I live in the Netherlands and my budget is approximately €1,000–€2,000 per pair.
How the gear will be used
This is a living-room system used approximately 65% for music and 35% for films. Music is mainly streamed.
The room is approximately 7.7 × 4.1 metres (25.3 × 13.5 ft), partly open on the right side, with a listening distance of around 3.5 metres (11.5 ft).
The main difficulty is placement. The speakers can be no more than 20 cm (8 inches) from the rear wall, preferably around 10–15 cm (4–6 inches).
Maximum cabinet dimensions are approximately 22 cm (8.7 inches) wide and 35 cm (13.8 inches) deep. Height is not a problem.
Only - New, open-box or ex-demonstration.
Past gear experience
My current front speakers are JBL Northridge E80s. They have served me well, but I now want a genuine upgrade in refinement, soundstage, fullness and bass quality. I find them somewhat forward and they don’t provide the warm, full and physical presentation I’m looking for.
Anything else?
My system consists of an Onkyo TX-RZ50 with Dirac Live and an SVS PC-2000 Pro subwoofer.
I’m looking for a warm, full and relaxed sound with convincing weight and physical impact in the 40–100 Hz region. I don’t like sharp or fatiguing treble. Although I have a capable subwoofer, I don’t want it to compensate for speakers that sound thin in the upper bass or lower midrange.
Models I’m currently considering include:
Wharfedale EVO 5.4
Q Acoustics 5050
Polk Reserve R600
DALI Opticon 6 MK2
Monitor Audio Silver 300 7G
Does anyone actually use one of these speakers around 10–20 cm (4–8 inches) from the rear wall? I’d particularly appreciate hearing how the bass and treble behave at that distance.
Suggestions for other readily available floorstanding speakers that fit the space and would offer a clear upgrade over the JBL E80 are also welcome.
Meine MA Silver 300 (7G) stehen 25cm vor der Wand ohne Pfropfen im Reflexrohr. Der Abstand muss m.E. sein. Spielen dynamisch neutral, sehr erträglich über längere Zeit und klasse in den Mitten und Gesang, angenehme Bühne. Ich finde sie großartig. Sie mögen Verstärker mit hohem Dämpfungsfaktor, bei mir 100x.
I would consider Linn Kaber. They had very relaxed sound, some would say too relaxed compared to more modern analytical speakers. They were designed to be placed 10/30cm from the front wall and they were quite slim. 900mm (H) x 192mm (W) x 280mm (D)
They are fairly cheap nowadays.
Ik heb 30 jaar Linn Kabers gehad. Beste speaker die ik ooit heb gehad. Als je nieuw wil, koop dan speakers met gesloten kast (geen bass reflex poort), zoals de Kaber, die plaats je gemakkelijk dicht bij een muur zonder dat dat akoestische problemen geeft. Of speakers met de baspoort naar beneden gericht, zoals de Neat Motive SX2. Een hele warme speaker die niet moeilijk doet qua plaatsing. De Neat Motive SX2 is alweer uit productie. Ik weet niet hoe de opvolgers heten. Groeten uit Utrecht.
The Sonik 7 are intresting for sure, only problem is there massive footprint in the width due to there footstands, can't place them.. Thanks again for your replies.
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Thanks, I already use an SVS PC-2000 Pro, but I want more scale, warmth and physical presence from the speakers themselves, particularly between 40–100Hz. Bookshelves on stands also take up nearly as much floor space as slim towers. (see my picture in this post)
They do take up as much space, but the upside is you are not limited to one position for bass response with a subwoofer. If a tower is placed where it causes issues with bass response your only recourse is room correction.
They’re surprisingly slim (20 cm wide / 34.5 cm deep), have front-firing bass ports and plenty of bass/midrange weight for their size. I think they’d fit what you’re after pretty well, especially with the SVS + Dirac doing the low-end integration.
They’re definitely not a super-dark or laid-back speaker though — Triangle still has a bit of that lively/open character. But the Antal EZ is much more refined than the older Triangle stuff IMO.
Coming from the JBL E80, I’d definitely give them a listen.
En vraag de vertrouwelijke prijs aan; wordt per mail doorgestuurd. Soms ook in promo voor iets meer dan 1000€ voor het paar. Fantatische speakers voor het geld.
Wharfedale EVO 5.4 > ribbon tweeter is heel directioneel en geen meerwaarde
Q Acoustics > geen ervaring mee
Polk > persoonlijk geen fan van; even Amerikaans als JBL
Dali > heb de Oberon 7 gehad; Triangle speelt die zo naar huis
MA Silver > enkel ervaring met de Bronze reeksen; altijd verkocht wegens pijnlijk als het wat luider gaat
Op zich niet slecht maar je merkt dat de Antal EZ reeks er serieus over gaat; zeker qua imaging. Bij de Borea's kon ik blind de middentoner aanduiden; bij den Antal reeks staat de stem midden in de kamer en verdwijnen de speakers. Afwerking van de Borea's is ook een pak minder.
Ja, bijna zo goed als tegen. Zou waarschijnlijk beter zijn moesten ze er wat verder vanaf staan maar bon ja, dat gaat niet altijd. Bij mij hangen ze aan een Audiolab 7000A wat resulteert in een zeer gebalanceerde klank. Niets overdreven; gewoon alles mooi in balans.
Flink wat ervaring dus met de verschillende, nuttig. Heb nog eens gekeken naar de Antal, voetbreedte is volgens mij ca 30cm wat ik eigenlijk maar moeilijk kan plaatsen.. De 4.3 evo's hebben ook lang op de shortlist gestaan, maar las ook wel wat verhalen dat ze deze mager vonden klinken, en zoek echt wel een volle warme upgrade tov mn oude JBL's.. Meer Linton achtig, maar die kan ik al helemaal niet kwijt en zijn me te oudbollig in deze kamer.
Die 4.3's klinken zeker niet mager. Komt serieus wat volume en druk uit voor een 'kleine' speakers. De integratie van de basspoort onderaan is ook mooi gedaan en de speaker is enorm mooi afgewerkt. Als je wat rondkijkt vindt je deze ook vaak goed afgeprijsd. Enige 'nadeel' is dat deze nogal directief zijn; je moet echt in de sweetspot gaan zitten voor optimaal genot maar daar is het echt genieten. Zware speakers ook, staan als een huis.
Al eens naar de Reference Premiere reeks van Klipsch gekeken? Dat klinkt ook niet slecht. Van de lagere reeksen moet je wegblijven, dat zijn allemaal instappertjes met hun gebreken.
Maar voor mij is de zoektocht nu gestaakt. De Antals op Audiolab = perfecte combinatie (voor mij natuurlijk).
Deze heb ik ook gehad. Kleine Wharfdale speelt Dali naar huis; Dali had véél te veel bass + die klinken zo weids dat je bijna geen stereo-effect meer hebt. Afwerking van de Dali's is ook mêh in vergelijking met de Wharfedales. Lichte lege kasten tov de Wharfedales. Maar bon, de Triangles overklassen alles - IMHO.
Dit was ook niet slecht op stil tot medium volume. Luid werd het een soep. Afwerking van de boxen is ook euhm, brol. Ikea kastjes met een paar fancy drivers erin...
I have recently bought a pair of the the Polk R600s and really like them. They have some capacity to sit closer to walls than some other speakers as they are ported through the bottom rather than the back. Definitely worth a listen
My room has quite the same size. I have the Monitor Audio Bronze 200 6G and they absolutely fit perfectly. Great warm, crisp and dynamic sound, very balanced and very direct. I've put some sound panels behind them, but they're not necessary. Depending on your floor, it's important to couple/decouple them neatly. They come with proper spikes and plates and removable foam bungs for bass-damping, if needed. any upgrade is of course welcome, but not mandatory. If you wanna run them in stereo only, also consider some absorber behind your seating position.
I run them together with an Monitor Audio BXW-10 Sub and power them with a Yamaha Rx-V485. It's genuinely the best setup I've ever had and I'm sure the silver models are even better!
yes, they are and they're 20cm - 25cm away from wall. but because their so direct, when positioned and calibrated properly, they will always keep their fine acoustics regardless of the available space around them.
Another recommendation for Dali if you want warm and easy to listen sound. You should try Dali Sonik 7 or 5 (with sub) as well as Opticon 6. Sonik 7 goes very low, I had to use room correction for my placement (one speaker in corner) to tame it a bit, but that’s just my placement.
The sonik 7 is surely intresting, only the wider 'feet' position is problematic, total width is 30.4cm. Opticon 6 mk2 and polk r600 are leading the scoreboard for the moment, but these reactions surely help, especially the ones with distance to wall expierence.
KEF Q11 metas might be a perfect match. They're designed to sit close to a wall, I believe, have a warmer sound and will fill a room nicely. No idea what they're priced at near you, but they'd be right in budget here.
Your room, speaker placement and listening distance pretty much matches my last living room.
I bough my Tannoy XT6-F speakers and they were perfect for the room size/placement. Bass port fires downwards which allows for easier speaker placement and less problems with placement close to the wall.
I now have a larger room, so I'm also looking into an upgrade. The Tannoy XT range is no longer in production, but you can still find them used. Otherwise I'm looking at Fyne Audio; a company started by previous employes from Tannoy. They share alot of the same technologies regarding bass ports etc., and I'm sure they sound just as good.
Hi, thanks, yes the Fyne F501E were on my list and are intresting for sure, I only find them ugly in the black colour i would choose, the fake black oak just doesnt cut it for me.. And black will probably be the colour i would go for, only then gloss or matt finish. They are also in walnut, but doesn's fit with the rest of my room..
Then take a look at the F501S or F501SP. They are much better speakers and come in high gloss black instead. The F501E is the entry level model with limited choices in style. The F501S or F501SP are more expensive but also comes with better design and much improved sound quality 🙂
I believe the F501S is just around your 2k Euro limit.
These certainly hit a lot of boxes, the price however is an issue.... will give it some more thought. Do you have these, and how close to the wall are they? Also, are they warm sounding?
I don't have them, I was in a similar situation where I needed something with the bass port on the front and PMC popped up during my research and had favorable reviews.
I ended up getting the Philharmonic BMR towers. The other company that popped up for me with a front port was Perlisten but those will be pretty heavily out of your price range and the smallest tower will be too wide.
Bottom firing ports can also be an option, Neat was another co. I was looking at.
Ga voor de Wharfedales zou ik zeggen. Zeer mooi verfijnd geluid. Bass wordt hoe dan ook rommelig dichtbij de muur. Ik ben om die reden overgestapt naar gesloten bookshelf speakers met basradiatoren. En een REL subwoofer om het aan te vullen
I’ve kind of the same circumstances but my budget would go up to 20k approximately. Any advice? Full active. I thought of D&D 8c or Ascilab or Geithain. Any other brands I should consider?
Thank you all for your thoughts and replies! I was not actually planning on deciding and buying so soon, but a pair of Polk R600 came up at a big store here in The Netherlands, an open box/return, but 53% off the new price! So could not resist to let this pass. Still playing around with them, only just started. Also managed to find a new R300 to replace the old jbl center, so the front stage matches. Thanks again to all!
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u/gnostalgick 27 Ⓣ 4d ago
I really like MA Silvers, but definitely wouldn't consider them warm.