speakers for my nipper

I'm setting up a first system for my 10 year old son (as he can then support me against my wife whenever I spend more on my own system... ). I've got my old Arcam Delta 60 amp, he can start off with a discman plugged into it, but I need some speakers for under a ton. I can get Diamond 8.2s for that, also Richer have TDL Nucleus 2s for about 50, and you can get various small Mercury MXs around 80. All the cheap deals are mail order and I'm not going to wind up my local dealer auditioning but not buying, so anyone have a view on these? I'll also be 'borrowing' them to hang of my own system for a while while I wait for the new Revel distributor to get sorted out so I can dem the F50s.....

 

Find some secondhand Tannoy 605's. They look interesting and are cracking speakers.

Other than that, the Tannoy MX1 is perfectly passable, apparently pretty much unburstable and particularly system unfussy. Ours here have never complained and they don't get sympathetic usage......

or if you fancy real wood instead (probably not a primary consideration with sticky little fingers.... )

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3076635633&category=14991

The R1's a bit better, but a bit more forward and more system fussy.

Either would be ideal for what you're after.

Cheers

 

Diamond 8.1s

Audiophiles start young these days.

 

Damn lucky 10 year old I say .

 

Thanks for the advice - I've just ordered a pair of MX1s off the web, which should give him something good to drum along to. The boy done good today, scoring 8 goals at his school hockey match (which is clearly down to my genes...), otherwise he might have ended up something very cheap by Eltax from Richer.

 

If you're intending to sponge off them during your old age you have to invest up front...

 

Wharfdale are releasing a new 9 range, sitting just above the 8's. So this could make the 8.1/.2's, which are already considered a bargain take a price cut

MO

 

Shame I'm a bit old to convince my dad of that argument...

 

I started when I was 13...

I bought my brother a pair of TDL nucleus 2s for his birthday. For the size and price, partnered with modest components (parent's old Pioneer PDS-801, my old Pioneer A-103) they're a superb little speaker. More bass weight than you'd expect from the size, and beautifully finished (better than my £300 B&Ws were), again for the price.

Probably not worth spending more on the young 'un yet....

 

Great thread!

I have a similar predicament...

My nephew's 13 in June, and I have:
A&R Cambridge Alpha One (yep, the original from 1985!!)
Sony/Technics cassette decks (if my Nak DR2 arrives OK)
Genexxa (yuk!) tuner - broken bulb, so might not bother)
Toshiba 1988 CDP (perfect working order and tracks my Hits 6, so almost infallible!).

What's the cheapest speakers I can get away with - are those cheapo Aristons any good that Richers do? I don't want to give away my KLH little rears 'cos they're weather proof, and there's no way he's getting my Rega Kytes

I have a rack he can use too!

Since his dad had a total lack of originality in blatanly buying the SAME EXACT stereo as mine in 1991 (and his still works properly, unlike mine when I junked it) I think he should get the seperates just so his dad sees the light. After all, his mum is a music teacher at school, so it's about time she listened to MUSIC, not SOUND at home

 

Speakers for the original Alpha? With all of 30watts and 7.5 amps on tap, then something sensitive is the key, although to be fair it does put up a good fight. Heybrook HB1's worked well on the "Plus" many many years ago, but trying to find a pair of those in good nick and without the foam delapidated is gonna be a struggle. They're a bit big too.

Does he like bass?

JPW P1's, they'll do, bet they're cheap too s/h, they were only 140 quid new forever ago.

Cheers

 

He he he - it was driving (ish) my Epos ES14s for about 8 months in my mate's system. The Audiodrab 8000A is in there now again, so that does a bit of a better job...

Well, Chris (my nephew) probably DOES like bass, but the little £30 Venturer (or some other such plastic dreck) boombox he has doesn't have any. His dad's Sony D305 has midi bass, so that's bloom and doom. I'll have a hunt round the second hand places in town and see what there is

I think BTW that the Alpha drove the Epos' due to their 8ohms and reasonably unreactive load. They didn't do dynamics though My NAIT would die trying to drive them I reckon!!!!

 

I've got two kids aged 1.5 and 3.5 years. They absolutely love my speakers and come running down every time we play some music.

They have to put up with a ghetto blaster in their room though. Their room is well down the hi-fi pecking order though, after my office, my wife's and my bedroom and the kitchen.

As for sponging off them in my old age... brilliant idea, and one which, I'm ashamed to say, I haven't yet given the attention it deserves.

 

Good advice, for which thanks - I got the Tannoy MX1Ms which turned up today. Must admit I was surprised at how good they sound for the money, albeit for the moment hanging off a marantz 7200 rather than the boy's eventual Arcam. They're quite musical and dynamic and even give a better impression of bass than I'd haev expected fo rthe size. Must be a bit of synergy with the amp there. Having spent the day demming Nautilus 802s at a dealer's, drooling and giggling like an idiot, before coming home and hearing these, this is doubly impressive!

 

Odd. When I played some electroacoustic music once (academic stuff, probably Denis Smalley. Pentes?) accidentally at a high setting, my 3yo ran out of the room crying when it started.

I don't live with that family any more

 

JPW ML310s from Richer for £40 would have been a good buy.
I started off with a pair of them 4 years ago, when I was 14, and haven't had any money since!

 

Hi

Glad they do the business. They are surprisingly capable for their size.

The JPW ML310's are good for the money, but they can be too edgy and lightweight in some systems which can make them harder to match, although they are more transparent.

But I'd also argue that the MX1's are a fair bit better overall, particularly with the more attractive rendition they have of what passes for bass with small peakers. They are much tougher too.

Cheers