what bookshelf speaker to get

voxpop · 13-12-2006 1:07pm #1

Im currently looking for some entry level speakers and have come up the the following 3 speakers - anyone have any opinions on which to get.

Wharfedale 9.1
Monitor Audio BR2
B&W 601 S3
Monitor Audio RS1

The speakers above are in order of cost and Im leaning towards the BR2s if I can get them otherwise the 601s - not sure about the Wharfedale - they wernt in the running until I read some good reviews about them today.

Any opinions appreciated.

Red Alert · 13-12-2006 4:10pm

I'm a big fan of Wharfedale's speakers, and for the price you pay you do get good performance.

I've heard it said that if you like B&W, check out some similar speakers by Tannoy as they are usually cheaper for the same quality of speaker. The only serious B&W installation i've listened to was actually a commercial sub/sat one (BT2 dundrum) but I was quite impressed.

Slaphead07 · 13-12-2006 8:45pm

lads, the MAs and the Wharfdales are decent speakers but the B&Ws are in a different league. If the budget is limited then go for the Wharfedales but if you can afford them get the B&Ws. Remember they will all take months or about 50 - 100 hours of "breaking in" before they sound at their best.

Sparky · 14-12-2006 3:47am

I have a set of bose 301s. I can't fault them.
They have some punch to them.

Kali · 14-12-2006 9:41am

Slaphead07 wrote:

lads, the MAs and the Wharfdales are decent speakers but the B&Ws are in a different league. If the budget is limited then go for the Wharfedales but if you can afford them get the B&Ws. Remember they will all take months or about 50 - 100 hours of "breaking in" before they sound at their best.

Personally the RS1s would be a step above the 601s in my book. 601s are good but not a "different league" .. not even compared to the monitor audio bronze series.

padi89 · 14-12-2006 10:42am

If you can stretch your budget just a little i highly recommend a set of Epos M5 speakers over any of the ones mentioned here.

Slaphead07 · 14-12-2006 11:09am

Kali wrote:

Personally the RS1s would be a step above the 601s in my book. 601s are good but not a "different league" .. not even compared to the monitor audio bronze series.

We'll have to agree to differ then.... but I wouldn't keep chickens in Monitor Audio boxes.

voxpop · 14-12-2006 6:18pm

The monitor Audio speakers get great reviews - the RS1s are at top of my budget at €450 and I dont really want to go up that far if possible.
I should probably qualify that the speakers will be connected to a rather old system which is an amp with an integrated tape deck and an separate record player - Im not sure of the quality of the kit so I dont want to get speakers that are "too good" and sound rubbish on the system in question (im a bit worried about the 601s is this respect).
The speakers are a christmas gift also so buying from far away or on ebay is a no no.

Slaphead07 · 14-12-2006 6:47pm

voxpop wrote:

The monitor Audio speakers get great reviews - the RS1s are at top of my budget at €450 and I dont really want to go up that far if possible.
I should probably qualify that the speakers will be connected to a rather old system which is an amp with an integrated tape deck and an separate record player - Im not sure of the quality of the kit so I dont want to get speakers that are "too good" and sound rubbish on the system in question (im a bit worried about the 601s is this respect).
The speakers are a christmas gift also so buying from far away or on ebay is a no no.

Don't mind reviews, they're usually bought and paid for by advertising. There are a few magazines you can trust (Hi Fi News + record review) but they won't be reviewing Monitor Audios! Monitor Audio and Wharfedale make decent entry level speakers but they're bearly HiFi and certainly not "high end" in any aspect.

That said, given the description of your amp/cassette deck would you not be better off just going for a cheap and cheerful Sony/Kenwood type system? Either that or pick up second hand speakers somewhere?
Any system will only sound as good as it's weakest component and your amp/deck unit sounds to me like something that is beyond 'upgrading' - sorry but I'd hate to see you wasting money on it... unless you plan on buying speakers now and getting a good amp/CD player later? In which case you should get the best available.... consider the System Audio 505, 510 or 520's too, they're about €300 and less fussy than the B&Ws.

voxpop · 14-12-2006 7:03pm

Slaphead07 thats the point im getting at. I dont want to spend money on some B&W 601s if there are totally unforgiving to the amp/source. But if they will still sound good and leave the option open for upgrading the rest of the system at a later date, then all is good.

The Monitor Audio BR2s look like they are designed to be fairly forgiving and half decent, whereas the Wharfedales seem too cheap....maybe im wrong here though.

Ive also read that the bass on the 601s leaves a little to be desired ?

btw this isnt for me (ive 602s and arcam myself) - its a christmas pressie

Slaphead07 · 14-12-2006 7:14pm

voxpop wrote:

The Monitor Audio BR2s look like they are designed to be fairly forgiving and half decent, whereas the Wharfedales seem too cheap....maybe im wrong here though.

Ive also read that the bass on the 601s leaves a little to be desired ?

btw this isnt for me (ive 602s and arcam myself) - its a christmas pressie

Well if we agree that "fairly forgiving" is a euphamisem for "not very revealing" then yes! I had those Wharfedales for a while on a spare system and they were ok, good for the price.

Any bookshelf speaker will be light on bass but the amp doesn't sound as if it will produce deep bass anyway. Google the SA 505. I suspect they're a good compromise and very pretty but they do take quite a while to 'run in'.

voxpop · 15-12-2006 1:33pm

So you would rate the SA505s well above the Wharfedales ? I think the 601s would maybe be too good of a speaker for the system in question.

I think Im down to SA505s or MA BR2 (i still cant shake off all the recommendations over at avforums for the MA speakers) at this stage really, unless someone can recommend the Wharfedales over these two ?

Slaphead07 · 16-12-2006 5:10pm

Wharfedale/Monitor Audios = Ford
B&W/System Audio = Mercedes

The Wharfedales are good, about the same as the MAs but the Sytem Audio and B&Ws may be too good for where they're going, that said if there's little difference in price go for the better speaker. The SAs are a good alrounder whereas the B&Ws can be a bit harsh in the worng system or room. I'm using B&W 704s for music (as opposed to AV) and I find them a bit bright and harsh, I'm moving house in a few months so I'm hoping a bigger room will help.

The Wharfedales would do for now but the System Audios could be part of a very nice system in the future.

Turbulent Bill · 05-01-2007 3:19pm

Sorry for the thread bump, but Peats are selling the Wharfedale 9.1 for €159 in their sale (Parnell St.); they're still listed as €199 on their site. Could be an excellent, cheap buy. Beech and black only.

Paulw · 05-01-2007 6:42pm

I've been browsing around for a few days, before ordering a set of speakers. There are many user reviews of the Monitor Audio systems, and they do come highly recommended from many people. Of course, these things are quite subjective.

I've just ordered some Monitor Audio RSFX speakers for my sides, and maybe in the summer I'll order some RS1's for rear speakers (7.1 setup).

Yes, the B&W do come very highly recommended, but it's a price/look thing too, as well as how they sound, and every sound system is only as good as it's weakest point.

what bookshelf speaker to get

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