Highly detailed request for near field speakers recommendations

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Dali spektor 1 and 2 are two are really good low budget passive speakers. There is also a Dali Zensor 1ax active that's great. They're surprisingly dynamic and detailed, but lack the finer details and bass of better and bigger speakers.

I was at my local hifi store today and listened to everything from B&W 800 driven by 1000w monoblocks, the Dali flagship, and several lower end speakers. The cheapest Dali speakers are able to convey the enjoyment of music very well even after listening to some of the worlds best speakers.

Good suggestion! Gonna look into the Spektor 2, the Zensor are much higher priced though (~450€).

Holy crap I didn't notice it was so expensive. I think we need to reevaluate our priorities. Definitely put some cash toward the Adam T5V.

Not sure what your priorities are but if you feel you need to reevaluate them, by all means go ahead.

 

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Yes, the Concept 20 is objectively better. On the whole they are very similar, but I've used the 3020i and Concept 20 side by side, and measured both speakers; the Concept 20 came ahead in both regards.

Didn't see that it was the same price in amazon.es, so I'd definitely go with the concept 20 if it's in your budget.

For reference:

3020i frequency response:
View attachment 84635

Concept 20 frequency response:View attachment 84633

Again, Very similar, but you can see that the Concept 20's response is smoother all around.

What I found super interesting measuring these speakers is how even though the shape of the curves is extremely similar, the lines of the concept 20 are smoother/less jagged than the 3020i. This was consistent through several measurements, from my recollection. It's almost as if I'd applied smoothing to the measurements, even though you can see they are using the same 1/24 octave setting. This appears to be an effect of the fancy gelcore cabinet, and as a result the concept 20 just seemed to sound tonally very similar but 'cleaner' somehow.

Jaggedness aside, the Concept 20 shows slightly better directivity performance, in that the off-axis curves are more similar in overall contour to the on-axis. This also surely contributed to the perception of cleaner sound.

Of course, my sound quality impressions can be confirmation bias, but at the very least the measurements make it clear there's no reason not to go for the Concept 20 if the price is close.

I'm not nearly as caught up with amps as I am with speakers because they don't interest me very much, but from what I can see the Volt+D is a very solid budget option. I'll let someone else chime in thoguh.

Yes, I was surprised as well. And I really like the way they look in black. I think the Concept 20 are my frontrunners atm.

Once again, thank you for your super insightful posts.

 

[napilopez]

Yes, I was surprised as well. And I really like the way they look in black. I think the Concept 20 are my frontrunners atm.

Once again, thank you for your super insightful posts.

Glad to help!. You cant go too wrong with them, I think, given what's you're coming from. I recently tried them again after moving and was impressed by how well they sound even though it's been like a year since I last listened to them.

They aren't bass monsters so when you're ready to spend again, you may want a sub, but you'll have trouble finding much bass in x passive speaker at this price range. Since they will be close to a wall, I think you'll be okay. They also come with bass plugs if you find there is too much bass from the proximity too.

 

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Yes, I think these are it. The more I read about them the more convinced I get. The bass plugs are a good extra as well and they support bi-wiring and bi-amping which is not a bad feature.

Just need to settle on an amp and wires...

 

[Evenor]

I agree with these guys that a 1700$+ DAC is way overkill unless you use it for some A+ headphones and will just have speakers as an extra alternative.

Dali Zensor 1 ax includes an amplifier and DAC so starting from zero equipment they're about as cheap you can go to get a great system.

 

[napilopez]

I agree with these guys that a 1700$+ DAC is way overkill unless you use it for some A+ headphones and will just have speakers as an extra alternative.

Dali Zensor 1 ax includes an amplifier and DAC so starting from zero equipment they're about as cheap you can go to get a great system.

He did say he's using Klipsch HP3 headpones as his primary listening setup and most of his listening will come from that.

Yes, I think these are it. The more I read about them the more convinced I get. The bass plugs are a good extra as well and they support bi-wiring and bi-amping which is not a bad feature.

Just need to settle on an amp and wires...

Pick whatever wire is the prettiest that you can afford. It makes no difference. I ran $13,000 speakers (Focal Kanta No 3) with the cheapest lamp cord from the hardware store I could find for months. Sounded great!

 

[Evenor]

He did say he's using Klipsch HP3 headpones as his primary listening setup and most of his listening will come from that.

Ok, that makes a lot more sense.

 

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Pick whatever wire is the prettiest that you can afford. It makes no difference. I ran $13,000 speakers (Focal Kanta No 3) with the cheapest lamp cord from the hardware store I could find for months. Sounded great!

I was mostly asking about the connectors, etc... I'm really not up to speed on these type of connections. These would work: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07FKJDTPY...lja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1 ?

Ok, that makes a lot more sense.

I honestly never thought so many people would get so caught up on my DAC... As I explained before, heaphones (Klipsch HP-3) and IEMs (mostly the JVC FW-10000) take around 80% of my listening time. The speakers are not going to get much usage, that's why I set the budget so "low".

 

[napilopez]

I was mostly asking about the connectors, etc... I'm really not up to speed on these type of connections. These would work: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07FKJDTPY...lja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1 ?



I honestly never thought so many people would get so caught up on my DAC... As I explained before, heaphones (Klipsch HP-3) and IEMs (mostly the JVC FW-10000) take around 80% of my listening time. The speakers are not going to get much usage, that's why I set the budget so "low".

Ah, understood. Those connectors would work fine =]

 

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So... I can get the KEF Q350, brand new, for 320€. Q Acoustics Concept 20 for 197€. Both prices include shipping.

Are the Concept 20 still the best option?

 

[napilopez]

So... I can get the KEF Q350, brand new, for 320€. Q Acoustics Concept 20 for 197€. Both prices include shipping.

Are the Concept 20 still the best option?

Tough one imo, but if you're willing to make the expense, I'd go for the Q350. The KEF Q350 has better measurements than the Concept 20, so it seems like the safer bet. In a desktop/n nearfield setup, you would also benefit from better directivity control. I haven't heard it though.

I do prefer the Concept 20 to the LS50, which one would think is better than the Q350. But the measurementss suggest people might prefer the Q350 to the LS50 overall, as it has a significantly more even frequency response. It's issue would potentially be distortion, but it is probably irrelevant if most of your listening is in the nearfield. The Q350 also shows a couple of notable resonances that could dtract from the sound, but it's hard to say whether these are more distracting than the Concept 20s .discontinuities.

Both are very solid choices.