Speakers £500 - £1,000

Hi,
I have an old DPA pre and power, enlightenment cd with dac and would like to know what speakers in the £500 - £1,000 range would compliment this set up. Second hand or ex-dem probably. Any thoughts?
Thanks, Steve.

 

I think a pair of Audio Physics would be well worth tracking down. JM Labs Micro Utopia (the old version) can be bought for £1200 if you really look hard.
Other than that Jamo Concert 8 are great.
There's loads of choice but what sort of sound are you looking for and how much space do you have?
Tim

 

Hi Steve and welcome to the forum.

A couple of questions which should help people better come up with ideas....

What speakers do you currently use and where are you looking to improve upon?

Room size?

What do you listen to, and what's important to you in the playback?

MO

 

The info I should've mentioned before!

Room size - 12' x 27', wooden floor. Music - most kinds but less classical than rock/jazz. I have an old pair of Tannoy mercury Mk2's on stands at the moment (from a previous system). The new speakers will probably need to be placed fairly close to a wall. As far as type of sound it's difficult without actually hearing what different speakers have to offer but transparency and well defined bass are important. Also, nothing too bright. I've been out of the hi-fi loop for a while so don't know what's around.
Thanks for the replies. Steve.

 

A pair of S/H Revel M22's would be a nice choice, plenty of power and lovely smooth detailed sound without any harshness. They're about £1800 new so you should get them within your budget.
They have a switch which reduces the amount of air pushed out of the rear port if you need to have them close to a wall or even wall mounted.

 

Thanks Knightshade, I'll check them out.

 

I recommend sonus faber signums if you can find a pair with original stands.

jack

 

Try the new small quads ....the old ones were good these are supposed to be better .....

they do suit the smaller room and are rather wife or partner freindly

 

oh ....two odd ball speakers heard at the last heathrow show

Aurousal stand mount full range ali driver ....at about £500 well worth the effort to listen to
www.Aurousal.com

Revolver AVF....will sit tight against a wall its got room positioning optimisation ....which are frequecy adjustors? stunning sound from a small floorstander
www.revolveraudio.co.uk

 

Those single driver speakers look interesting... No phase problems or crossover distortion.

 

Also Totem should be on the list, the little standmount is an excellent performer.

 

These are great speakers and work great next to back wall. Theres an ex-dem pair at audiologica (£1000 on website) but which they have tried to sell on ebay recently with start bid of £799, so if still available could be a real steal.

Only possible caveat would be the synergy with your DPA amp (which I know nothing about) - they take plenty of driving to get the best out of them.

 

Appreciate the suggestions, getting the bug again!
I'm watching the Revel M22's, Aurousal stand mounts look interesting especially considering the price, sonus faber signums (cheapest found so far £3,000! - quick search). Any thoughts on the cheaper Proacs - 125/130 or Living Voice Auditorium - pair sold for £600 on ebay?

 

There is a review of the 125\130 on the forum here, saw it recently. T

 

Are you sure they were Signums and not the Cremonas? You should get hold of a pair of Signums and Stands for around £900 - £1000 I believe. They are excellent sounding things (imho)!

Jack

 

You're right JackOTrades, the Signums are in budget. Got them confused with something else! They're on the shortlist.

 

Hi steve18 I have some Totem Arros for sale on the forum which might be of interest (especially at half price!)

https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=16072&highlight=totem

 

Secondhand pair of Yamha NS-1000Ms. Nothing new can touch them for anything remotely like the price. Hold out for a good condition pair and don't pay over the odds. If you don't like them, just sell them on.
I'd be interested to hear how they match with the excellent DPA kit

 

Agree, there's some other good gear from that era as well.

You may be surprised how good it sounds with modern sources/amps. Also, low-frequency reproduction in the last 20 years has advanced less than the manufacturer's would try to lead us to believe.

 

Myrman, thanks for the offer but I've bought a pair of AVI Biggatrons on ebay for now after I was outbid on some Dynaudio audience 52se! I've made a note of all suggestions and will check them out later in the year when I feel the need to upgrade. Thanks for all the info.