What would you buy with £3000?

[Digby]

What would you get with £3000 limit? That would be total for speakers & amplification. Bigger is better with respect to woofers and I'd prefer a warmer rather than analytical sound. I think I'd prefer a speaker I can put on stands, as I usually sit in an office chair or walk around, so that rules out floorstanders. Potential list so far is pretty short:

Genelec 1032a/b/c
JBL 4312G
Neumann KH310

Will be running sans subs at least for the time being, so should be able to hold their own without them. I think a 3-way setup might be better, I always feel the midrange is a little recessed with a large woofer 2-way speaker. Any other options available?

 

[kokakolia]

Hey! I did something crazy this month. I purchased a pair of Closer Acoustics OGY and a REL T5/x subwoofer. This combo is well under 3000€.

The OGY has wonderful midrange and relaxed highs. You're looking at a full range driver using a transmission line in a tiny box. This is definitely a mellow speaker. I'm also waiting for my custom tube amplifier to ship (1800€). I spent way too much money. Call me an audiofool. But I'm loving the setup.

EDIT: You can find a used tube amp for 1000€ and buy the OGY under 2000€. But it's hard to recommend on this forum. It's not the biggest bang for your buck. Proceed with caution. Try it first if you're interested.

Full range drivers coupled with tube amplifiers will give you that warmer, more natural sound. Full range drivers are also less fussy with room placement because you don't have to worry about the tweeter and the woofer being in phase.

You listed professional studio monitors, I'm guessing that they'll sound analytical by design.

That said, you can achieve a warm and envelopping sound with exciter drivers for the price of a lunch for two:

I tried this myself. This type of speaker doesn't care about placement. It sounds good no matter where you are in the house. If you use thin plywood you'll get a warm sound with very realistic mids. But the highs and lows will be rolled off (it won't take away from the fun however, and a lot of music is ALL mids).

I'm just throwing a wild card at you. But I also think that a pair of Polk R200 bookshelf speakers will get the job done. You don't have to spend 3k.

 

[jae]

Aside from your already good choices...

Buchardt Audio A500
Ascend Acoustics Sierra-LX
JBL 4305P
Neumann KH 150
Polk R200

 

[dfuller]

KH310s are somewhat SPL restricted at the bottom end however it takes a lot to really get them to misbehave down there IME.

 

[NiagaraPete]

Genelec 1032a/b/c

Wouldn't these be your full budget?

 

[AlexanderM]

What would you get with £3000 limit? That would be total for speakers & amplification. Bigger is better with respect to woofers and I'd prefer a warmer rather than analytical sound. I think I'd prefer a speaker I can put on stands, as I usually sit in an office chair or walk around, so that rules out floorstanders. Potential list so far is pretty short:

Genelec 1032a/b/c
JBL 4312G
Neumann KH310

Will be running sans subs at least for the time being, so should be able to hold their own without them. I think a 3-way setup might be better, I always feel the midrange is a little recessed with a large woofer 2-way speaker. Any other options available?

Look at the Focal package for the price, includes 948's. I take it you are in the EU? If interested, might ask where he got the deal.

Focal Aria 936 or

Hello, I am thinking about a pair of 936 which I can get for 1500e included shipping. At that price range, is it a good option, or can I go with something else? I'm still new to all this hifi stuffs, so please forgive me for some non sense questions I might have. Thank you.

audiosciencereview.com

 

[cavedriver]

If you're in the UK I would seriously consider Wharfedale EVO's, Linton's, or Monitor's in Silver or Gold. Saves a good chunk of your budget if you want multi-way, theater, or more amp options. Digital amps are the rage right now- there are a fair number of companies taking the Purifi and Hypex boards and putting them in cases, giving you easily 250W/channel or more to drive pretty much any speaker you want. Currently using one from VTV in the US that I paid $650 for that puts out an ultraclean ~200W into 8ohms and 350+W into 4 ohms using a Hypex NC502MP board.

 

[Digby]

Thank you for your suggestions. To save people suggesting things that are not suitable, I should add that the minimum woofer size I am looking for is 8" (preferably multiples of) or 10".

Dali Oberon 9 is another interesting looking speaker, plenty of cone area. A floorstander, but relatively tall, so might be fine for higher than typical listening position?

 

[sofrep811]

JBL L82 Classic Standmount Speakers. Spend the remaining on DIY speaker cable components.

 

[LTig]

KH310. Very hard to beat in its price range.

 

[Doodski]

A immaculate pair of Infinity Kappa 9's.

NOTE: I read your stipulation of bookshelf speakers on stands and think you'd love the Kappa 9 anyway. They are tall and airy because they are so thin compared to the width. Those are 2-12" woofers.

 

[Zvu]

Try KRK Rockit RP10-3 G4

KRK SYSTEMS - ROKIT 10-3 G4 Professional Tri-amp Studio Monitors Speaker

www.krkmusic.com

 

[Pearljam5000]

I vote for Genelec

 

[Digby]

or, as an alternative idea, what about what I considered in this thread:

DIY extended bass units

I was thinking about what separates, say, $5,000 to $15,000 speakers and $500 to $2000 speakers. The value proposition for speakers seems to become rather less as you go beyond low four figures; the speakers get better, but you pay rather more for any improvement (diminishing returns). The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Essentially making DIY bass units to sit under whatever 2-way I chose on top (could chop and change the top at will, funds permitting). Thread didn't get a lot of discussion initially, would like a few more eyes on it to see if the idea makes any sense. I reckon they could be built and amplified for around £1000, so a fair bit cheaper than decent 3 ways speakers, not too different from the cost of secondhand Genelec 1032s though.

 

[AlexanderM]

I vote for Genelec View attachment 207807View attachment 207808

I have to ask, what model are those?

 

[Digby]

I have to ask, what model are those?

1032* (A, B or C in place of asterisk).

 

[muad]

or, as an alternative idea, what about what I considered in this thread:

DIY extended bass units

I was thinking about what separates, say, $5,000 to $15,000 speakers and $500 to $2000 speakers. The value proposition for speakers seems to become rather less as you go beyond low four figures; the speakers get better, but you pay rather more for any improvement (diminishing returns). The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Essentially making DIY bass units to sit under whatever 2-way I chose on top (could chop and change the top at will, funds permitting). Thread didn't get a lot of discussion initially, would like a few more eyes on it to see if the idea makes any sense. I reckon they could be built and amplified for around £1000, so a fair bit cheaper than decent 3 ways speakers, not too different from the cost of secondhand Genelec 1032s though.

Man the guy in your thread is a bit of a condescending twat lol.

I feel as if there are some serious advantages to this design, especially for the space limited people

 

[Gorgonzola]

Humm, well GBP 3000 is USD 375 or CAN 4800, so let me think ...

It's a tidy sum though not all the money in the world. In my case I'd go for:

1. Two (2) Rythmik F12-400 seal 12" Direct Servo subwoofers - 2X USD 890
2. miniDSP SDH streamer/room EQ/preamp - USD 1300.

 

[Digby]

Humm, well GBP 3000 is USD 375 or CAN 4800, so let me think ...

It's a tidy sum though not all the money in the world. In my case I'd go for:

1. Two (2) Rythmik F12-400 seal 12" Direct Servo subwoofers - 2X USD 890
2. miniDSP SDH streamer/room EQ/preamp - USD 1300.

You don't mind losing the high frequencies? Sadly, that budget is for the entire frequency range, though perhaps more 40hz-20khz than 20hz-20khz

 

[Pearljam5000]

You don't mind losing the high frequencies? Sadly, that budget is for the entire frequency range, though perhaps more 40hz-20khz than 20hz-20khz

He's a basshead