Recommend me a pair of Speakers for my Hi-Fi

lamf68

Hopefully this is not inappropriate for this section of the forum, if there was a Hi-Fi section I'd have put it in there. I have been back buying vinyl for the past couple of years and bought a Marantz amp(may be shite not sure!) and a Project Turntable (Think it's half decent) but my sound is Farkin Rubbish it's not muffled or anything like that, just totally unimpressive. I'm assuming it's the speakers which are these Acoustic Energy aegis evo 3's



Now when I started buying this gear I was under no illusions that I was gonna have some kind of audio sound that would send shivers up my spine, but I did hope it would sound half tidy. I read review upon review of all the stuff I bought and for my budget i thought they'd be suffice. I'm utterly underwhelmed here and need to re-jig something, if anyone can suggest a pair of speakers that will hopefully impress me for a decent price I'd love to hear. Cheers lads

lasermonkey

Hmm, I suspect it may be the amp that is underwhelming you. Which model is it?
Also, how have you got the speakers positioned? Some experimenting is usually required to get things sounding right.

TheMarlin

Those speakers can take some power, your amp is a bit anemic.  Either get a more powerful amp, or more efficient lower powered speakers.  

I’ve got a spare set of Gale bookshelf monitors if you want them.  Nice and detailed, don’t need much power, they should get along well with the amp. 

If you come get them, they’re free!

Marlin

richardhomer

Two issues with big floor-standers - they need a lot of power to control them properly and their extended bass response often causes problems with cheaper turntables - which are often not that well isolated from vibration.

I’d listen to some smaller stand-mounts - and invest in a specialist turntable shelf mounted on a solid wall. The sound may lack ‘weight’ compared to now - but it should be clearer and easier to follow.

Winny_Pooh

Have you tried A/B with a cd player to check if the turntable (or the vinyl ) is the issue?

Phil_aka_Pip

Have you a small room? Sometimes big speakers can sound crap in a small room. Its tempting to think you get better bass out of them but you won't if they're backed up to the wall for space reasons.

I doubt if the Marantz amp is shite, Marantz gear is usually good, but it is possible to hook a mellow-sounding amp to mellow-sounding speakers and end up with a disappointing sound. It has been said before that if you know your amplifier sounds a bit on the mellow side, try speakers that have a reputation for being a bit bright.

Woss the spec for the amplifier (power o/p especially, and has it an impedance selector so you can match it to the speakers)? The speakers (impedance, spl at 1m for 1W i/p, power handling)?

horse

I find the cheapest way to make most HIFIs sound better is to turn them up. A lot

TheBigDipper

I had a hifi fanatical work colleague come in one Monday telling us all he’d improved his system over the weekend.

"I've bought a detached house", he said... 

Now I live in a detached house, I know what he meant. 

Winny_Pooh

Also. Tweeters should be at ear level (high frequencies are directional, lower freqs are more omnidirectional) and those look quite tall. Would be handy to know what your listening position is as well as speaker spacing from the wall and room size/reflectivity.

prowla

There's a saying in hi-fi: garbage in = garbage out.
Replacing the speakers may not have the desired effect.
But it's often the case that how the system works together is more important than any one particular component.
It'd also be an idea to say what the model of amp is, rather than just the brand, as Marantz do some good stuff and some not so good.
That said, you could always trial (before buying) different speakers and see if they do sound better.
It's also worth considering the placement of the speakers; some like to go flat against a wall whereas others like some space around them.
Some systems are sensitive to the cables (even the mains cables!).
There's a whole world of fact and foo in hi-fi!
(re. The detached house anecdote - the biggest improvement I could make to my system would be a different shaped listening room!)

english_bob

prowla said:

Some systems are sensitive to the cables (even the mains cables!).

   You've only gone and bloody done it now. Here it comes....

Rocker

Google hi-fi system setup. Make sure your speakers are in phase - swap the connections at one of the speakers and listen. One end only, out of phase has a woolly disjointed sound with no central sonic image. Get the equipment you have working to it's best before changing anything. In other words, you need to determine what component in your system is causing the problem. Throwing money at the problem is not always the best solution....

strumjoughlamps

Is your tone arm weighted correctly?

lamf68

Sorry lads, forgot to put the model of amp on there, it’s a PM7200. I’m not expecting miracles to be fair but as I said at the start it’s so underwhelming, I’ve got a Bose soundock sat underneath the amp and turntable and that sound literally pisses all over the turntable!!!
as for tone arm weighted, I have no idea if it is, I read some online instruction on how to balance that weight but don’t really know if I’ve done it right

darthed1981

english_bob said:

prowla said:

Some systems are sensitive to the cables (even the mains cables!).

   You've only gone and bloody done it now. Here it comes....

Get a unicorn to wank on your cables.

It improves separation and also your ability to hear frequencies over 20khz.

It typically only costs about £3000 per metre.



Edit: meant very much in jest of course

Rocker

lamf68 said:

Sorry lads, forgot to put the model of amp on there, it’s a PM7200. I’m not expecting miracles to be fair but as I said at the start it’s so underwhelming, I’ve got a Bose soundock sat underneath the amp and turntable and that sound literally pisses all over the turntable!!!
as for tone arm weighted, I have no idea if it is, I read some online instruction on how to balance that weight but don’t really know if I’ve done it right

Crikey! Is there a phono stage in your amplifier? Most amps, of the last 20 years or so, we're not fitted with a phono stage. Check this out and get back to us. (There are lots of low priced external phono stages available)

lamf68

Yeah there’s a phono stage on it

Bridgehouse

Skipped

It could be anything.
Start with the turntable. Ask around your friends and neighbours for someone who can set it up for you.

Then listen with headphones. If it sounds great your speakers may be too big for the room and too close to the back wall.

My conclusion after decades of experimentation is that small speakers are much more forgiving and more  adaptable to the average domestic arrangements.

lamf68

Skipped said:

It could be anything.
Start with the turntable. Ask around your friends and neighbours for someone who can set it up for you.

Then listen with headphones. If it sounds great your speakers may be too big for the room and too close to the back wall.

My conclusion after decades of experimentation is that small speakers are much more forgiving and more  adaptable to the average domestic arrangements.

Any suggestion on a small pair of speakers, these floorstanders I have were not bought because I wanted them or had to have them, they were simply in my budget and for sale locally, I’ve no attachment to them.

uncledick

If you're in a small room and on a budget you could do a lot worse than this:

https://www.richersounds.com/wharfedale-9-0-black.html