I need help with choosing right floor standing speakers

[geekercz]

Hi, I recently bought an AV receiver Marantz Cinema 50 and my next step is to narrow the choice of floor standing speakers. I like the warm tuning, not shoutiness in mids, not sibilance, not piercing trebles, that would in combination cause fatigue.

When it comes to headphones, my p/reference is Sennheiser HD660S2 / HD650 (I know that the room is taking major place in the equation). I am not planning to go for an analytical or neutral listening experience.

I did some basic research and narrowed it down to these 4 floor standing speakers:

Jamo D590SE

Polk Audio Reserve R700

Wharfedale 5.4 EVO

Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3

I would appreciate some feedback based on your experiences, since I don't have the option to listen to them before buying. You can share other recommendations as well.

The room is in the attic, panelled with wooden boards, and measures 25 m². Buying in EU, sticking to bellow 2500 USD.

Thank you.

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi, and welcome as you seem new

I don't have direct experience with the gear you mention, but I can give a few pointers and suggest a few things to think about.

Good speakers (good hifi in general) don't have a tuning, they are neutral with well controlled directivity that lend themselves to room correction / EQ so that they can suit your room properly.
Your Marantz has good room correction functionality, it's designed for that so let it do its job.

Of the speakers you list, only the Polk has an objective review that I could see (link to an ASR post that discussed an external link) https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/polk-r700-review-by-audioholics.29199/

B&W in general are not neutral, approach with some caution. Audiophiles like these but they never seem to measure well

The Wharfedales look lovely, some discussion here without much conclusion https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/wharfedale-evo-5-series-5-4.64271/

Kef get a lot of love for their floor standers, as do Revel and Focal ... worth a look to see what is in your area and budget

Bigger question ... why floor standers? Having a pair of subwoofers placed around the room in such a manner as to help manage room issues can be a really good thing and, again, your Marantz is set up to manage that? That lets you look at good stand-mounts like Kef R3 or Wharfedale Lintons ?

Finally, speakers are quite a personal choice. Measurements tell you a lot, but its well worth trying to hear them *in your room* if at all possible. Failing that, hearing them at a dealers and getting the option to return them if they don't sound good in your room is sensible.

No practical help, but something to move forward with I hope. Good luck

 

[Defi]

I am not planning to go for an analytical or neutral listening experience.

My hypothesis is that when people find something that they use all sorts of audiophile words to describe, what they have found IS actually a neutral (harmann) response. Not to sound condescending. But a neutral "analytical" response is not fatiguing and is where you hear the most detail. The FUN stuff, when the bongo sounds crisp and like it's in the room. The little reverb trails that give a sense of life to vocals you never heard. That one instrument buried in the mix that you can now hear.

I would also recommend KEF as they seem very well liked, they are objectively fantastic, and widely available.

 

[Waxx]

I would recommend the KEF Q11 or the Revel F206. Those are the best in that category that i know, and within budget in the EU. Kiplish (often suggested on hi end fora) is very bright (altough popular), just like B&W. Polk (in general) is quiet good, bot not like those mentioned above. The Jamo is not good, it sounds wrong to me. The Warfdale i never heared (i only know the older classic ones). The Revel is tested here, the Kef on Erin's Audio Corner.

 

[Ropeburn]

I'll throw in the Heco Celan Revolution 7. Neutrally tuned, room friendly, wide, even dispersion (Heco tweeters really excel at that), good sensitivity, really good power handling and very low distortion even at ludicrous speed volume. A bit of an underdog punching way above his weight. Available for way under 2500 the pair.

Model 9 tested here (use browser translate)

 

[Mr. Reeee]

My hypothesis is that when people find something that they use all sorts of audiophile words to describe, what they have found IS actually a neutral (harmann) response. Not to sound condescending. But a neutral "analytical" response is not fatiguing and is where you hear the most detail. The FUN stuff, when the bongo sounds crisp and like it's in the room. The little reverb trails that give a sense of life to vocals you never heard. That one instrument buried in the mix that you can now hear.

I would also recommend KEF as they seem very well liked, they are objectively fantastic, and widely available.

KEF Q11 Meta would be great.