Laurence Payne wrote:

Oh, don't worry about Phil and his attitude problem.

But speakers live in a room and the two must be considered together. I
like wooden floors too. But you might like to investigate the effect
of bringing your speakers a little closer to the listening position
and throwing a couple of rugs on the floor in-between. Soft
furnishings and heavy curtains are good too.

Thank you.

Rugs, yes have them, tick, covering the immediate area around the
notional speaker position.

Heavy curtain, tick (would be behind speakers/stands)
Large sofas, tick.

It's a thick wood floor (not laminate), laid on a concrete slab (modern
top floor flat).

I'd love to know a few brands/models to start listening to and if my
price bracket / wooden floor / will totally waste the amp's capability
- clearly listenting to my amp in a shop is not possible and a starting
point, before borrowing speakers would be nice.............but I
appreciate may not be realistic.

Thanks again

David

wrote in message
ups.com...

Laurence Payne wrote:

Oh, don't worry about Phil and his attitude problem.

But speakers live in a room and the two must be considered together. I
like wooden floors too. But you might like to investigate the effect
of bringing your speakers a little closer to the listening position
and throwing a couple of rugs on the floor in-between. Soft
furnishings and heavy curtains are good too.

Thank you.

Rugs, yes have them, tick, covering the immediate area around the
notional speaker position.

Heavy curtain, tick (would be behind speakers/stands)
Large sofas, tick.

It's a thick wood floor (not laminate), laid on a concrete slab (modern
top floor flat).

I'd love to know a few brands/models to start listening to and if my
price bracket / wooden floor / will totally waste the amp's capability
- clearly listenting to my amp in a shop is not possible and a starting
point, before borrowing speakers would be nice.............but I
appreciate may not be realistic.



David, when I see *advice* being given/requested a little something in me
goes *ooh, ooh!* - when it's speaker advice a warning lamp comes on!

The speakers (in a given room, for a given taste) are where any kit will
fall down bigtime, if they are not right. Think carefully what sort of sound
you want - not all speakers will do everything, despite what some people
say/claim. Your budget is not vast and I suspect you intend to look at 'new'
stuff - I went down that road and tried 68 million different pairs from
*all* the major names and simply couldn't get what I wanted and have ended
up building my own!

Forget endless shop demos, they tell you nothing at the end of the day - if
at all possible try to get to hear different speakers at friend's houses to
get a rough idea, but given your budget constraints, if I were you I would
try to grab summat off eBay. My guess is you would be happy with any of
these for the time being:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...ayphotohosting

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Castle-Severn-...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NAIM-Intro-2-L...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ruark-Prologue...QQcmdZViewItem


Or these on stands (virtually free atm):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/B-W-DM-600-Lou...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/B-W-DM-602-S1-...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tannoy-QA-Sixe...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CYRUS-CLS-50-C...QQcmdZViewItem


(Travelling even a substantial distance to collect will only equate to
several trips to various shops for demos and you get the chance to meet the
seller as well as a check on the speakers - there's always a strong chance
he'll have another bargain not yet listed!!)

If you get summat for a bargain price (good time of the year right now) you
can then start saving for a *proper* pair of 'lifetime keeper' speakers at a
later date and there's every chance you'll get all your money back in the
future!!

Keith G wrote:
If you get summat for a bargain price (good time of the year right now) you
can then start saving for a *proper* pair of 'lifetime keeper' speakers at a
later date and there's every chance you'll get all your money back in the
future!!

Keith

Many thanks for your comments, which make total sense. I remember when
I bought my Missions 15yrs ago (as a kid) they were a massive amount of
money (relative) and I spent ages choosing them, I don't recall the
demo rooms sounding at all like my home setup did eventually.

I will have a look at those links after work.

Obviously my orignal post has attracted a broad spectrum of comments
but none suggesting the amp/cd player are a total waste of time which
is good!

Finally, thanks for taking some time doing some ebay research -
massively appreciated.

Regards

David

wrote in message
ps.com...

Keith G wrote:
If you get summat for a bargain price (good time of the year right now)
you
can then start saving for a *proper* pair of 'lifetime keeper' speakers
at a
later date and there's every chance you'll get all your money back in the
future!!

Keith

Many thanks for your comments, which make total sense. I remember when
I bought my Missions 15yrs ago (as a kid) they were a massive amount of
money (relative) and I spent ages choosing them, I don't recall the
demo rooms sounding at all like my home setup did eventually.

I will have a look at those links after work.

Obviously my orignal post has attracted a broad spectrum of comments
but none suggesting the amp/cd player are a total waste of time which
is good!

Finally, thanks for taking some time doing some ebay research -
massively appreciated.


You're very welcome - no chore for me, I *like* speakers!!

Btw, watch the Castle 7s - they are not very big....

You didn't state your main preference for music, there are some 'immutables'
which could come into play - kevlar cones for heavy rock/drum n' bass (due
to the way the do/don't deform under stress) or paper cones for vocals &c.
This may or may not work for everybody (naturally), but there's no point in
buying speakers which best excel at the 'wrong type' of music for you!

Also I hope it didn't look as though I was disparaging modern budget
speakers - they represent excellent value for money (trust me, you could not
even begin to replicate their appearance *alone* for what they cost!), it's
just that they seem so much better suited for 'modern' music and/or AV work
and it's not for nothing there's a considerable 'retromigration' these days
for the higher quality speakers from a few decades ago....

;-)

" wrote:

Laurence Payne wrote:

Oh, don't worry about Phil and his attitude problem.

But speakers live in a room and the two must be considered together. I
like wooden floors too. But you might like to investigate the effect
of bringing your speakers a little closer to the listening position
and throwing a couple of rugs on the floor in-between. Soft
furnishings and heavy curtains are good too.

Thank you.

Rugs, yes have them, tick, covering the immediate area around the
notional speaker position.

Heavy curtain, tick (would be behind speakers/stands)
Large sofas, tick.

It's a thick wood floor (not laminate), laid on a concrete slab (modern
top floor flat).

I'd love to know a few brands/models to start listening to and if my
price bracket / wooden floor / will totally waste the amp's capability
- clearly listenting to my amp in a shop is not possible and a starting
point, before borrowing speakers would be nice.............but I
appreciate may not be realistic.

The ampliifer makes sod all difference really. Except for extreme cases ( and
valve equipment ) there is no significant 'interestion' between an amp and the
speakers ( short of dismal design ).

Graham

On 22 Sep 2006 04:33:04 -0700, "
wrote:

I'd love to know a few brands/models to start listening to and if my
price bracket / wooden floor / will totally waste the amp's capability
- clearly listenting to my amp in a shop is not possible and a starting
point, before borrowing speakers would be nice.............but I
appreciate may not be realistic.

The amp and CD player, as long as they're competent, will have minimal
impact on sound quality. You're listening to the speakers, in the
room. (Well, actually, far more important again you're listing to the
performance and the recording.)

The Quad 11L you mention are small speakers with 5" bass drivers. You
might prefer your Mission 760s. What don't you like about them?

The Quad 11L you mention are small speakers with 5" bass drivers. You
might prefer your Mission 760s. What don't you like about them?

Laurence,

My 760s are pretty ugly/beat up as result of several house moves/uni
moves, showing their 15yrs...........plus I always though they sounded
guttless with the audiolab amp (comments on the effect of the amp on
sound now noted).

I would note that they've always beeen on stands, with a carpeted room.
I had them in various positions in terms of wall distance, distance
apart etc...........no bass to speak of.

I am after something that has low volume 'guts' as i live in a flat I
wont be cranking the volume up to 11 very often

The comments on floor standers are interesting, always wanted some,
admitantly more for aesthetics than anything else............but as
someone else said the speakers and room should work
together................my girlfriend has to have some input too, as
it's her lounge too.

Thanks all who've responded to date.

Dave