So I currently own a pair of Mission 760i powered by a Parasound zAmp v3. With all the deals popping up, I am feeling the upgrade bug itch, but unsure what would provide a true upgrade for the money. The 760i’s went for around $300 back in the 90s when my dad bought them. Not sure how knowledgeable people are about vintage gear, but what would be a good upgrade for these?
I saw that the Klipsch R-51Ms are on sale at $144. Also I see some sub $200 Fluances and other stuff. Would the sub-$200 modern day gear be an upgrade for an older 90’s $300 bookshelf pair? Or should I look higher at $300+ speakers.
Honestly, I tend to enjoy all different kinds rather than focusing one specific signature. I find warmer sounding speakers good for music as it is forgiving and soothing. I like brighter sounding speakers for their details and accuracy. Flat signatures are nice because it’s the most accurate again and detailed. It is also to easier to play with the equalizer if I do want to shape the sound a bit. V-shaped is fun and exciting and gives some flavor to the sound, making things more musical and dynamic. As long as the speakers are well made and designed, I will usually pick up some redeeming qualities about them. To me, I will say that the Missions are warm sounding to me, but relatively neutral. Based on this what would you reccommend as a next step?
If that is too broad, I do think I want to try brighter sounding and detailed oriented type speakers. I also prefer tighter and accurate bass versus powerful bass. I really dislike muddy, loud bass. As for the signature, I tend to use subwoofers so I really want the speakers to be midrange and treble focused and shine in that area. Let the subwoofer take care of the bass. I personally find that even the best bass in a bookshelf speaker gets overshadowed by mediocre subwoofers.
What about some kef q150’s? That would be an interesting speaker to try out. I think the q150 really shines with treble and upper detail. Also very good imaging
On sale for 300 a pair right now on Amazon, it’s a pretty good deal for these speakers
I been eyeing those for a while. How is the Uni-q driver compared to traditional 2-way, 3-way crossovers? I always kind of held the belief that more dedicated drivers tend to do better than less or single driver designs with proper tuning/equalizer adjustments. But the Uni-Q driver seems special. I should mention this will be multi-use speakers. While music is the most important, decent HT performance for movies and games would also be nice. It will be used nearfield as well as it will be in a desk setup, though the desk is rather large. It would be nice if the sound could fill a small room, but nothing crazy.
Some other ones I’ve considered is the Klipsch RP-150M, Canton 512, Canton 502.2, and the ELAC UB5. Would you still recommend the KEFs over these?
The kef speakers are pretty killer for nearfield imo, and I would prefer them to the rp-150m for sure. I have personally not heard the canton speakers so I can’t really comment on that. For the elacs, the UB5 is great and I would actually prefer them if if was in a room, but for nearfield I would actually prefer the kef’s. The kef’s are going to lean towards a tad bit more analytical tuning, and the elacs might be a bit more balanced. The klipsch will be more on the fun and warmer side of things.
Regarding the driver setup, I think it really depends on the speaker and how it was designed, as I don’t think one type of driver setup is superior than others.
No, I think you’re probably right about the design being most important. I think it’s just what I was told by my dad and his friends, but they’re an older lot and they haven’t really kept up with the hobby. I guess in their day 3 way crossover designs were considered better than 2 way and etc.
But yeah I think I will try those KEFs out. Might wait until Black Friday/Cyber Monday to see if they drop em even more.
Thanks for your help man. You’re a godsend on the forums and really knowledgeable. Helps out newbies like me a lot. <3
Well it makes sense in theory. With more specific drivers you are able to better distribute frequencies to drivers more suited towards the task. This does cause some issues though, with the main one being that you would want better designed crossovers to ensure frequencies ranges are not lost and everything sounds coherent and not wonky which is more difficult. There are ups and downs to each design, and it really depends on the talent of the designer and how they are implemented. It just depends how it comes out as a whole imo
Lol I might as well do something with all the useless information I have gained from this addiction
But I just saw that the JBL 530s are on sale for the same price as the Q150s. Out of those two, which do you think will provide the the better audio experience?
Well, define better lol. I think the 530s would edge out the kefs overall, but I will say that if you value great imaging the q150 might be the way to go. But that being said, I think the 530’s might be the way to go for that price
I suppose focusing the mid-range and the highs. Which one would be more detailed and brighter? I am sure the 530s will provide better bass, but I have a sub for that.
I think the 530 will be more detailed in the mid-range and also have more realistic sounding highs. I think it’s the more refined speaker compared to the q150. At this price it’s a pretty killer deal and they are getting harder to find and going for more and more on the used market. They are a fairly sought after speaker.
Great tonal balance, very even. Everything is kind of where it should be. Imaging is also surprising good in the nearfield. Soundstage is wide for a nearfield setup.
What surprised me the most is the bass output. I feel like I didn’t need to buy the sub haha. But I couldn’t pass up the deal. I have to set the gain pretty low. I was worried about their efficiency, but it’s not an issue at all.
Yeah, it’s a very even and accurate speaker. Really nothing to complain about for the price imo. Well glad you like them, but the final question is do you think they are an upgrade from the 760i?
Also just curious what does your gf think of them lol
She likes them actually. I think they look ugly, but she just says they look like speakers. And she’s been enjoying the tunes with me.
Both of us agree that it’s way better than the 760i’s. At first, we could kind of tell, but we were unsure. We could tell they are a louder speaker definitely and bassier. But we decided to put the 760is back in the system to compare. No question, 530s are way nicer. It’s funny because my dad paid $300 for them new back in the late 80s/early 90s. I paid the same for these.
