Best floorstanders for low end under £2000?

[nickbaba]

All suggestions appreciated -

I listen to a lot of 70s Dub from vinyl, some modern electronic music, so bottom end is important to me. Looking to upgrade from my Cerwin Vega XLS-12s to something more serious but not sacrifice the bass from those 12" woofers...

Not looking for bookshelf speakers with a separate sub-woofer... floorstanders with great SQ capable of moving some air.

Amp is a McIntosh MA7000.

Budget is around £2000...

 

[lee1975]

I you are looking S/H look for some JBL's they will make your Cerwin vage sound light weight. Some on eBay at the moment.

 

[themadlatvian]

Problem is what type of bass you are after, because most high quality floorstanders are not designed to provide huge slam as such. My big Celestion A3s go down very strongly to around 20hz with the M3 driving them, and can be found for less than £1k if you have the room for them, but they might not be the sound you are after. If you are used to the Cerwin sound then big JBLs are probably your best bet. If you want more refined performance (IMO) you might have to change your expectations somewhat.

 

[eastsoutheast]

I would not underestimate the impact a quality sub can have if properly set up. To get the sort of bass performance I think you are after requires some very big speakers. High quality speakers of the size required are usually far higher up the price range.

You could find a fantastic sounding pair of floorstanders for around the £1200 mark and add a suitable sub or even two if room permits. Something like a pair of Pro Ac studio 130 or 140's with a pair of BK XXLS400's. If you go down this route you will have a great range of options that will also provide you with added flexibility in the future. Going this route will give you so many options for speakers.

I use a very large pair of floorstanders which are renowned for going low (PMC EB1i's) and they are supported with a pair of subs. The subs are set to only kick in below 40HZ (after lots of experimenting) which offers great integration and takes nothing away from the higher frequencies.

If you only want a pair of speakers without a sub/subs then I would agree that a large pair of JBL's would likely suit.

Happy hunting

 

[68rednose]

Problem is what type of bass you are after, because most high quality floorstanders are not designed to provide huge slam as such. My big Celestion A3s go down very strongly to around 20hz with the M3 driving them, and can be found for less than £1k if you have the room for them, but they might not be the sound you are after. If you are used to the Cerwin sound then big JBLs are probably your best bet. If you want more refined performance (IMO) you might have to change your expectations somewhat.

:goodone:

There is a lot of interpretation possible with 'bass'.

For my taste, that would be the more sophisticated type, that goes down towards 20 Hz.

This way, e.g. church organ can be played nicely at home, or modern recordings like Yello-Touch.

I do not like that much type of speakers that have a similar drive as in large Spanish discotheques, mainly focused on SPL.

I used to quite like that (now married with kids ), but not at home.

What comes to mind though, is Avalon Acoustics.

They do IIRC the balance between sophistication and slam very well.

Hope this helps, good luck with your search.

 

[eastsoutheast]

Just looked at the specs for the cerwin Vegas which appear to go down to 37HZ. I imagine they play very loudly as this is not particularly low for a 12" bass driver. A lot of much smaller floorstanders from the likes of Pro Ac, Spendor, PMC, B&W etc go lower than 37HZ but probably at lower volumes.

A pair of PMC OB1i's could be found for your budget and these go down to 28HZ. I have listened to these speakers and personally think they produce a great sound. They also have the same power handling as your CV's and I can confirm they like being played loud.

A larger pair of Pro Ac's would also go down as low as your CV's, thinking D18's or D28's.

 

[gjm]

When I had them, I found the Leema Xaviers produced astonishing yet very well-controlled bass. Not 20Hz, sure, but a measured 26Hz in room. And that bass varied depending on the music - in some circumstances, it seemed to swell from underground before washing over you, while at others, and particularly with electronica, it could almost reach out and punch you.

Leema kit has never been imported to NZ. My loss.

 

[Leonard Smalls]

When I had them, I found the Leema Xaviers produced astonishing yet very well-controlled bass. Not 20Hz, sure, but a measured 26Hz in room. And that bass varied depending on the music - in some circumstances, it seemed to swell from underground before washing over you, while at others, and particularly with electronica, it could almost reach out and punch you.Leema kit has never been imported to NZ. My loss.

Aye... They produce astonishing low end extension for a 6.5" driver.

Not quite as low as Ditton 66s, which would easily fit within the budget; in fact you could buy both for £2k!

I find them both more than adequate for dub...

 

[julian2002]

Have a look at transmission line speakers these can punch far above their weight in bass terms but are a bugger to integrate with a room

 

[silencio]

Take a look at the Golden Ear Triton 2 (if you can stretch)... All the bass you can want..

 

[bandit pilot]

Your budget would have got my Coincident Total Eclipse a few weeks back. They went sub 20hz, and could move air enough to rattle thing off next doors shelf. They are also musically superb.

If you could land a pair of those, you would be a happy man.

 

[lordmortlock]

Loved the bass that these produced when I had them

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthrea...orstanding-speakers&p=1690329#post1690329

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?93872-F-S-WLM-LA-SCALA-floorstanding-speakers&p=1690329#post1690329

 

[Beobloke]

Ah, the same question on a second forum!

In which case I re-iterate my recommendation for a pair of RRR FS-100s.

 

[mentaldental]

Your budget would have got my Coincident Total Eclipse a few weeks back. They went sub 20hz, and could move air enough to rattle thing off next doors shelf. They are also musically superb.If you could land a pair of those, you would be a happy man.

Speaking as the new over of Rick's Coincident speakers I can confirm that they do have great bass , but not at the expense of higher frequencies. Borrowed some PMC twenty 23s, that had pretty good base, but nowhere near the detail and range of the Coincident speakers. (The PMCs are about 1/10 the size though!)

Not sure where you live, but if you are even around the Midlands you are welcome to have a listen. Not sure how many Coincident speakers have made it over to the UK? Not many I suspect.

 

[JVS]

You should be able to pick up a pair of early Wilson Watt/Puppy speakers for £2k.

They go down to the low 20s and do slam very well :^

 

[nick dartmoor]

Aye... They produce astonishing low end extension for a 6.5" driver.Not quite as low as Ditton 66s, which would easily fit within the budget; in fact you could buy both for £2k!

I find them both more than adequate for dub...

Pair of 66s on eBay right now, in Oldham. BIN £799. The Emporium in Exeter had a nice pair the other day, as did the geezer in Newton Abbot market (not knowing where the OP is located).

 

[mmar]

Dali helicon 800 s mk. 1 could be within budget they go deep look stunning and work very well with quality push pull amps

Some kef ref 4.2 s would also come in well under budget

 

[lordmortlock]

Or Killies impulse H2's in the classifieds? They must rumble.

 

[Leonard Smalls]

Pair of 66s on eBay right now, in Oldham. BIN £799. The Emporium in Exeter had a nice pair the other day, as did the geezer in Newton Abbot market (not knowing where the OP is located).

Bit battered for the price, but he does say:

"The Celestion Ditton speakers feature a 4.8-watt input and emit 90 dB worth of pink noise."

Which is most helpful!