Floor standing speakers for vinyl 2.1 set up

[Dbuss1805]

Looking for some additional advice on a pair of towers for about 90% vinyl in a medium small room with a pb 1000 sub.
I know I want towers, and detailed listening is very important, (Alan parsons, Pink Floyd etc).
I currently have a pair of Klipsch ksf 8.5 and though they are fine (got them used for under 100) I’m pretty sure anything in the 1,000 a pair Range would be an upgrade. I also dont really like the horn as the high end can give some listening fatigue.
I have a newer Yamaha as301 coming and it’s around 60w per channel.
SVS Prime towers
KEF Q550
Two speakers I could find audio demos to online and found them decent compared to elac f6.2 and the jbl l890.
To make things a bit more overwhelming Warfdales and b&ws always seem to get a
Mention in the forums as well. Don’t really have any stores that I can listen to speakers to in this day and age which is unfortunate

just looking for more narrowed advice on what I’m looking for: floor standing speakers with a sub used for mainly vinyl.

thank you very
Much for any insight!

 

[ryanosaur]

Step up to the Q750 if possible. Very well regarded speaker. (I'm not the biggest KEF fan, but the Q950 did impress.) That said, I am not a B&W fan and would recommend looking elsewhere. *shrugs
Wharfdales can be hit or miss, and are generally outperformed at all price classes by Monitor Audio.
SVS Primes have been called a little bright at times, though I have not heard them. Perhaps the Prime Pinnacle, as it has a better Tweeter?
Frankly, I would forget the towers and look at the Philharmonic BMR Monitor. Unless you are looking for rock concert SPL, these are great speakers!

 

[Dbuss1805]

Thank you for the feedback!
What is the main difference between the towers and monitors?

 

[ryanosaur]

The BMRs are large standmounts, which by spec perform at least as well as most towers I've come across. Usable bass response to the low 30s where a lot of towers don't even offer that.
These are designed for very wide dispersion rather than controlled directivity such as a horn. They are known for their flat FR and clean, accurate reproduction. Unlike B&W which have very contoured responses that color the sound, these are quite neutral and will faithfully reproduce the recorded event.
(Yes, I'm biased... I own 4 and am considering building another if I can't find one for sale!)

This is an older version (the woofer has since been replaced):

Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor Bookshelf Speaker Review

Philharmonic Audio's BMR Philharmonitors use a 3-way design with a very special driver outlay that has audio enthusiasts excited about the potential performance advantages that it could offer Read on.

www.audioholics.com

This was yet a different previous version, the original one iirc:

Philharmonic BMR Bookshelf Speaker Review

Philharmonic BMR Bookshelf Speaker Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Here is Dennis' website with details on the newer version featuring the SB Acoustics 6" Ceramic Woofer:

Philharmonic Audio

www.philharmonicaudio.com

 

[Dbuss1805]

Very interesting read, might be a little bit out of the price range (1000 would be ideal) and seem a bit hard to come across unless you piece together a kit? Not too worried about the bass since I’ll be crossing over to a sub anyways. In any even ascetically I prefer towers though I am not necessarily in a rush to purchase anything so am keeping options open and the reviews on the BMRs are great.

 

[Dbuss1805]

The BMRs are large standmounts, which by spec perform at least as well as most towers I've come across. Usable bass response to the low 30s where a lot of towers don't even offer that.
These are designed for very wide dispersion rather than controlled directivity such as a horn. They are known for their flat FR and clean, accurate reproduction. Unlike B&W which have very contoured responses that color the sound, these are quite neutral and will faithfully reproduce the recorded event.
(Yes, I'm biased... I own 4 and am considering building another if I can't find one for sale!)

This is an older version (the woofer has since been replaced):

Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor Bookshelf Speaker Review

Philharmonic Audio's BMR Philharmonitors use a 3-way design with a very special driver outlay that has audio enthusiasts excited about the potential performance advantages that it could offer Read on.

www.audioholics.com

This was yet a different previous version, the original one iirc:

Philharmonic BMR Bookshelf Speaker Review

Philharmonic BMR Bookshelf Speaker Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Here is Dennis' website with details on the newer version featuring the SB Acoustics 6" Ceramic Woofer:

Philharmonic Audio

www.philharmonicaudio.com

Might be a tall ask and I get it because nothing will beat hearing them live, but do you have a simple iPhone video or some recording of the monitors in action? I can’t find any sound demos online and though I realize it’s nothing like the real thing,
I have been able to add/cross some speakers off the list that way!

 

[ryanosaur]

I'm of the mind to get the best I can, when I can. And even though I prefer towers, too, the BMR is a great speaker. The differences between those and my mains are almost insignificant. Except for one thing: Cost. I digress...

There is a lot of give and take in Speakers when you look at the numbers and reviews, up until about $2500-3000 per pair of Towers. IMO, this is the true point of diminishing returns. Above that, the incremental improvements are minimal, but the Fit and Finish tend to really step up.

Anyway, $1k for a pair of towers barely gets you out of the bottom level. There are some good finds, but stepping up to $1500 will really open the field for you.
I'd look hard at Monitor Audio Bronze Series. A lot of the cat's here have raved about the JBL Studio 5 series, also... and these could be worth watching because they frequently go on sale for ~50% off.

Just some ideas.

 

[ryanosaur]

Might be a tall ask and I get it because nothing will beat hearing them live, but do you have a simple iPhone video or some recording of the monitors in action? I can’t find any sound demos online and though I realize it’s nothing like the real thing,
I have been able to add/cross some speakers off the list that way!

Not of the BMR. You could search on other work he's done: his speakers all sound very similar. Dennis is a trained musician and uses that to help make sure his speakers sound like the real thing. Look for videos of Salk Sound Speakers, for example (Dennis does the voicing and crossover work for Salk). that would be the closest thing.

(For the record, that is a horrible way to shop for Speakers!)

 

[Dbuss1805]

Oh I know tell me about it, I wish they would open a store somewhere close so I could reference a wide range of speakers. Hopefully soon it will happen, or I’ll have to take the family on a weekend excursion to some place that does. Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Alex2507]

I can’t find any sound demos online

The best you can do without being able to do a live audition is as you've done so far: stated a $1,000 budget and asked for advice. The site is loaded with ideas in the 'Deals' subforum. KEW strikes me as one of the site's premier bargain hunters and comparison champs.

At that budget I'd shy away from towers, leaning toward good bookshelves and looking to add a sub down the line from the used market. It took me 4 tries to get a keeper rig. Ryan seems to have nailed down his forever speakers right out the gate but that's rare. There's no wrong way to do it ... except of course online sound demos. That's way wrong.

 

[Dbuss1805]

Ha! I appreciate that. I’ll definitely take a look at that sub forum!