O/T Hi-fi advice needed - bookshelf speakers

[Faldo]

Right - I have a nice big old pair of floorstanding tannoy speakers (circa 1980's)... the time has come to replace them, and am thinking of a trendy looking bookshelf speaker / stand combo. The problem is, I don't know owt about bookshelf speakers or which makes to look for. I 'know' that Mission speakers aint as good as they used to be, and i should look to buy british, but beyond that I struggle.

Budget is tight - looking at around £100 - £150.

Any recommendations or tips gratefully received...

Ta.

Ooh - my amp is a Cambridge A300 (I think) if that helps...

 

[Gully]

It is a long time since I bought new speakers, my current pair are 1990 vintage Wharfedale Coleridge, what an investment they turned out to be. At the time I bought them the benchmark for small speakers were Wharfedale Diamond, not sure if they still make them, probably up to version XXV by now but worth a listen if you get the chance. Kef also made some pretty good speakers around about that time but I think they switched their manufacture from Kent to the far-east, certainly the best speakers were always British made.

I bought my current Hi-Fi from a shop that used to be in Brighton, not far from the town centre but I think later moved to Hove, why not pop in there and see what they can do for you. If I remember the name of the shop I will add it to this thread.

 

[Woodchip]

I've got a set of Wharfedale Diamond 9.0's (http://www.hifibitz.co.uk/product.asp?id=3429)

Punchy for there size, whilst still clear at high volumes. Great for all sorts of music from Punk,Ska to female soloists.

 

[Uncle C]

Sorry my friend, not done bookshelf speakers in years.

Here is my speaker system:
7ft horns, underpinned by sub speakers the size of washing machines and accompanied by supertweeters

[/IMG]

 

[Jello]

I bought my current Hi-Fi from a shop that used to be in Brighton, not far from the town centre but I think later moved to Hove

Not bought any hi-fi for a while now but Sevenoaks Hi Fi http://www.ssav.com/ used to be top of preston street, now on western road near Grubbs. Theres another shop further out on church road, Powerplant. They used to be up by Freddies http://www.powerplant.co.uk/

 

[Gully]

It was Powerplant, I am pretty sure of that, I found their staff to be both knowledgeable and helpful. They also sold home cinema gear, I auditioned a system that they had set up, it was amazing quality and better than being in a full size cinema, a snip at just over £40k.

 

[Uncle C]

It was Powerplant, I am pretty sure of that, I found their staff to be both knowledgeable and helpful. They also sold home cinema gear, I auditioned a system that they had set up, it was amazing quality and better than being in a full size cinema, a snip at just over £40k.

I would agree that Powerplant is a great dealer, but at your budget you would be better served going to Richer Sounds.
Good luck.

 

[Gully]

True that Powerplant do tend towards the top end of Hi-Fi, but as far as I remember they also sold some second hand gear, so always a chance of a bargain.

 

[Rusthall Seagull]

If you have a subwoofer then you can try these....

I have two of the Antique Copper Mod 1's and they are superb....they look the business aswell!

http://www.orbaudio.com/

They take about ten days to ship but are well, well worth waiting for.

 

[REDLAND]

Sorry my friend, not done bookshelf speakers in years.

Here is my speaker system:
7ft horns, underpinned by sub speakers the size of washing machines and accompanied by supertweeters

[/IMG]

nice Very nice, thay make my Castle Howards look tiny

 

[Icy Gull]

Sorry my friend, not done bookshelf speakers in years.

Here is my speaker system:
7ft horns, underpinned by sub speakers the size of washing machines and accompanied by supertweeters

[/IMG]

Would hate to be your neighbour.....especially if I didn't like your taste in music

 

[bristolseagull]

richer sounds- the best place for speakers.

 

[Storer68]

richer sounds- the best place for speakers.

absolute bollox. all their speakers are either end of lines or once famous names now gone bust (Warfedale, Morduant Short, Gales etc) that richers have bought the name and manufacture as badge jobs. and you can't demo anything in their tine shoebox shop on Western Road

you'd be better off upping ypur budget a bit and going to somewhere like Sevenioaks, Powerplant or Audio T in Western Road (formerly known as Jeffries - demo facility,knowlegable staff, excellent after sales care, n providing you with best equipment they can supply at the price you are seeking)

 

[Hiney]

And don't Richer Sounds do a good deal in warranties that aren't worth the paper they're printed on?

 

[Sonic]

absolute bollox. all their speakers are either end of lines or once famous names now gone bust (Warfedale, Morduant Short, Gales etc) that richers have bought the name and manufacture as badge jobs. and you can't demo anything in their tine shoebox shop on Western Road

you'd be better off upping ypur budget a bit and going to somewhere like Sevenioaks, Powerplant or Audio T in Western Road (formerly known as Jeffries - demo facility,knowlegable staff, excellent after sales care, n providing you with best equipment they can supply at the price you are seeking)

Is Western Road the only road name you know?

Sevenoaks are in Western Road, Hove. Powerplant are in Upper North Street. Richer Sounds and Audio T are on London Road.

 

[Grendel]

and you can't demo anything in their tine shoebox shop on Western Road

Yes you can, and as mentioned above they're not on Western Road.

Audio T in Western Road (formerly known as Jeffries - demo facility,knowlegable staff, excellent after sales care, n providing you with best equipment they can supply at the price you are seeking)

Fantastic shop, if you're a millionaire. The cheapest non-DAB tuner they had on my last trip was £399.

 

[Storer68]

 

[Superphil]

B&W in Worthing, by the Thomas Becket Pub is very helpfull. (they used to be family linked to B&W the manufacturers of Speakers, but they went their separate ways some time ago and now the shop sells a wide variety of kit.)

Oh, and you can't use the term "Bookshelf Speakers" AND "HiFi" in the same context.

If you want to get really serious try Heatherwood HiFi in Findon Valley. Last time I went in there he had a pair of Philip Levinson Monoblock amplifiers, a snip at £5K each, and you need 2 for stereo, hate to use them for 5.1 surround sound.

 

[REDLAND]

Powerplant is the best Hi Fi shop in Brighton FACT !!

 

[Faldo]

All good stuff folks.

I live in East London, so not able to make most of those shops named (although I didnt realise Jeffries was a chain - my mum lives round the corner from what used to be one in Eastbourne).

Richer Sounds was fine for me when I first got into hi fi stuff - I'm just curious if there is better out there (and more recommendations the better).

Keep em coming - basically, i want brands to go for, and brands to avoid...

PS - is it wrong that I am HUGELY intimidated by Uncle C's monsters??