Hi! I’m just a new user here seeking for some advice on speakers. I’m an owner of a chord Mojo + Sennheiser HD600 and I love them, but recently I’ve been interested to move into the speaker world.
I bought some Q Acoustics 3020 a couple years ago, with a super cheap SMSL SA-50 amp, and I’ve been quite dissapointed with them. They don’t sound clear to me, I don’t really enjoy them, they kinda bother me, don’t sound natural at all. I’ve tried them at a couple different rooms and different places and I just don’t like them (maybe it’s just the amp?).
The thing is a couple months ago I found a pair of Fisher xp6b from my grandfather with a kenwood A-4002A amp from 50 years ago and holy sh*t I discovered why people love speakers instead of headphones. There’s a life coming out of them, the music feels full, not just sounds full, and their tone is just so natural they brought me to tears listening to Norah Jones’ voice. They are so old that obviusly they are not snappy, they don’t have good instrument separation with busy songs etc, but I really enjoy them, they provide me what my HD600 don’t, life and excitement.
So… now I want something for my desk that can kinda bring me this life and emotion, and maybe a little more detail and separation, and I guess my Q Acoustics 3020 aren’t gonna do it (I have the fisher’s at another house and I’m repairing the Kenwood amp that suddenly started crackling). So… I’m looking for a pair of speakers to stand on quite a large desk, but close to the wall, and I’ve been looking at some of the best reviewed speakers at under 300$ after hearing some crazy good Zeos Reviews on cheap stuff:
Sony SS-CS5
Jamo S803
Micca RB42 (I’m from Europe so I guess hard to get)
Kef 100 or 150? (quite a lot more expensive).
And I’m gonna buy the SMSL SA300 amp I guess! I kinda liked that white setup Zeos had in its review with the white Jamo, and having the front firing “bass hole” they are a really good option for me I guess?
I’m open to new suggestions too, thanks mates! Looking forward to be part of this forum.
Hmmm. Here is what I would do. I would try the q acoustics on a better amp first and see if your opinion changes (you can use them on a desk I would say)
I think from what you say the rb42 would be up your alley if you like the fishers, but do note that you won’t get the same sound as you can’t replace having a big driver speaker in a room setup compared to on a desk.
Also personally I prefer the topping pa3 amp but that’s just me lol
Yeah I will try the Q Acoustics on the SMSL SA300 amp as soon as I get the SA-50 sold, and then figure out if I really wanna replace them, that will really be an intelligent move.
Sadly I can’t buy the topping pa3 or either the Micca RB42 anywhere in Spain it seems… but I will keep searching.
Ah the sa300 will do nicely then. Hopefully that works well with the q acoustics, and if not, there are other options of course. What price range are you looking around for the speakers?
I’m looking to sell the Q Acoustics for 170 to 200$, so nothing more than 300-350$ I guess, cuz as you said I’m not going to replace the power of big drivers… so I guess I’ll do the big investment when I get a house and I can get big speakers! For now just a great sounding pair of bookshelf speakers to enjoy my music at speaker level and not headphone level.
I basically have amazon.es , supersonido.es and not many more options when it comes to hi fi audio over here. Ebay dealers sometimes ship overseas and stuff but it’s quite a pain and also really expensive.
Whoaaah really? I never thought they would sell them individually… nowhere says if it’s one or two of them but I guess judging by the pictures it’s just one. Is it really overpriced or they are worth that much?
Oh that sounds fair, I’ll look them up extensively today cuz they look promising!! I guess they will be an upgrade from jamos’ and sony’s 200$ options.
Well I’m getting the SMSL SA300 between tomorrow and friday, so next week I’ll know if I get rid of my Q Acoustics 3020. I’ve been playing around with them and they just sound quite flat to me, kinda like headphones, but without the detail and smoothness of my HD600. I find them fatiguing and piercing to my ears whenever there are pianos or busy melodies (like when a couple or more instruments sound all at once to make a note) while I can quite enjoy them on quieter and more concise songs, they are really quite decent and natural there, although not engaging.
I don’t know if I hope that it’s the amp just messing with them or not cuz I got really hyped up to try the Paradigms!
Anyone knows if the problems I’ve been experiencing can be due to ressonances with the room? I’m pretty close to them and I’ve moving them around but I don’t really know what else to try, I’m kinda afraid even with new speakers I won’t be able to get decent sound out of them XD.
If you are using them nearfield it should be decent, but trying them in a room can be a good idea as well. The room is important for when you have them set up in a room setup, but matter a bit less in a nearfield setup
Hey! what do you think about the ELAC debut 6.2 vs the Paradigms? There’s so little info about the paradigms that it left me wondering… I sent a message to the store I’ll buy them to check if I can return them after trying them out… Man buying stuff without hearing it first is hard as f!
Sorry for bothering you with all these questions btw… I really appreciate your answers!
Hmmm. The elacs do better in a room and
the paradigmss do better nearfield. The 6.2s have a bit warmer sound, more relaxed but still detailed, and a bit wider soundstage. The atoms are a bit more neutral, tighter sound, more detailed, and a bit more forward than the 6.2.
I gotta say I have the Q Acoustics 3020 and absolutely love them.
Granted, I don’t have much experience with speakers, but I’ve heard stuff that goes for twice or three times the cost and these still sounded better, clearer and more detailed
