Can't We Just Have The TV Sound On?
When it comes to speakers unless you live alone there is always going to have to be a compromise isn't there?, or is there..
Well no there isn't as there is a now as size, shape, colour and look for the whole family. And that, like in my receiver overview, is a misconception. Lets face some hardcore facts here and i'll try not to sound to sexist. Most women like small out of sight speakers or even just the TV sound, heck even us men want a system that's a treat to the ears and not the eyes. As a Home Cinema looks 'Ugly' and takes up to much room. Well just take a look at the pictures below to go from one extreme to the other and you'll see that not only big is beautiful but so is small.
The Small
Fig 1. The Kef 3005 5.1 System is a Thing of Sheer Quality and Beauty
Coming in at just under £1000 here in the UK I found the Kef's to sound sweet and very, very Family friendly. Made from aluminium and standing no taller than a medium sized book, to me they stand out enough for the Home Cinema fan's to think 'Man They Look Sexy' But are small enough to keep the most space proud woman happy, and you never know they might even get to love them.
They incorporate Kef's clever Uni-Q design, where the tweeter is right in the middle of the midrange cone, and which is designed to offer optimum integration between the speakers and smoother dispersal of sound around the room. With there superbly made stands/feet they can be positioned on stands or plonked either side of you display. The centre channel looks very different from the satellites (which is what small speakers in a set are called) but it has the same midrange and tweeter inside, also it has twin mini subs on either side, which help to give a better tone and greater presence, especially with speech and the depth of most men's voices and the subtle sound of a women's.
The subwoofer has the same curved lines of the satellites, it's more roughly circular in shape. It can be mounted either vertically on its stand or horizontally, allowing you to stick behind or under the sofa out of sight keeping everyone happy and it doesn't alter the performance, and if your one who has there display mounted on the wall then they do look very nice mounted to the same wall..so as you can see and if you opt for something like this hear. Small is ever so sexy.
If space is a premium to you or your house just doesn't quite have need for full sized speakers a Sub/Sat system is wonderful.. You just need to ask yourself Do You Have Room?.
The Medium
Fig 2. B&W 685/686 Bookshelf Speakers and Subwoofer Theatre Package
Next we have the 'Medium' sized speakers or 'Bookshelves' which can also be used in any sized room just like the little Kef's but these can produce a nice amount of bass with or without a sub. (I prefer with but its all about space and preference) The B&W 685s (5.1 complete system) come in from around £1400 for the complete 5.1 package and look just right on stands. (see picture 3) The centre as with all the other four speakers (which can be bought in pairs seperatly, as in left and right, rears and centre) have a Kevlar cone and look good working or just sitting there, rich and tonal with fantastic balance across all the speakers when it comes to movies there right up there, but that doesn't mean they can't do music because they can and god do they do it well. The ASW608 subwoofer is powerful at 200watts with it's built in on board amplifier. If you want something a little bigger and want to step up the quality just a bit then don't look to much more forward than the B&W's, just remember in this case they do look beautiful on the right speaker stands but are also at home on wall brackets. Will suit a medium living room but will fit in a large lounge just as well, don't let the size put you off. You can audition them from most Hi-Fi shops and centres, you probably wont find them in your local Comet or PC World. They come in a couple of choices of finish from what I know, its Cherry and Black. I've heard them and seen them and if you can own them you will not be let down, you'll want to keep them for many years to come. Hunt them down and bring them home, trust me for the price its so worth it, and remember they aren't that big so please don't think they are in a room of 5m x 5m you will have more than enough room. I would recommend a subwoofer(and it doesn't have to be the one in the set as it does lack a little and you can pick up a better one for maybe £200 more) if you want room rattling bass, but I would say that with any size speaker. There are many brands and sets out there I will list them at the foot of the page so if you don't like the B&Ws then scroll down and check out the other makes and models.
Fig 3. The B&Ws in the Cherry Finish and on lovely Stands
The Large
Fig 4. Monitor Audios BX 5.1 Bronze Range in Walnut
When it comes to floor standing speakers there are so many to choose from and sometimes at a cheaper price than a lot of sub/sat systems. The key to owning a set like this or any other is that they must be coherent when it comes to sound reproduction. (meaning they have to match when you hear a explosion there is no point it sounding different at the front than it is at the rear or the centre voice doesn't sound the same as when the voice pans from the left to the centre to the right) Like I said at the beginning of the sentence so many to choose from really. I have always liked the KEF Q500 but coming in at £2400 its a little out of my price bracket, the Monitor Audio BX Bronze edition (above) are a snip from anything as low as £1200 to £1500 so shopping around is a must. So if you like big(ish) and beautiful then start looking at the Monitors. To start with you will get a bigger bang for your buck, bass is delivered with a crack and with the rears living up just as well you cant go to far wrong. Size isn't that intruding either, some floor standing speakers can dominate the room and are not everyone's choice it seems these days what with the "I want it on the wall brigade in full force". But if your serious about Home Cinema or you just like the look of big speakers then I would opt for these kind of speakers every time. With the Monitor Audios they can deliver a surround that envelops the listening position better than many. (not including 7.1 or Bipoles/Dipoles)
While some 5.1 packages use the same size and tone of the satellites to a similar effect, the Monitor Audio package is better at steering surround details around your room. Its just a matter of size in your room?, can I persuade the lovely woman in my life? or can my credit card take another hit.. in that order. I have a brand called Eltax who to most are a middle end brand but have made high end models and lower end models. If I had the money of course I would get myself a £2000 set-up and for the price I paid for my Eltax at the time (around £900) I haven't managed to hear any floor standing speakers that offer the same sound for less than or same as that price. To be fair have a look at some of Eltax's speakers they are nice and very affordable.
THE OTHER BRANDS
Kef
Mission
Monitor Audio
Eltax
B&W
Cambridge Audio
Tannoy
That is just a few to go by, places to look are Ebay and other auction sites as you can get some great bargains and if you know what your looking for as in make and model then you can't go wrong.
Or better still look and find your local dealer they need you as much as you need them. In my area there is Richersounds (0333 900 0054) and it is a good place if you don't know your local dealer mine however is my very friendly staffed Technosound.(01908 604949)
Let Me Know What You Think. What Do You Own?... If Not Are You Going To Get A 5.1 Set-Up
When it comes to floor standing speakers there are so many to choose from and sometimes at a cheaper price than a lot of sub/sat systems. The key to owning a set like this or any other is that they must be coherent when it comes to sound reproduction. (meaning they have to match when you hear a explosion there is no point it sounding different at the front than it is at the rear or the centre voice doesn't sound the same as when the voice pans from the left to the centre to the right) Like I said at the beginning of the sentence so many to choose from really. I have always liked the KEF Q500 but coming in at £2400 its a little out of my price bracket, the Monitor Audio BX Bronze edition (above) are a snip from anything as low as £1200 to £1500 so shopping around is a must. So if you like big(ish) and beautiful then start looking at the Monitors. To start with you will get a bigger bang for your buck, bass is delivered with a crack and with the rears living up just as well you cant go to far wrong. Size isn't that intruding either, some floor standing speakers can dominate the room and are not everyone's choice it seems these days what with the "I want it on the wall brigade in full force". But if your serious about Home Cinema or you just like the look of big speakers then I would opt for these kind of speakers every time. With the Monitor Audios they can deliver a surround that envelops the listening position better than many. (not including 7.1 or Bipoles/Dipoles)
While some 5.1 packages use the same size and tone of the satellites to a similar effect, the Monitor Audio package is better at steering surround details around your room. Its just a matter of size in your room?, can I persuade the lovely woman in my life? or can my credit card take another hit.. in that order. I have a brand called Eltax who to most are a middle end brand but have made high end models and lower end models. If I had the money of course I would get myself a £2000 set-up and for the price I paid for my Eltax at the time (around £900) I haven't managed to hear any floor standing speakers that offer the same sound for less than or same as that price. To be fair have a look at some of Eltax's speakers they are nice and very affordable.
THE OTHER BRANDS
Kef
Mission
Monitor Audio
Eltax
B&W
Cambridge Audio
Tannoy
That is just a few to go by, places to look are Ebay and other auction sites as you can get some great bargains and if you know what your looking for as in make and model then you can't go wrong.
Or better still look and find your local dealer they need you as much as you need them. In my area there is Richersounds (0333 900 0054) and it is a good place if you don't know your local dealer mine however is my very friendly staffed Technosound.(01908 604949)
Let Me Know What You Think. What Do You Own?... If Not Are You Going To Get A 5.1 Set-Up
Leave Me A Comment Below
Next 'Can I Really Have a Projector in my Sized Room?'
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