Thoughts on Dana/KEF/Energy/Dali?

[armaraas]

Alright, upon various research I have come up with 4 different sets of speakers that would possibly work in my set up. These have been chosen based on reviews/feedback/fit. I haven’t been able to locate much for local dealers for auditioning yet. Somehow when a dealer name of SureLock Homes comes up, I’m just not sold that they’ll have much available for auditioning. So I’m just looking for any kind of feedback from people that may have heard these or have other ideas to see if I should concentrate on trying to listen to particle brands over others.

Unfortunately a purchase is not imminent yet, still in the *need to research indefinitely until I have enough money or the wife gives in* stage.

Details- used for 2 channel audio and movies/games, about 50/50.
Room size- 13’x16’x8’ bedroom, no treatments.
Music tastes range from classic prog rock like Genesis, PG, Pink Floyd, to current prog rock like Dream Theater to heavy metal (Ozzy, Type O) and a lot of European bands, especially female fronted (Nightwish, Leaves’ Eyes).
Eventually (2-5 years) this may be moved to a larger room 14’x’27’x8’, so if it’s something that will work in both the current room and larger, great.

First 2 brands- (these prices I know are good per online stores)
Dana (The Audio Insider) ~$1800
Fronts- 680 (or possibly 670)
Center- 660
Rear- 620

KEF (Accessories4Less) ~$1700
Fronts- IQ9
Center- IQ6C
Rear- IQ1

These two I found some pricing online, but may not be reliable or accurate-
Energy (Audioexcellence) ~$2350
Fronts- RC-70 (would the RC-50 suffice, or is there a big step down?)
Center- RC-LCR
Rear- RC-10 (or maybe Mini 9 to save $100)

Dali ~$2350
Fronts- Ikon 6 (demo pair was priced, is there a big step down to the Ikon 5?
I hear everyone rave about the 6, but heard nothing about the 5.)
Center- Vokal 2
Rear- Ikon 1? I’m not sure I can justify the price for surrounds, and may need to go with
something cheaper there.

Of course the cheaper the better, but are Energy and Dali worth the extra $500+?
Any differences between the brands based on the type of music used for them, better for rock or worse?
Any thoughts, opinions appreciated.
Current equipment- HK AVR 235, Cambridge Soundworks Tower II’s for fronts, CenterStage for center, and 5.1’s for rears. At some point I’ll be upgrading the sub, and hopefully add an amp such as the Emotiva IPS-1.
Thanks for reading…

 

[tom67]

Kef IQ1

I have a set and honestly, they are very poor compared to a set of old Klipsch bookshelf units by almost every measure....I am 58 so Im not biased by the young craving for unbridled bass and volume....They look nice, but frankly are lightweight "also rans"....my idea was to use them on "B" speaker setting for stereo music only, since Klipsch have a reputation for being efficient and good for HT but too stridant for quality music.....I have found that not to be the case...I am comparing them to Klipsch RB5 bookshelf units which cost about the same in 2001.

 

[gus6464]

Dali...

 

[armaraas]

Thanks Tom. Do you have any thoughts on if the IQ1's would be sufficient for rear speakers? I probably won't be using them for music or 5.1 SACD's, but it's good to know there's a chance they may not be as good as I'd like and will keep that in mind when looking KEF (will consider IQ3's possibly).
My current surrounds are a little anemic already, so I'd like to get something that has a little fuller sound.

Thanks Gus- have you heard the Ikon 7/6 or 5? I would think the 7 would be overkill, not sure about 6 vs 5, but I hear a lot of good things about 6. Unfortunately I think Dali's might be the hardest for me to track down locally.

 

[gus6464]

Thanks Tom. Do you have any thoughts on if the IQ1's would be sufficient for rear speakers? I probably won't be using them for music or 5.1 SACD's, but it's good to know there's a chance they may not be as good as I'd like and will keep that in mind when looking KEF (will consider IQ3's possibly).
My current surrounds are a little anemic already, so I'd like to get something that has a little fuller sound.

Thanks Gus- have you heard the Ikon 7/6 or 5? I would think the 7 would be overkill, not sure about 6 vs 5, but I hear a lot of good things about 6. Unfortunately I think Dali's might be the hardest for me to track down locally.

I think the Ikon 7 can get a bit boomy at times in the bass department. So let's say you were considering on getting a nice sub later I would say go for some bookshelves like the Ikon 2. If you want to listen to 2ch music I would say go for the Ikon 5. It's really the only Ikon tower that I really like. Ikon 5 with Vokal 2 and Ikon 1 for surrounds would be pretty nice. And if you don't have the funds right now just get the Ikon 5 and Vokal 2 and buy the surrounds later.

Of course this is coming from a Dali fan but honestly to me Dali really starts in the Mentor line. For the price of the Ikon I would recommend other speakers like the Paradigm Studio 40. The Mentor line is so damn close to the Helicon at half the price. If you like the Ikon line I think you would like the Studio 40. The midrange is not as recessed with very good highs. I would say the Ikon has the better tweeter but the Studios have the better midrange. I'm a midrange guy though.

 

[armaraas]

Thanks Gus, it would probably be used a fair amount for 2 channel music, so I tend to lean towards towers. It's good to know the Ikon 5's should be a viable option, that would probably help to be able to get the 1s for surround.
I know of a Paradigm dealer, so I should be able to check those out. I'll have to check them out online and make sure the matching center will fit in the space I have available. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Jacksmyname]

Well, the only speakers on your list that I'm familiar with are the Energy brand.
I recently bought the RC-70's and the RC-LCR, and I'm very pleased here.
My taste in music runs from Sade', Flim And The BB's (and other bands on the DMP label), Andreas Vollenweider, Eagles, Genesis, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Vangelis, Little River Band, Elvin Bishop Group, Vince Gill, and............

Doo Wop!!!!!!!! (hey, I grew up with it ).

All of the above sound just great on the RC-70's.

 

[PENG]

You have my vote for either the KEF or the Energy RC series. Anything KEF is not going sound bad.

 

[no. 5]

You have my vote for either the KEF or the Energy RC series. Anything KEF is not going sound bad.

I second that.

 

[Warpdrv]

My taste in music runs from Sade', Flim And The BB's (and other bands on the DMP label), Andreas Vollenweider, Eagles, Genesis, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Vangelis, Little River Band, Elvin Bishop Group, Vince Gill, and............

Those are some excellent musical choices...

 

[armaraas]

Thanks everyone. I'll have to find out if the KEF dealer carries the IQ series in store. It sounds like if price is an issue and those sound good that might be the way to go. I'd really like to find some RC-70s to listen to though as those sound promising, especially if a good deal happens to come up once I am ready to buy.

It looks like the Paradigm's mentioned probably will not be an option for me. The matching center I found was way too big for the space I have available.

 

[Jacksmyname]

Those are some excellent musical choices...

Thanks Warp.

 

[dem beats]

Nice line up.

I got the energy set with the 50's.

That price you have there is a good one if it includes the 70's!

anyway, I an absolutely thrilled with my set up. I did listen to Kef and I think they looked with the 9's but not classical looking.

I think they had a bit of a b & w look.

For sound, I have always always had a problem front ports in non bass set ups. I thought that they lacked the mid bass it needed to cover the emphasis a front firing port can give. The energy, to me, was the best. I like a "warmer" sound. If it has to have color to it, I want it in the mids. Shrill sound wears me out so fast. I'm overly sensavite to high pitch sound and the energy tweeter had very a clear sound, but the mids and mid bass played with clarity and authority.

 

[armaraas]

Thanks dem beats. Did you get the 50's because of price or performance?
I see you're located in the same area as I am (I live in western WI, work in St Paul), do you know of any Energy dealers in the area that carry them for demo? What I get from the dealer locator appears to be custom installers, so I haven't checked with them yet to see what they have.
Thanks

 

[JBthatsme]

i love kef but not big on there subs...

 

[tom67]

Another option

Efficient horn type speakers like Klipsch and Bic Accoustech make wonderful HT speakers...a suitable set of 5 for your sized rooms would be less than 2k......then, consider a set of good bookshelf speakers like Energy or Paradigm for 2 channel stereo only when listening to music. You can run those off the "B" channel only......finish it off with a better quality 10 inch sub from HSU for about $375 which again would work well for your size room and be a bit tighter with music...thats basically what I do with a Klipsch-Kef combination.... the only way I would consider buying floorstanders would be if I were a critical music listener, and then I would forgo a subwoofer in favor of a very good pair of floorstanders....frankly I'm getting old and lazy and end up using the Klipsch for both HT and Music with 7 channel stereo....I know its not the most accurate sound, but is sounds good and lively and I'm tired of constantly screwing with things...Just my $.02

 

[dem beats]

Thanks dem beats. Did you get the 50's because of price or performance?
I see you're located in the same area as I am (I live in western WI, work in St Paul), do you know of any Energy dealers in the area that carry them for demo? What I get from the dealer locator appears to be custom installers, so I haven't checked with them yet to see what they have.
Thanks

I am sorry I never got back to this. I have been out of state in AZ warming up. Audio Video dimensions is the local dealer here in MN I went through. I thought they were incredable.

As for reason I went with the 50's, at the time it was price and I had every intention of moving up to the 70's some time down the road anyway.

My budget since has gone up quite a bit and how I make my next purchase may change I may be able to have a dedicated music room and an HT or at least the same room with diferent speakers for the different rolls. We shall see. I however fully think the RC 50's will do the trick for 99% of what people want, that said they may not be the perfect flat sound some want but for me that is slightly less important than the ability to hear ever note clearly, have a great HT experience and in the end, they look so amazing in rosenut... well. Even the lady of the house really fell in love with sound and look.