Help choosing column speakers

[Des Esseintes]

Hi,

I’m looking for a pair of column speakers to pair up with a Denon AVC X4800H. I will use them for both music and movies. At some point I will add a central speaker, satellites and possibly a subwoofer if needed.

My room is approximately 25m3. The speakers will be positioned 3 meters from each other, with a screen in between them. There’s only 50cm on either side of the screen, so the walls on the sides will be pretty close (I can move the speakers forward to increase the distance with the wall behind but not by much since the main listening position will be a couch 3 meters from the screen).

With that in mind I was thinking maybe speakers with front vents would be preferable. Would you agree with that?

I would like to spend less than €4,000, preferably less than €3,000. I’m located in France. Here are a few models that I see readily available (prices are for a pair):

• FYNE AUDIO F501 - €1,300
• GOLDENEAR Triton Seven - €1,400
• SVS Prime Tower - €1,400
• TRIANGLE Borea BR10 - €1,500
• GOLDENEAR Triton Three+ - €1,500
• FOCAL Theva N°3-D - €1,580
• AUDIOVECTOR QR3 - €1,580
• HECO Aurora 1000 - €1,600
• KLIPSCH RP-8000F II 2022 edition - €1,600
• MAGNAT Monitor Reference 5A - €1,600
• MONITOR AUDIO Silver 200 7G - €1,750
• FOCAL Vestia N°4 - €1,790 (heavily discounted apparently, not sure why)
• MAGNEPAN LRS+ - €1,795
• GOLDENEAR Triton Five - €1,800
• HECO Aurora 900 AM - €1,800
• POLK AUDIO R600 - €1,800
• TRIANGLE Antal Series EZ - €1,800
• BLUMENHOFER Fun 13 MKII - €1,800
• MARTINLOGAN Foundation F1 - €1,990
• JMR Lunna - €1,990
• REGA Aya - €1,990
• DALI Ipticon 6 MK2 - €2,000
• SVS Prime Pinnacle Tower - €2,100
• KELINAC 314G - €2,150
• GOLDENEAR Triton Two+ - €2,200
• SONUS FABER Lumina III - €2,200
• MONITOR AUDIO Silver 300 7G - €2,300
• B&W 603 S3 - €2,300
• ELIPSON Heritage XLS 15 - €2,380
• KLIPSCH RP-8060FA II - €2,580
• PMC Prodigy5 - €2,690
• POLK AUDIO R700 - €2,700 (small discount possible)
• MARTINLOGAN Foundation F2 - €2,760
• AUDIOVECTOR QR5 - €2,780
• MONITOR AUDIO Silver 500 7G - €2,790
• BLUMENHOFER Fun 17 MKII - €2,900
• SONUS Faber Lumina V - €2,900
• DYNAUDIO Evoke 30 - €2,950
• TRIANGLE Australe EZ - €3,000 (small discount possible)
• AMPHION 520 - €3,000
• GOLDENEAR Triton One-R - €3,180
• DAVIS Courbet N°5 - €3,200
• JMR Euterpe Jubile - €3,250
• FOCAL Aria Evo N°2 - €3,400 (small discount possible)
• MARTINLOGAN Motion F10 - €3,460
• B&W 704 S3 - €3,490
• HECO Celan Revolution 7 - €3,500
• SVS Ultra Evolution Tower - €3,600
• FOCAL Aria Evo X N°3 - €4,000 (small discount possible)
• MAGNAT Signature 999 - €4,000
• AMPHION Argon 3LS - €4,000
• KELINA 714 MG - €4,150
• HECO Celan Revolution 7 - €4,200
• BLUMENHOFER Tempesta 17 - €4,250

What would you recommend? Obviously, I didn’t check every single hi-fi retailer in my country, so other suggestions are more than welcome

 

[danielha]

Hello Des Esseintes,

Your list might be a little too long You will have to narrow it down.

As you are in France, do you, by any chance have a Son-Video shop near your home ? If so, do go there have ask to listen to a few speakers. This will help you understand what sound you are looking for. Obviously any other HiFi shop would do (son-video just appears easy when it come to test / listen).

I am used to Focal and Davis Acoustics. It is hard to be disappointed with these brands. Triangle could also be an easy choice. Obviously this doesn't say anything on other brands !

 

[Oddball]

Heco Celan Revolution 9 *alle Farben* - elektrowelt24.de

Heco Celan Revolution 9 *alle Farben*

www.elektrowelt24.eu

From your list and not a bad deal. But rear ported. I do think they are solid value at this price. They also have bunch of Cantons (older models) with bottom port. Have no experience with Cantons though but some of them do look tempting.

Agreed that you need to narrow down the list. There are speakers in there that are really very very different sounding so finding out your preferences and looking into measurements to narrow down the list would be great.

 

[Des Esseintes]

Thanks! I agree, the list is too long. I don't know enough about speakers to be able to identify which ones would suit my needs in that list, so I wasn't sure what to get rid of. I just listed them so that it might give you a sense of what is available where I live because on another forum for example someone recommended Revel F206 speakers which are absolutely impossible to find here.

 

[danielha]

Des Esseintes,

You need to go in a HiFi store and listen a few speakers in the 1500-2000€ range. You will find that speakers do have their own sound. You may prefer one type over the other. For instance I do not like Sonus Faber that much but you, on the other hand, might find their speakers perfect for you.

Once you understand a little more what you like, choose a brand and check cheaper and more extensive speakers. You will need to decide if 1000 more or less euros make any difference to your ears ! It's you money after all !

My living room is about 25m2. I have Davis Krypton 6 speakers and an old pair of JM Lab (Focal) Cobalt 816. The Krypton 6 are smaller that the Cobalt speakers but more than enough to have loud music if I so choose.

Daniel

 

[Des Esseintes]

Des Esseintes,

You need to go in a HiFi store and listen a few speakers in the 1500-2000€ range. You will find that speakers do have their own sound. You may prefer one type over the other. For instance I do not like Sonus Faber that much but you, on the other hand, might find their speakers perfect for you.

Once you understand a little more what you like, choose a brand and check cheaper and more extensive speakers. You will need to decide if 1000 more or less euros make any difference to your ears ! It's you money after all !

My living room is about 25m2. I have Davis Krypton 6 speakers and an old pair of JM Lab (Focal) Cobalt 816. The Krypton 6 are smaller that the Cobalt speakers but more than enough to have loud music if I so choose.

Daniel

Yeah I know, but it's going to take months before I get a chance to do that as there are no hifi stores anywhere near where I live. The one I was able to visit in the nearest town was only retailing Marantz and Cabasse and that's it.

 

[danielha]

So you need relatively small columns with front event. Davis or JMR for instance.

Easy Budget : Davis Krypton 6 (900€ finition noyer at son-video.com 1200€ otherwise)
Clean clear sound with a nice muscle touch. At ease with any music. Easy to position (important for you)

Davis krypton 9 if you are looking for deeper bass 1500€.

JMR Lunna might be interesting for you (however I have never listened to these speakers).

As for Davis Courbet, I guess they might be very nice but are you ready to spend 2000++ ?

You buy online and have 2 weeks to spend them back if you do not like them. Check with your online shop how to return large objets before anything.

Daniel

 

[Ropeburn]

Front or rear (or bottom) ported makes no practical difference, as long as the speakers aren't smack against the wall so that airflow is restricted. But you shouldn't do that anyway.

It's nothing to be concerned about and rear ported is no reason to restrict your choices.

 

[Des Esseintes]

Front or rear (or bottom) ported makes no practical difference, as long as the speakers aren't smack against the wall so that airflow is restricted. But you shouldn't do that anyway.

It's nothing to be concerned about and rear ported is no reason to restrict your choices.

That's interesting to read because it goes against a lot of things that I read online or in user's manuals. Most user manuals I read have a certain distance that they recommend.

Quick question: what do you guys think of Focal Vestia n°4 at half price (1,700 instead of 3,500)?

 

[danielha]

These are splendid speakers ! The price is odd though. Double check before anything. Some online shops sometimes try you mix you head with price for a pair or one speaker....

You do not want to receive a single package when you expect a pair or speakers (believe me this is no fun at all).

What's the return policy at this price ?

These are relatively big speakers. Do you have room enough around them ?

Daniel

 

[Des Esseintes]

These are splendid speakers ! The price is odd though. Double check before anything. Some online shops sometimes try you mix you head with price for a pair or one speaker....

You do not want to receive a single package when you expect a pair or speakers (believe me this is no fun at all).

What's the return policy at this price ?

These are relatively big speakers. Do you have room enough around them ?

Daniel

It's definitely the price for a pair. They've been at this price for months now. Which makes me wonder if there's anything wrong.

 

[tove]

KEF Q7 Meta should pretty much be the class leader in this bracket, looking at Erin's measurements of the Concerto and KEF's own data. It should be readily available in France.

 

[Des Esseintes]

These are splendid speakers ! The price is odd though. Double check before anything. Some online shops sometimes try you mix you head with price for a pair or one speaker....

You do not want to receive a single package when you expect a pair or speakers (believe me this is no fun at all).

What's the return policy at this price ?

These are relatively big speakers. Do you have room enough around them ?

Daniel

I called the store. Apparently the Vestia line is being discontinued. Which is strange since they're not that old. Price-wise, the top models in the Vestia line overlap with the entry-level models in the Aria line, which is a little confusing.

 

[Ropeburn]

That's interesting to read because it goes against a lot of things that I read online or in user's manuals. Most user manuals I read have a certain distance that they recommend.

These recommendations are due to general speaker/room interaction. It's the distance from the back and side walls together with the speakers' subbass behaviour that's making a real difference, not the location of the ports.

 

[Rzezniq]

I called the store. Apparently the Vestia line is being discontinued. Which is strange since they're not that old. Price-wise, the top models in the Vestia line overlap with the entry-level models in the Aria line, which is a little confusing.

Hi I got a pair of Focal Vestia N4 recently. These are getting discounted as the production run has ended. That said it's a LOT of speaker for the money. I just move house and I wanted something bigger. They currently stand in a mid sized room around 25cm from the wall. The sound is spectacular! They gow down really low about 30hz + change in the room from the lowest volume level. They can also go extremely loud if you so desire. For the money it's a steal. Any questions feel free to ask.

 

[Des Esseintes]

Sorry, I've just read your message. I had to completely re-think my approach because now I'm going for a stereo system for music only and in a different room (slightly bigger)

I got a chance to try the Vestia 4 (€1,700), along with a pair of much smaller Blumenhofer (can't remember the exact model). I liked the Vestia better, they sounded a lot "fuller". I tried them on an Atoll IN 300 Evo but the guy said the Atoll IN 200 would do just as well with them

I then went to a different store and got to try the Sonus Faber Sonetto 5 (older generation) discounted at €3,500, on a Yamaha R-N2000A. Aesthetically, they are much nicer with better build quality but trying them in a different store with several days in between and on a different system, I find it hard to tell whether they actually sound better.

Regarding the amp, I saw the Yamaha discounted at €2,999, and Yamaha issues a €400 refund if you buy the amp before June 1st, so that is tempting as well (my two sources are my computer connected in USB and my turntable, the Atoll needs an upgrade to be able to connect the turntable).

Yamaha R-N2000A + Focal Vestia 4 sounds like the reasonable choice but since I haven't had a chance to listen to that specific configuration I am not 100% sure.

 

[Rzezniq]

I wouldn't spend this much on an amp. Vestia n4 will play very loud on anything that's 50w per channel. At 100w played on ground level the wooden floors on the 1st floor resonate so much that they vibrate a metal ladder (I'm decorating right now) that is currently set up in my room. So get a Topping or whatever measures decently and offers at least 50w. If you want to damage your hearing 400w per channel of class D should do this for you. I'm still very happy with my cheap discounted Vestia n4 speakers.

 

[Des Esseintes]

I'm a bit limited by the fact that my main source for music is my computer so I need something with a USB input and a DAC to do the conversion. Or I could go with an external DAC that has a USB input (I have read good things about the S.M.S.L SU-1 MQA MQA-CD AK4493S XU316 768 kHz/32 Bits DSD512 Hi-Res DAC (that's a mouthful).

I'm a bit clueless as to how one goes about choosing an amp besides looking at power (and even that can be deceiving from what I read), and how important it is to try the amp with the speakers (which is really hard to do unless you buy the amp first and then carry it around when trying the speakers).

 

[Des Esseintes]

A quick search for amps matching my criteria (phono and USB inputs) returned the following models:

€1,399 = Audiolab 7000A
€1,490 = Technics SU-GX70EG-S
€1,590 = Musical Fidelity M5si
€1,590 = Yamaha R-N1000A argent
€1,790 = Denon PMA-1700NE
€1,790 = Atoll Electronique IN200v
€2,149 = Rotel RA-1572MKII
€2,299 = Audiolab 9000A
€2,330 = Taga Harmony HTA-2000B v.2

 

[Yameyo]

Have you checked spinorama.org? You could filter for high quality measurements, and check out the score with EQ and sub (I'm assuming you'll use AVR room correction). Might help you make up your mind. I ended up with Polk R500 based on needing slim speakers that measured well.