound can be a little jumbled but time has sorted this out.

But overall they look the mutts nuts and sound great coupled with a nad c350 amp and marantz cd600 ose le. via qed silver ann bi wire.

They get my vote