Budget floorstanding setup

[Quasee]

Looking for some advice choosing between DALI Oberon 5, KEF Q750 and Triangle borea BR08. I can get all for roughly the same price in the UK.

Another option is the Focal Vestia N°3 which is currently on a massive discount due to being discontinued.

Room is about 15×13 ft and the setup is mainly for TV/movies with some music via Rega turntable. Source/amp is a WiiM Amp Pro.

What would you pick for this kind of space and use case? Also open to other suggestions in a similar price range.

Current set up is the Polk ES20, they are great speakers but I want to move away from the bookshelf + speaker stand combo.

Thanks!

 

[chips666]

I am very happy with my Focal aria 936 set
Considering the massive discount i would pick Focal vestia 3
Good luck
Enjoy...

Focal Vestia No.3 Floorstanding Speaker Review

Focal’s Vestia No.3 is a 3-way tower speaker that packs a lot of punch without costing a fortune despite being manufactured in France. Read our review to see if they live up to Focal’s high fidelity standards.

www.audioholics.com

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi,
Kef or Focal, from a measurement point of view.

However, have you thought about keeping the Polks and adding a subwoofer (or a pair).
What do your room measurements look like? Your Wiim can give you a reasonable view of that quite simply.

Reason for the question is if you have room nodes or other artefacts. Placing subs around the room can make a large difference while also filling out the bass.
Subs will also take some load off the mains, giving you more headroom there too.

Just a thought

 

[DanielT]

Heco Aurora 700. In your price range. Measures well:

Heco Aurora-Serie (Test) – audiovision

audiovision.de

Aurora 700, floorstanding loudspeaker, loudspeaker with outstanding sound characteristics and innovative technology

Despite its slender dimensions, the Aurora 700 3-way bass reflex speaker with its double bass configuration is capable of generating an explosive acoustic performance. The Aurora 700 features bass and midrange drivers with particularly lightweight HECO k…

heco-audio.de

The big brother is also good, but of course a bit more expensive:

HECO Aurora 1000 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review

The German made Heco Aurora 1000 floor-standing speakers ($799/ea) were put through the wringer with our in depth measurement testing and yielded surprising results. Are these the speakers to get?

www.audioholics.com

 

[escape2]

Heco Aurora 700. In your price range. Measures well:
View attachment 493982

Heco Aurora-Serie (Test) – audiovision

audiovision.de

Aurora 700, floorstanding loudspeaker, loudspeaker with outstanding sound characteristics and innovative technology

Despite its slender dimensions, the Aurora 700 3-way bass reflex speaker with its double bass configuration is capable of generating an explosive acoustic performance. The Aurora 700 features bass and midrange drivers with particularly lightweight HECO k…

heco-audio.de

The big brother is also good, but of course a bit more expensive:

HECO Aurora 1000 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review

The German made Heco Aurora 1000 floor-standing speakers ($799/ea) were put through the wringer with our in depth measurement testing and yielded surprising results. Are these the speakers to get?

www.audioholics.com

I really wanted to get these. Sadly, they're no longer available here in the US, so I ended up with Oberon 5.

The KEF Q750 seems to be out of stock everywhere as well. Didn't it get replaced by a newer model?

 

[DanielT]

I really wanted to get these. Sadly, they're no longer available here in the US, so I ended up with Oberon 5.

The KEF Q750 seems to be out of stock everywhere as well. Didn't it get replaced by a newer model?

Regarding KEF Q750, I don't know. Anyone else know anything about it?

Speaking of new models. This seems interesting:

Diamond 12i

Discover Wharfedale Diamond 12i speakers: evolved design, refined sound, and outstanding value that make true high-fidelity more accessible than ever.

www.wharfedaleusa.com

New Wharfedale diamond series out soon!

New Wharfedale diamond series out soon! https://www.wharfedaleusa.com/collections/diamond-12i Looks like minor changes with binding posts, crossover, finishes, and bass port for the main alterations.

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Ropeburn]

Heco Aurora 700. In your price range. Measures well:
View attachment 493982

Heco Aurora-Serie (Test) – audiovision

audiovision.de

Aurora 700, floorstanding loudspeaker, loudspeaker with outstanding sound characteristics and innovative technology

Despite its slender dimensions, the Aurora 700 3-way bass reflex speaker with its double bass configuration is capable of generating an explosive acoustic performance. The Aurora 700 features bass and midrange drivers with particularly lightweight HECO k…

heco-audio.de

The big brother is also good, but of course a bit more expensive:

HECO Aurora 1000 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review

The German made Heco Aurora 1000 floor-standing speakers ($799/ea) were put through the wringer with our in depth measurement testing and yielded surprising results. Are these the speakers to get?

www.audioholics.com

Strong recommendation. They sound exactly what those measurements look like: balanced and neutral. And even better: in-room bass is terrific for such a "small" 2x6.5" tower. More like this:

Heco Aurora 700 Colors: Seite 6 - i-fidelity.net

Messtechnik Heco Aurora 700 von Wilfried Kress.

www.i-fidelity.net

I get 35 Hz here, 1m from the wall (not optimal, should be closer but placement constraints) in a 30m² room, should eat smaller rooms for breakfast. Clean and very loud if needed. Very wide soundstage from wide dispersion, still good imaging and precise phantom center. Benevolent off-axis behaviour, uncritical impedance, amp-friendly efficiency ~91dB.

Overall terrific sound, not just for the money.

Edit: also holding the world record for available colours in big series, non-custom speakers. 7 available: matte black, glossy black, matte white, dark green, grey, dark red, orange. Choose your poison.

 

[Power Pop 23]

Looking for some advice choosing between DALI Oberon 5, KEF Q750 and Triangle borea BR08. I can get all for roughly the same price in the UK.

Another option is the Focal Vestia N°3 which is currently on a massive discount due to being discontinued.

Room is about 15×13 ft and the setup is mainly for TV/movies with some music via Rega turntable. Source/amp is a WiiM Amp Pro.

What would you pick for this kind of space and use case? Also open to other suggestions in a similar price range.

Current set up is the Polk ES20, they are great speakers but I want to move away from the bookshelf + speaker stand combo.

Thanks!

My hunch is the RoomFit room correction feature of your WiiM Amp Pro will mitigate some of the differences between each of the loudspeaker options.

I perceive imaging with a tighter focus from the coaxial designs of KEF loudspeakers.

I vote for the KEF Q750.

 

[Quasee]

Thank you all for the great advice so far, this has been very helpful and educational.

Unfortunately I don’t have any useful data to share from RoomFit, the speakers are for my new place which I am yet to measure. I won’t be moved in properly till mid December.

Wanted to jump on something now while there are still good prices for black Friday, e.g.

 

[Ropeburn]

Thank you all for the great advice so far, this has been very helpful and educational.

Unfortunately I don’t have any useful data to share from RoomFit, the speakers are for my new place which I am yet to measure. I won’t be moved in properly till mid December.

Wanted to jump on something now while there are still good prices for black Friday, e.g.
View attachment 494014
View attachment 494013

These look like terrific deals. "Black Friday" will still go on for a while, can you visit some shops for listening? That's always advisable, nothing can replace a first hand impression. Although I'd say you can't really go wrong with either of these.

 

[livinon2wheels]

Strong recommendation. They sound exactly what those measurements look like: balanced and neutral. And even better: in-room bass is terrific for such a "small" 2x6.5" tower. More like this:

View attachment 493994

Heco Aurora 700 Colors: Seite 6 - i-fidelity.net

Messtechnik Heco Aurora 700 von Wilfried Kress.

www.i-fidelity.net

I get 35 Hz here, 1m from the wall (not optimal, should be closer but placement constraints) in a 30m² room, should eat smaller rooms for breakfast. Clean and very loud if needed. Very wide soundstage from wide dispersion, still good imaging and precise phantom center. Benevolent off-axis behaviour, uncritical impedance, amp-friendly efficiency ~91dB.

Overall terrific sound, not just for the money.

Edit: also holding the world record for available colours in big series, non-custom speakers. 7 available: matte black, glossy black, matte white, dark green, grey, dark red, orange. Choose your poison.

response curve looks nearly ideal save for the lower octave degradation, though to be honest most speakers in the average listening room will probably do something similar. Not many of us have rooms with room modes at low enough frequencies to support and augment the waning output at low frequencies of most speakers made for home use. Just out of curiosity what do these sell for and where are their dealers located?

 

[Ropeburn]

response curve looks nearly ideal save for the lower octave degradation, though to be honest most speakers in the average listening room will probably do something similar. Not many of us have rooms with room modes at low enough frequencies to support and augment the waning output at low frequencies of most speakers made for home use. Just out of curiosity what do these sell for and where are their dealers located?

The original models are discontinued, maybe you can find some last stock. List price used to be 1200/pair but they never got sold for that the last years, more like 600-700. Got mine for 600, a steal.* I'm finding a few offers for 900-1000, that's too much. Can just as well buy used then from 300-400.

The new Aurora XT line is currently back to 1200/pair, street price 1000-1100. I can't spot any differences besides veneer options, they seem identical, too in specs. If you consider these, I'd wait a year or two until prices go down again. Worst possible time for buying, they only came out last year. Still really good value for that money though.

*All prices in Euro, European market situation