Tower speakers similar to Shure 940 or ATH r70x

[howkey-cz]

Hi,
I am looking for a tower speaker for a 20-38sqm room. Price shouldn't go over 1600 EUR($1700) for a pair. I own SMSL A300 amp and SMSL C200 dac with very very old Nordmende speakers

I am looking for some speakers with similar sound to my headphones Shure 940 and ATH-R70x. I don't want to use any subwoofer.

I am mainly into rock, metal and crossover stuff but I don't like bassy sound. I like neutral sound with clarity and great separation and balanced bass and mids.

Candidates:
- Magnat Signature 507 for 750EUR/pair (40% discount)
- KEF Q550 for 750EUR/pair
- Polk Reserve R700 for 1600EUR/pair
- Monitor Audio Silver 300 for 1400EUR/pair
- ELAC Debut F6.2 for 561EUR/pair (10% discount)

I am leaning to Polk but they are most expensive so I am thinking that Magnat or KEF for half the price are better buy. Monitor also looks great but they have more bass.

Is ELAC bargain at that price? I am afraid of the peak between 200-400Mhz and missing lower bass.

Anyway, I would like to know your opinion over the selected speakers. Another recommendations are welcome Thx

 

[AlexanderM]

Have you listened to the Q550s? Do so before purchase is my advice, just saying.

 

[howkey-cz]

No. I haven't found a store where to listen any of them.

 

[warpdrive]

The R700 was reviewed by audioholics with measurements. It shows a neutral speaker down to the lowest bass. It's sensitive to toe-in so keep that in mind if you have a varied listening positions.

However, bass quality and quantity is largely determined by your room. And in this case, the R700 has enough low bass extension to excite any or all your room modes. That can make a clean neutral speaker sound like this into a bassy mess (slow bloated one-note bass). This is where DSP comes in. If you use a device like a miniDSP, you are in control of the bass response and you can often fix major problems at the source. You can dial down the bass, and chop down any wild peaks in your room response. These days, there's almost no excuse to put up with poor bass quality.

 

[howkey-cz]

@warpdrive You are right.

Magnat has the simillar bass extension, 20Hz at -15dB

It's not so linear as Polk measurements but that's matter of room (except the 5-20k frequency).

So, with Magnat I can save some money and use them later. For example for subwoofer if I will not be happy with the bass.

 

[howkey-cz]

I found one more speaker nuLine 244 with many good text reviews and some measurements like this one:

The producer offers a four-week trial period for free.

 

[warpdrive]

That Magnat looks pretty uneven, with a depressed midrange and much higher treble. I would skip it based on those measurements.

Monitor Audio Silver 200 7G could be a consideration?

 

[AlexanderM]

That Magnat looks pretty uneven, with a depressed midrange and much higher treble. I would skip it based on those measurements.

Monitor Audio Silver 200 7G could be a consideration?

The Silver 200 or 300 7G would be my choice, having heard the 500s.

 

[DVDdoug]

To me headphone listening is a "different experience".

With speakers you can get bass that you can feel in your body (if the woofers/subwoofer is big enough and you have enough amplifier power). With headphones you can feel bass vibration on your head but it's not the same thing. And with speakers you can hear the effects of the sound bouncing around the room and that changes somewhat as you move your head. With surround speakers you can hear sounds coming from behind you, which is also enhanced with head movement. With headphones the sound is the same when you turn your head so most of the directional information is lost.

 

[howkey-cz]

That Magnat looks pretty uneven, with a depressed midrange and much higher treble. I would skip it based on those measurements.

Monitor Audio Silver 200 7G could be a consideration?

Why depressed midrange? This is the frequency response from the same source for Monitor Audio Silver 300:

Does it look like a depressed midrange too? Because there are minor differences in the midrange in comparison to Magnat. So what am I missing? Thx for clarification

EDIT: fixed link and graph

 

[Frank2]

Have you considered the Q Acoustics 3050i or the Teufel Definition 3?
I've heard the 3050i on an audio show and was impressed. It sounded clean (no strange resonances) and very neutral.
I've heard good stories about the Teufel. They are comparable to Nubert.

 

[warpdrive]

Why depressed midrange? This is the frequency response from the same source for Monitor Audio Silver 300:

Does it look like a depressed midrange too? Because there are minor differences in the midrange in comparison to Magnat. So what am I missing? Thx for clarification

EDIT: fixed link and graph

The Magnat is at 90 dB at 1Kz and nearly 94dB at 5K. And then it's 91-92 below 900Hz. That would easily be noticeably coloured sounding. It might sound extra hefty with vocals and too bright with some instruments. I would guess it would sound "exciting" but if you are looking for neutral, you can do much better for sure.

The Silver 300 is very flat 500Hz to 10000Hz, fits in a 3dB window all the way above 300Hz.

 

[howkey-cz]

Have you considered the Q Acoustics 3050i or the Teufel Definition 3?
I've heard the 3050i on an audio show and was impressed. It sounded clean (no strange resonances) and very neutral.
I've heard good stories about the Teufel. They are comparable to Nubert.

I have looked on the Teufel Definition 3 and the spec says 48 - 22000 Hz. Anyway, I have read good reviews about it. The good about Teufel and Nubert is the trial free period they offer for free. Let's try it

 

[Frank2]

Alpha audio did a review where they also recorded some tracks playing on the definition 3. Don't know what microphones they used but it may be worth while to listen to them via your shure headphones and see if you hear significant differences with the original tracks. This will give you a hint how the speakers sound.

Teufel Definion 3F

Alpha Audio Sample Database - Alpha Sound Samples - Hearing is believing!

cloud2.alpha-it.nl

The full review with link to these recordings can be found here:

Review Teufel Definion 3F - Coaxial correctness

With the Teufel Definion 3F, we see a remarkably tightly tuned response. Really very neat! What's even better, however, is the off-axis response.

alpha-audio.net

They also include measurement graphs, but without much info about their measurement conditions.
The response graph looks good, stays within ±2.5 dB from 200 Hz upwards. Below 200 Hz the graph may show some room modes, not sure where and how they measured it.

 

[howkey-cz]

@Frank2 thank you!

With Shure I can definitely say that I hear lack of low bass. The bass you can hear is sometimes not clean. I would call it disruptive. It just doesn't sound well aligned with the rest. It's clearly hearable in Lorde - Royals and London Grammar - Lorde it's a feeling.

What else I hear is lacking clarity detail and power in the London Grammar - Lorde it's a feeling. From the recording I have a feeling that the voice is in front and the rest has no power so it's barelly hearable or missing. This could be the 2kHz-5kHz dip in the graph.

Interestingly with the ATH headphones the Jacquess Loussier recording sounds more like there was bad acoustics. The piano tones seems to be blended together. With other songs I have similar observations as with Shure.

 

[howkey-cz]

Ok, so I bought the Magnat Signature 507 on Amazon.de. I couldn't resist the deal/price I have the plan to write a more detailed review and post it on this forum. Currently, I have only two hours of listening sessions and I am learning how to do REW measurements.

In the meantime, there are some photos https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAqWFj

 

[howkey-cz]

Hey, I am back with a review after half a year of listening experience

I tried to measure them, but I am not sure if it was correct. I will move from a flat to a house soon so I will do it again later.
Anyway, the graph from the test above seems to be correct.

From my measurements -1 = 1 dBA on my SMSL A300 amplifier so I set bass -4 and treble -2. The bass was too much but -3 or -4 seems ok. Treble was a problem only with some particular tracks.

Pros

• plenty of bass even in lower frequencies
• detailed and clear sound
• dynamics
• good off-axis response
• very good build quality
• can play loudly without audible distortion
• very good highs
• great for movies and music

Cons

• could be more even by default
• plenty of bass that needs correction
• treble needs slight correction
• could have better soundstage and imaging

Testing tracks
The Bard's Song - In the Forest (Remastered 2007)
Nice clear vocals and guitars. No harsh or unpleasant highs.

Lord It's A Feeling
Bass is a crucial part of this song and it sounds like it belongs here, it's not irritating even if it's deep. Sounds tight and punchy?

Like a Stone & Show Me How to Live & Cochise
All the songs sound like the speakers were created specially for this type of music. In every song, you can hear even small changes in Chris's voice and enjoy how he can go from high to lower range and vice versa and his often mixed voice ... plus nice Tom's unmistakable guitar sound. The second and third song is full of energy that you can clearly feel and enjoy.

The Storm (Drum & Piano Version)
Very nice piano dynamics sound natural. Everything is clear and detailed.

Prelude (Age Of Heroes) (Remastered)
You can feel the energy from it. You can enjoy the dynamics going from a loud and pleasant choir to a soft piano with a female singer that goes to a rich sound of the choir and all other instruments.

Summary
To me, these speakers are great for the price I bought them and I would recommend them to all who want to enter the hi-fi listening or want to buy their first tower speaker and don't want to spend a pocket. People looking for a neutral sound should look elsewhere or use EQ. Would you need a subwoofer paired with them? Yes and no. If you have experience with the better subwoofer or headphones that can provide great bass even in lower frequencies you can sometimes hear the difference. Otherwise, it is questionable.

In the meantime, I had a chance to hear Monitor Audio Silver 300. Even if it was only a two hours experience I felt they were better but they cost almost twice as much. I don't know if it's worth it for a better neutrality and soundstage. The difference is notable but not sure how much, would need to have longer experience and have them side by side.