Nick-N

Hi,

I've recently arrived in the US from the UK, and am looking to start off with a nice pair of stereo speakers for my mid-size living room.

So many of the brands are different to the UK, that I really don't have a clue about the best performing brands here.

My main purpose initially is to get good stereo sound for primarily classical/orchestral type music. This requires a very warm, rich sound. I listened to some speakers at Ultimate Electronics, and the KEF speakers sounded the best on orchestral music to me.

I'm looking to spend roughly $500 on the pair - so can anyone recommend any good deals on speakers that are great for orchestral music?

Thanks,
Nick

eddieZEN

Try ascend.com, their speakers are supposed to be awesome in the mids and highs, which are what you'll be hearing with your type of music.

I'm planning on buying some myself soon, I figure with the 30 day money back policy there's nothing to lose.

Nigel Hooper

Monitor Audio....you'll feel right at home.

PaulDA

Give the Boston Acoustics VRBs an audition. They are close to my VR-M60s and I especially like classical music through my speakers. Monitor Audio B4s are also pretty good, as well as the Paradigm Monitor 5s.

Have fun and welcome to this side of the pond.

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes time, and it annoys the pig.

Craig Chase

Nick N ... If you visit AVS, and so a search for Sethwas (a frequent poster there) ... in his signature he has a LARGE list of various loudspeakers .... subwoofers, under $500 speakers ... etc... In each there are a list of the company's websites... WELL worth checking out for your research.

Craig Chase

MikeLi

How about some Onix Ref's from av123.com
I have the cheaper Rocket models but folks are raving about the refs for true music listening. Sorry don't think I am pushing you just another option to check out.

Scott_N

The Acoustic Energy Evo One retails for $299 and it's a very good speaker for the money. You might try the used route and speakers from Triangle, Quad, Opera, JMLab, and Totem might be had. Good luck with whatever you buy.

Jack Gilvey

You cannot find a better speaker for orchestral music anywhere near $500 than the Magnepan MMG. Much better at reproducing scale than cone speakers. Doesn't do the "pinpoint imaging" thing well, but neither do symphony halls.

eddieZEN

Jack,

Holy smokes, those are some RADICAL-looking speakers!!!

But the website seems to imply that this MMG is their entry level model at $550/pr. and not carried by local retailers, do I understand that correctly?

And how do these speakers handle jazz, rock, and HT when used with a subwoofer?

Nick-N

Thanks for the replies everyone

I've looked into all the speakers mentioned, and at first I was pretty sold on the Ascends.

But that was before someone mentioned the Magnepans! Thank you so much for pointing me to those, you've pretty much sold me on them!

Can you recommend a good companion stereo amp for the MMGs for around $300-400? At the moment I want to get a Cambridge Azur 540A, which is what I used to have in the UK and I loved. It is a very warm sounding amp that was lovely for classical- will pairing it with speakers that do well with classical too make the sound *too* warm, or will they enhance each other?