Evening all!
I've been asked to try and help decide on some speakers for a friend of mine as a present for her boyfriend. I know a little about speakers but am aware that there some very knowledgeable audiophiles on here too. Can someone please recommend some decent speakers.

The guy who it is for has music collection which includes pink floyd, boney M, rod stewart, led zeppelin etc and has a Sony PSLX-300USB turntable if that makes any difference?

Budget of around £300 ? May be able to go up slightly but dont know what sort of budget is needed for something semi-decent.


Thanking you in advance

I have a set of JAMO speakers, wired to my dennon amp - its not top line, but it sounds 100x better than the main stream cr@p.

I got mine 2nd hand, might be worth a looksee, and pocket the difference.

[Edited on 9/7/11 by Dangle_kt]

I like Tannoy stuff.
Being concentric, the tweeter is at the centre of the mid / bass driver so there is less chance of dead spots.
Speakers are very subjective. Ones mans ideal speaker is another's idea of hell.
I don't go for an overtly bright or for that matter a deep sound. I like a smooth mid where the actual musicality sits.
Cheaper stuff tends to sound like razor blades at the high end to me.
Quality components will smooth out nicely and be restful to listen to.

Based on the music you mention, it's going to be a fairly aggressive sound you're looking for.

Are you thinking bookshelf size ?

I currently have some Bowers and Wilkins 602 S2 speakers linked to a Cambridge Audio 350A stereo amp. These sound amazing to me, the speakers only cost me £130 second hand. You can easily get a very good second hand amp for £170. However the speakers are quite a bit bigger than bookshelf but produce a lot of bass.

i think bookshelf ones would be about right or maybe smaller slightly but on stands. as for second hand, if it was for me I wouldn't have any problems but as she is buying them as a present I dont think she will be keen on second-hand unfortunately.

I think it depends on the amp...is there one?

For that money i'd be looking at floor standers (as bookshelf speakers are ok up to a point but floor standers often sound better for the same money)

I'm another vote for second hand ones but girlies buying presents won't do second hand

LINKY - Mordaunt Shorts

floorstanders are where i'd be going ...


LINKY - W/dale Diamonds


If you can stretch...

LINKY


Yum yum...

WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 10.4 SPEAKER PAIR SPECIAL (C4) | eBay UK

[Edited on 9/7/11 by Litemoth]

the only speakers currently on the market that i would consider for that sort of money are the following

KEF Q300

MORDAUNT SHORT AVIANO 2

Dali Lektor 2

all will need a good amp to run them, to my ears the KEF's pip the MS by a fair bit and the Dali's are very close to the Kef's.

if the budget was double there are a nice pair of B&W's i could recommend but tbh i would stay away from the budget B&W's as they dont really cut it compared to the above.

well, i've managed to convince my friend that second-hand isnt a bad thing so she is open to the idea. Though she has stipulated that she would only have ex-showroom stock or if used then very good condition and with original boxes so she can wrap them up.

so people, now what good quality speakers can she get within the budget? and does anyone have or know someone selling any? she is willing to travel up to 1 hour away from Worcester / Birmingham.

(I cant open the eBay link at moment as work have blocked it)

[Edited on 21/7/11 by mads]

[Edited on 21/7/11 by mads]

not exactly audiophile status, but i love my Cerwin Vegas i got the VE12s for about £300 2 years ago, they are big! prices have gone up since then though, but they are the among the clearest sounding speakers i've ever heard

edit £350 a pair from HTFR.com in birmingham

[Edited on 21/7/11 by blakep82]

Depends very much on the rest of the set up. The only way to get a really well matched pair is to demo some with a matching system or in your front room.

What sounds good with one set up will sound totally wrong with another.

My recommendation with all Hi-Fi is never buy it new. Buy secondhand from a hifi forum (wigwam is a good one) you know it will have been looked after and you'll get much better gear for the same price.

Thanks Flak. Problem is that she wants it as a surprise birthday present and he doesnt have an amp so still not going to be a full setup even with the speakers.

We do disco's etc - More for PA etc.

But we bought a pair of these for the House linky and a good amp cost 200, then you just run the record deck or what ever direct to the AMP..


We acutally has to run a Function ( 40 People) las week end with these as it moved from a garden party to a Hall


just my 2p

Used to be really into HiFi, but out of touch now for a few years. I still love my B&W DM600 seakers, run by a Pioneer A400 amp and fed by; Dual 505 turntable and Marantz CD52...mkII SE for those of that era ;-)

You mention a Sony USB turntable? I'm not familiar with this unit, but it would not strike me as a "HiFi" source component. What other sources; CD, tuner, media player etc will be used?

Equally if not more important is the amplifier that will drive the speakers. The first thing is to ensure the impedance and power ratings between amplifier and any chosen speaker are suitable. Do you know what amplifier will be used?