Speakers, speakers, speakers..... Again

Hi all,

I'm in the middle of my upgrade journey. Started with the turntable. Jumping from a pro ject essential ii to a clearaudio concept. Then from a pro ject phono mm to the arcam rphono. Now I'm onto the speakers.

I have narrowed down my choices to the following

Wharfedale Evo 4.2

Dali Oberon 5

Monitor Audio Silver 100

Dali opticon 2

Monitor Audio Radius 270.

Does anyone have any experience with any of these speakers? I'll be coming from the Dali Zensor 1, and while I enjoyed them when I first got them a few years ago. I find them very fatiguing now. I'm looking for detail but also a full sounding speaker thats enjoyable to listen to maybe leaning towards a warm sound with a good soundstage and imaging.

I am able to audition all of these speakers except the monitor audio ones as I have to travel to northern Ireland and with the current health crisis I can't leave my country. So any experience oj the monitor audio speakers will be very helpful.

I believe the opticon 2s can be a little bright and at the minute the amp I have can be a little bright so these may not be for me. Time will tell after I hear them.

 

Do yourself a favor and just forget about these until you've gone ahead with the other auditions. Buy the speakers you fall in love with. Buy them even if they don't match well with your current amp. Just get the model number of the amp that was used during the auditions. You're in the middle of your upgrade journey. The amp can be you waiting at you final destination.

 

I doubt the MAs can compete with the Evos. That ceramic tweeter they employ can't match even the low-tier AMTs I've heard.

 

The Evos are my number one choice. But while looking around other speakers in my price range drew me in.

 

It’s your money, it’s your ears. As said earlier, best to audition them yourself. Home demo is best.

 

I'll definitely be auditioning them. Well all except the monitor audios. If any of the other ones tick the boxes I'll jump on them. I'll be able to get a home demo on the Wharfdale and dali's. Just not at the same time, but I'll be able to audition them in the shop back to back.

 

I seriously doubt the Evo 4.2 stand a chance versus the Silver 100. I have a pair of Quad z1 (which should be a cut above the Wharfedales, using a true ribbon instead of an AMT tweeter) and I prefer my friend’s Monitor Audio Silver 2 (predecessor of the 100 with the same driver design) most of the time.

They sound fuller, more natural and much more powerful than my Quads, using the same amplifiers, stands and in the same room.

I’m thinking about selling my speakers and buying a pair of Silver 100.

 

Apologies for the delay. Just seeing uour reply now. Thank you for the feedback. There seems to be a general consensus from everyone I've spoken to that the MA silver 100s are the way to go. I'll have to find a shop that do a somewhat decent return policy. Most places in ireland are a 14 day.

Have you made a decision on getting to 100s yourself yet?

 

You’re most welcome! I haven’t made that decision yet because I really like the airy treble on my Quads. And since I’m using my Quads with a sealed subwoofer, I’m not missing on bass. But I like the idea of simplifying my set up. The Silver 2s ( = Silver 100 ) have the same bass extension as my BK Gemini II subwoofer - they start playing at about 28Hz, so I wouldn’t lose bass extension.

It’s just the more detailed treble that’s been keeping me on the fence.

 

If you've got everything you're looking for in your system it's just a question of do you simplify it or not. I'm looking forward to hearing the presentation of silver 100s. I believe even with the detailed treble they're not fatiguing due to the presence of bass and mids..

 

I believe you’ll like the sound signature of the Silver 100s. If the Silver 2s are anything to go by (and they should be), you’ll hear a very powerful sound that just sounds right. Treble is detailed and doesn’t sound rolled off but is not piercing by any means. It’s just not as mellow or as soft as the usual Wharfedale treble, for instance.

Sometimes I’d say there’s a bit too much bass, but since it usually sounds right, my friend hasn’t moved them further away from the back wall, as she uses them to watch movies (without a subwoofer). Also, the soundstage is not as 3D as it is with my Quads. The ribbon tweeter really makes the sound appear to float in front of you.

All things considered, the Silver 100s are a very easy listen that impress with their very solid bass foundation.

 

I think it’s good to get some ideas here to maybe narrow your search but as others said to go audition them.
I’m not nearly as experienced as many here, but at my wise old age of 51 I can say to audition as many speakers as you can in your price range and maybe a tad more.
Everyone has different ears and taste. When I was on my journey of auditioning speakers it took me a good 6 years. Yup. Of course I wasn’t looking full time for those 6 years. But for the last year before I bought my speakers I was the pain in the a$$ customer and asked to listen to almost everything.
I come from the musician world and I am VERY accustomed to the snobbery in auditioning stuff. So I was prepared and not shy in the least. After around 42 I would consciously walk into music stores and tell the guys literally “ listen I am a pain in the a$$ and will listen and play a bunch of stuff. It’s my money and I want to get exactly what I want and be sure of it. Are you ok with that?” And that would be it. Being a bit older helps of course.
But what I’m trying to say is that man I hear the weirdest craziest reviews of some gear and then listen to it myself and sometimes go “ what in the F were these people talking about??” And in this day and age of the internet there are a TON of fake reviews and also simply enough people have different taste.
People love NAIM. I didn’t like it at all. They love Dynaudio. Nope. Found bright as hell and just uninspiring to me. Just a couple examples. And that’s fine. That’s why there is so much gear , because we all have different tastes.

anyway pardon for the long winded post. Just try ( and I know you want something new now) and be patient and listen to a shiiiit ton of stuff. If you like something but aren’t sure. Ask them to change the amp to see how much of the speaker sound sig remains with them. Go back. Listen to them again. Once , twice, however long it takes till you love them. It’s your money and your enjoyment.

Oh and try and make it fun too. I sometimes make it out to be a task.

cheers man!

 

I have had the silvers older version ... and they're fantastic. That 8" woofer really kicks out when the track needs to, and the high frequencies are detailed but anything "bright"at all, they're neutral.
I really hate boring sound without life and detail, recessed highs are equally wrong as to overly bright. For me, the silvers are a good introduction into good hifi sound.

But, as always, acoustics have a great impact in the final results, that's why there're many and many speakers brands / models. You need to do your homework and position the speakers wisely after they have 100 hours of use.