Upgrading to floorstanders; suggestions?

A

achelgeson

Member
Hi guys,
You have all been helpful to me in the past when I purchased a pair of Epos Epic 2 bookshelf speakers. They have served me well, but seeing and hearing the benefits of floorstanding speakers have convinced me to replace them. I know most people on here like vintage stuff... unfortunately the only experience I have with vintage speakers is a pair of KEF C75's, which are good but have blown tweeters. I would prefer to get something new so that it will last me a long time. Originally I was going to stick with Epos and find a pair of Epic 5s, which are basically the floorstander version of the Epic 2s. However, after reading many reviews, there doesn't seem to be much improvement in the bass. I really like warm sound, with good present bass, and perhaps not as revealing in the treble. I want to get the most of my money for $900-1K for a pair. Many companies have come to mind, such as KEF, PSB, Klipsch, B&W, etc. I know I should probably get off my butt and go audition some speakers to make decisions for myself... but I thought maybe you guys could put me in the right direction. I am interested in listening to KEF Q series (maybe R series), Klipsch new Reference Premiere series and Reference II, PSB Imagine, and B&W 600 series.
 
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Floorstanders have come a long way and are a viable alternative to the traditional stand-mounted wide baffle speakers.
They have a different set of compromises, but developers have come a long way with them.
I tend towards British speakers myself, but keep your mind open and look for natural uncolored sound and the ability to follow complex input without coloration and you won't go wrong.
 
audiodon said:
Floorstanders have come a long way and are a viable alternative to the traditional stand-mounted wide baffle speakers.
They have a different set of compromises, but developers have come a long way with them.
I tend towards British speakers myself, but keep your mind open and look for natural uncolored sound and the ability to follow complex input without coloration and you won't go wrong.
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I agree with this. And I too like British speakers. KEF and Wharfedale come to mind.

And if the OP likes warm, smooth speakers, he should also check out the OLD Wharfedale models from the '60's. I have my 80th anniversary Denton reissues (from 2012), which are shown in my signature pic below, plus I have five pairs of old Wharfedales.
 
audiogon has a pair of q500 for about 1/2 your budget, If you have quality amplification I might sell my 105/3's but the q500 are much newer check them out.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I think maybe what I'm really looking for is a pair of speakers that are not analytical and critical. I've heard too many speakers and especially headphones that just pierce the treble way too much. Are people just really that crazy about lots of treble, because that really takes away from the music IMHO. However, I don't want to get any cheap pair of speakers with no treble detail at all...
 
I have had many good experiences with PSB, I have owned PSB Image B15, B25, T45, and the original Alpha Bookshelf. All of them sounded great in their own way, and according to the room. For example, the T45's and B25's sound great in my HT Setup, in a 14' x 17' room. Now, both of them put out too much bass for my living room, where I also have a 2-channel music system. That room is 12' x 20', and the speakers point toward the shorter length (width) of the room, the room is all concrete with ceramic floors and not much furniture, so you can imagine how sound is affected, in this case the B15's hit the sweet spot, and I have not found other pair of speakers that sound better in this room, and I have tried more expensive bookshelves, also a couple of towers from Monitor Audio (RX-6), and Klipsch (RF-52II), in my living room the B15's simply sounded better. Maybe Klipsch RF-42II would have sounded nice, but the dealer didn't have any, so I couldn't try them. So, I stayed with the PSB B15. Remember that the room construction, it's layout, your equipment, and other factors will influence how a speaker sounds in your listening environment. I am partial to warm sounding speakers, PSB are more in the neutral side, but with my tube amp they do lean to the warm area of sound; while Monitor Audio is more on the warm side, and I have always considered Klipsch on the high side, but depends on the model.

If you can find a set of used PSB Imagine (not Image) towers in your price range, close your eyes and get them. If new, try to go to a dealer and hear the Imagine X. Monitor Audio and Wharfadale have similar sound characteristics and are great options, especially if you liked your Epos. The list could be extensive.
 
achelgeson said:
Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I think maybe what I'm really looking for is a pair of speakers that are not analytical and critical. I've heard too many speakers and especially headphones that just pierce the treble way too much. Are people just really that crazy about lots of treble, because that really takes away from the music IMHO. However, I don't want to get any cheap pair of speakers with no treble detail at all...
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It seems that you like neutral to warm, options from PSB and Paradigm might be your cup of tea.
 
If you can find them, RBH 641-SE's are very clear and open while maintaining a "warm" balance and polite high end. Sterophile remarked that they image as well as about anything out there but with a "softish" high end voicing. I sure like mine. I've also heard some Monitor Audio floor standers that sounding laid back and warm but still very inviting. Another fun speaker (if you can find them used and have the power) is the Eminent Technologies LFT VIII. They are voiced fairly warm, but have outstanding clarity due to being a planar type design from about 150Hz or so on up. I had a set of them for about 6 years - and they never sounded edgy or harsh.
 
achelgeson said:
Wow, those look like the real deal.... i think I might be better off with the smaller versions, the 2.9 or the 2.5i. If I can find a pair that is...
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From your description of the sound qualities that you like, and the mention of NHT, consider the NHT VT-2s as well. They are slightly laid-back, with a soft treble, but very good bass. Plus, if you like home theater surround sound, as well as music, the VT-2s have a front panel switch, that toggles between 2 different crossovers, one for home theater, and one for music. Basically alters the dispersion characteristics of the speaker. More diffuse for home theater, and more direct for music. Very good speakers, and worth a listen.

Good luck.
 
The bass on the 3.3 is inspiring.Very nice soundstage as well.They are best with big power. The guy who designed them for NHT is an AK member and posts occasionally.
 
I have to opportunity to get a pair of NHT ST4's for under $300, should I role with that? I'm going to listen to it soon, however I couldn't find many reviews of the ST4's online. Apparently they came out early 2000s, along with a whole line of home theater speakers such as center channel and sub. It was MRSP $1K, not too bad of a deal I must say. Only complaint I read about it was lack of lower midrange... might be subjective.
 
NHT's were Good speakers (generally) Better IMO, than Kef's :-)
But you DO need to hear ANY speaker you are considering living with.
Unless one of those (which AK has a preponderance of imo) who change speakers and components more often than Underwear.
 
bare said:
NHT's were Good speakers (generally) Better IMO, than Kef's :-)
But you DO need to hear ANY speaker you are considering living with.
Unless one of those (which AK has a preponderance of imo) who change speakers and components more often than Underwear.
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LOL, well im not that kind of person... I just like to stick with good sound.
Good to hear that you think NHT is better than KEF, proves sometimes best sound can be had for much cheaper!

I have a Nakamichi TA-2A stereo receiver, so I definitely think I got enough power for the NHTs. I barely even have to turn the dial past 11 to get ear splitting levels with the KEF C75s.
 
achelgeson said:
I have to opportunity to get a pair of NHT ST4's for under $300, should I role with that? I'm going to listen to it soon, however I couldn't find many reviews of the ST4's online. Apparently they came out early 2000s, along with a whole line of home theater speakers such as center channel and sub. It was MRSP $1K, not too bad of a deal I must say. Only complaint I read about it was lack of lower midrange... might be subjective.
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Here's 3 reviews, picked at random. So, if they're positive reviews, great. I didn't want to only provide links to just the good reviews, that I found; I didn't want to present skewed the results. Even if I am a NHT fan. Hope this helps!

http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/nht_st4.htm

http://www.cnet.com/products/nht-st-4/

http://www.hometheatersound.com/equipment/nht_st4_speakersystem.htm
 
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