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b&w 685: heard 'em, liked 'em, but wondering

howdy audiogon community,

Im looking to buy a pair of new speakers for no more than $700 or so. They will be my first pair of somewhat decent speakers and powered by an 80w per channel marantz receiver. In shops I've been listening to the b&w 685 and cm1, dali ikons 1 and 2 and some speakers from paradigm and kef.

While I do like what I hear coming from the 685s- for the money, It sounds damn good- I am wondering if there's any other new speakers out there worth considering within my budget before I bring home the 685s.

My taste in music is fairly varied. I find myself listening to albums by the following- Wilco, Leo Kottke, The Allman Brothers Band, Charlie Parker and Sublime. That said, I would rather see more of my money go towards reproducing detailed mids and highs than powerful bass.

Looking around this site, I'm humbled by the knowledge and dedication you all have for hi-fi. I'm new to it all and am eager to hear some recommendations.
Cheers
rorty40
nrenter's avatar
nrenter
765 posts
 
If you are willing to buy used, here are a couple speakers to consider:

- Green Mountain Audio Europa
- Vandersteen 2ce or 2ce Signature (the sigs will be tough to find in your price range)

And you may also want to investigate Trianglezerius' suggestion of the GR Research kit /w cabinets from Parts Express. I've not heard them, but Danny is a good guy, and his kits do have a solid following.
bar81
791 posts
 
You may want to check out the Era D4 or D5:

http://signalpathint.com/index.php/Comparative/era-Speakers.html

When I auditioned the D4s they were noticeably superior to the correspondingly priced B&W monitors using a receiver.
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
I've had the 685's in my PC system (Musical Fidelity DAC, Cayin A50T, M Audio Firewire, Monarchy DIP) for about 8 months and still can't beleve how good they sound for $600 bucks. They image nicely, have decent bass, awesone soundstage, low level detail and are not fatiguing at all. They are also pretty transparent. I am very happy with them. I have each of them sitting on three symposium fat pads.
agiaccio
147 posts
 
What powered subwoofer would you suggest to use with the B&W 685 speakers?

Also, would these work well in a 12'x14' room?
tonyangel
309 posts
 
I can't/won't recommend any particular sub, but will say that you should seek out one that is intended for music rather than home theatre. I'm using a Paradigm PW2200 right now and, well, I just think that there is something not right about the combo with my 685s. Unfortunately, I lack the proper vocabulary to articulate what I want to say about the combo.
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