which speaker?

[metalmickey]

Skip the Q series and go for the R or the LS series.

Well, very few speakers that can match the performance.

You could look at newer versions of B&W if you want to continue with the same signature. They do make great speakers. Since you say your amp is on the warm to neutral side, then you could also look at Klipshe and Polk speakers.

MaSh

yet to hear any of these brands in recent times... might be in blore on Saturday probably will meet up?

 

[metalmickey]

Hey.. Someone in Hydrabad got a pair of r300 (70k)demo unit is what he is claiming.. If u r keen then I can share the contact.

hi I am still waiting for you to share the contact!

 

[MaSh]

yet to hear any of these brands in recent times... might be in blore on Saturday probably will meet up?

Oh good. Have you taken appointment with any of the dealers?

Saturday, got some planned house jobs. Drop me a message when here, will see what can be done.

MaSh

 

[metalmickey]

Oh good. Have you taken appointment with any of the dealers?

Saturday, got some planned house jobs. Drop me a message when here, will see what can be done.

MaSh

no appointments taken yet... will try to get...

 

[lalit09]

Hi, i had r3 very good speaker , vocal are awesome, i have realize that r3 are 1 of the speaker where most of the things depends on amp r3 will produce exactly what you feed them.

R300 were warm, was not my taste so grabed r3 more neutral and exciting.

 

[raghupb]

Hi, i had r3 very good speaker , vocal are awesome, i have realize that r3 are 1 of the speaker where most of the things depends on amp r3 will produce exactly what you feed them.

R300 were warm, was not my taste so grabed r3 more neutral and exciting.

I would respectfully disagree with R300s being warm.
These speakers have been in my rig for 3+ years and seen a lot of combinations.
- 6 power amp sections (Marantz IA, Marantz AVR, Onkyo AVR, Outlaw Monos, Parasound amp, AKSA amp)
- 6 preamp sections (Marantz IA, Marantz AVR, Onkyo AVR, Schiit SYS passive preamp, Parasound preamp, Lyrita tube preamp)
- 4 DACs sections (Marantz AVR, Onkyo AVR, Schiit Modi2 (AKM), Parasound (BB))
- 6 sources (Asus media player (OPT), TV media players (OPT), Laptop (USB), CC-Audio (OPT), Onkyo DVD/CDP (OPT/COAX/RCA), Onkyo Tape (RCA)
- 4 media types (CDs, Tapes, HDD (FLACs/WAVs/MP3s), streaming)
They have also been heard, briefly, with Sabre DACs and class D gear; won't go into these details here.

Definitely not gone thru all the above permutations and combinations, but in general they are nowhere near warm.
With the right combo, they can strike good sonic balance. With the wrong one, they shout at you.

The one issue I have noticed is a bit of errant behavior on the LF/Bass.
Bass can be loose if the the controlling amp is not up to it or muddy when boxed near walls.
Given that R3 is a upward design iteration of R300 and claims to have Reference series trickle down, it should better it.
On a demo listen of R3, the bass was definitely tighter and better textured.
The other issue, recently discovered, is I personally don't like them with Sabre DACs; bit harsh and grainy on the top end.
The electronics behind it better have tone controls.

Recently I have added a subwoofer/sub-bass unit from REL to address some of the LF behavior.
The overall system behavior and sonic signature has improved considerably with bass augmentation.

These days my go to chain for an enjoyable session is
CCA/Laptop --> Parasound NC200Pre (DAC) --> Lyrita DHT tube pre --> AKSA55 stereo pwr --> KEF R300 + REL T9i
- CCA/Laptop brings in convenience of digital/streaming
- Burr-Brown DAC brings the in the "smoothness"
- tube pre brings the "holographic image", "dynamics" and "tube goodies"
- AKSA brings incredible "depth of sound", a bit of "PRaT", and fantastic separation
- KEFs brings in that pin-point imaging and scale
- REL brings in the LF extension and "bass texture"
The "items" are my subjective impressions.

So my advice to @metalmickey is, when auditioning, look for potential towards system behavior.
Take time to hear out as many speakers in the budget range and identify the positives and negatives.
Think how your existing electronics can harness the positives but also consider how to tackle the negatives.
To tackle what missing or "not quite right" may require:
- position/placement
- more electronics or equipment
- good source/content
- cables (maybe)

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[metalmickey]

I would respectfully disagree with R300s being warm.
These speakers have been in my rig for 3+ years and seen a lot of combinations.
- 6 power amp sections (Marantz IA, Marantz AVR, Onkyo AVR, Outlaw Monos, Parasound amp, AKSA amp)
- 6 preamp sections (Marantz IA, Marantz AVR, Onkyo AVR, Schiit SYS passive preamp, Parasound preamp, Lyrita tube preamp)
- 4 DACs sections (Marantz AVR, Onkyo AVR, Schiit Modi2 (AKM), Parasound (BB))
- 6 sources (Asus media player (OPT), TV media players (OPT), Laptop (USB), CC-Audio (OPT), Onkyo DVD/CDP (OPT/COAX/RCA), Onkyo Tape (RCA)
- 4 media types (CDs, Tapes, HDD (FLACs/WAVs/MP3s), streaming)
They have also been heard, briefly, with Sabre DACs and class D gear; won't go into these details here.

Definitely not gone thru all the above permutations and combinations, but in general they are nowhere near warm.
With the right combo, they can strike good sonic balance. With the wrong one, they shout at you.

The one issue I have noticed is a bit of errant behavior on the LF/Bass.
Bass can be loose if the the controlling amp is not up to it or muddy when boxed near walls.
Given that R3 is a upward design iteration of R300 and claims to have Reference series trickle down, it should better it.
On a demo listen of R3, the bass was definitely tighter and better textured.
The other issue, recently discovered, is I personally don't like them with Sabre DACs; bit harsh and grainy on the top end.
The electronics behind it better have tone controls.

Recently I have added a subwoofer/sub-bass unit from REL to address some of the LF behavior.
The overall system behavior and sonic signature has improved considerably with bass augmentation.

These days my go to chain for an enjoyable session is
CCA/Laptop --> Parasound NC200Pre (DAC) --> Lyrita DHT tube pre --> AKSA55 stereo pwr --> KEF R300 + REL T9i
- CCA/Laptop brings in convenience of digital/streaming
- Burr-Brown DAC brings the in the "smoothness"
- tube pre brings the "holographic image", "dynamics" and "tube goodies"
- AKSA brings incredible "depth of sound", a bit of "PRaT", and fantastic separation
- KEFs brings in that pin-point imaging and scale
- REL brings in the LF extension and "bass texture"
The "items" are my subjective impressions.

So my advice to @metalmickey is, when auditioning, look for potential towards system behavior.
Take time to hear out as many speakers in the budget range and identify the positives and negatives.
Think how your existing electronics can harness the positives but also consider how to tackle the negatives.
To tackle what missing or "not quite right" may require:
- position/placement
- more electronics or equipment
- good source/content
- cables (maybe)

Cheers,
Raghu

thanks for the lengthy write up. seriously good suggestions. i wish i can go to all the showrooms to get audition but I am not sure i can do it so need to go by people's suggestions and online reviews.what about the ls50 and the new ones? any idea about Linton heritage from wharfedale? amp will be a decade old roksan kandy ka1 mk3/musical fidelity a3.5 /yaqin mc10L

 

[Deleted member 38504]

I own the lintons and I really like them. They are not bookshelves. They are very big bookshelves. Need a lot of space from rear wall. I struggled initially with placement however now I think I’ve got the placement good, I’m enjoying them. Sorry I don’t hear holographic details or organic music from the speakers. Nor do I hear deep wide narrow pointed imaging etc. They make good sound and that’s good enough for me. I have a very big living room and they sound the same wherever I sit or move around. I don’t have a specific listening position because that’s just going overboard for me. I don’t do critical listening nor do I have the time even if I wanted to.

Everyone is different. I didn’t audition anything. I read reviews online and bought the speakers. The lintons are definitely not audiophile grade speakers. But they sure are damn good music churners. My amp is a Luxman 505 uxii.

 

[raghupb]

thanks for the lengthy write up. seriously good suggestions. i wish i can go to all the showrooms to get audition but I am not sure i can do it so need to go by people's suggestions and online reviews.what about the ls50 and the new ones? any idea about Linton heritage from wharfedale? amp will be a decade old roksan kandy ka1 mk3/musical fidelity a3.5 /yaqin mc10L

Personally, I would not recommend LS50 without multiple auditions.
A home audition with your electronics is a must for LS50.
They are monitors, so it is very risky buying blind or on a cursory listen.

On the other hand I will confidently recommend LS50W (actives) for your room size.
They are a fantastic all-in-one or do-it-all solution.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[metalmickey]

I own the lintons and I really like them. They are not bookshelves. They are very big bookshelves. Need a lot of space from rear wall. I struggled initially with placement however now I think I’ve got the placement good, I’m enjoying them. Sorry I don’t hear holographic details or organic music from the speakers. Nor do I hear deep wide narrow pointed imaging etc. They make good sound and that’s good enough for me. I have a very big living room and they sound the same wherever I sit or move around. I don’t have a specific listening position because that’s just going overboard for me. I don’t do critical listening nor do I have the time even if I wanted to.

Everyone is different. I didn’t audition anything. I read reviews online and bought the speakers. The lintons are definitely not audiophile grade speakers. But they sure are damn good music churners. My amp is a Luxman 505 uxii.

i totally agree with your views and i share the same my listening space is a bedroom irrelevant of any acoustic treatment it would always be a bad sounding room so all i want is just a good stereo rig which sounds musical and connects to me and make me feel my money wasn't wasted. how is the bass and mids on Linton? i heard they are a bit bright? are they

 

[metalmickey]

i w

Personally, I would not recommend LS50 without multiple auditions.
A home audition with your electronics is a must for LS50.
They are monitors, so it is very risky buying blind or on a cursory listen.

On the other hand I will confidently recommend LS50W (actives) for your room size.
They are a fantastic all-in-one or do-it-all solution.

Cheers,
Raghu

i will try to audition the ls50w.

 

[MaSh]

i w

i will try to audition the ls50w.

They are amazing speakers.

MaSh

 

[Weathered]

my listening space is a bedroom irrelevant of any acoustic treatment it would always be a bad sounding room

Dont be under the impression that a bedroom is bad sounding. With a bed (obviosuly), curtains, floor rug and table you should be good. I have a feeling it's "relatively" easier than getting a living room with TV, sofa sound right. You have a big bedroom by our standards and a "large" bookshelf like KEF R3 suggested here should work, provided you have space to mount them on solid stands moving away from front/side walls.

 

[raghupb]

thanks for the lengthy write up. seriously good suggestions. i wish i can go to all the showrooms to get audition but I am not sure i can do it so need to go by people's suggestions and online reviews.what about the ls50 and the new ones? any idea about Linton heritage from wharfedale? amp will be a decade old roksan kandy ka1 mk3/musical fidelity a3.5 /yaqin mc10L

BTW, if you have narrowed down on the amp or already possess it, carry it along when auditioning.
At least locally in Chennai.
Cheers,
Raghu

yet to hear any of these brands in recent times... might be in blore on Saturday probably will meet up?

If you meet up with @MaSh he knows a lot of places to audition.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[drkrack]

If music preference is Metal , as in the username @metalmickey , I think you should look for speakers with Ribbon Tweeters or Berillium tweeters...

 

[metalmickey]

Dont be under the impression that a bedroom is bad sounding. With a bed (obviosuly), curtains, floor rug and table you should be good. I have a feeling it's "relatively" easier than getting a living room with TV, sofa sound right. You have a big bedroom by our standards and a "large" bookshelf like KEF R3 suggested here should work, provided you have space to mount them on solid stands moving away from front/side walls.

yup living in a small town can afford bigger living space and hopefully r3 should sound good! or should i try a proper floor stander? like the rega r5, quad s5,nht c4 etc(some of the options within my budget)

 

[metalmickey]

BTW, if you have narrowed down on the amp or already possess it, carry it along when auditioning.
At least locally in Chennai.
Cheers,
Raghu

If you meet up with @MaSh he knows a lot of places to audition.
Cheers,
Raghu

will try pestering mash to accompany me but i guess he has some plans for the weekend...

 

[metalmickey]

If music preference is Metal , as in the username @metalmickey , I think you should look for speakers with Ribbon Tweeters or Berillium tweeters...

any suggestions in my budget? i used to listen to metal all the time back then now its mostly jazz and its sub genres and occasional 90s rock/metal

 

[metalmickey]

BTW, if you have narrowed down on the amp or already possess it, carry it along when auditioning.
At least locally in Chennai.
Cheers,
Raghu

If you meet up with @MaSh he knows a lot of places to audition.
Cheers,
Raghu

can you pass me your number? some doubts to clarify?

 

[Weathered]

yup living in a small town can afford bigger living space and hopefully r3 should sound good! or should i try a proper floor stander? like the rega r5, quad s5,nht c4 etc(some of the options within my budget)

At your budget, I prefer high quality standmounts than 3-way floorstanders, so R3 is my pick in this list above. Maybe add sub(s), if needed. Don't take my word though! I see you are in Chennai so spend some time auditioning various speakers and let your ears decide