Wilmslow Audio

Posted by: RogerH on 21 March 2004

I have a dilemma. I want some speakers to go with my CD5/NAC112/NAP150. Money is very tight: Well, its not that the money isn't there but I've just taken the long walk from my job, so there's none coming in at the moment and Mrs.H. raises her eyebrows if I come back from the shops with a music mag.

I've got hold of a copy of Wilmslow Audio's catalogue which claims we could be paying up to 4 times as much for our manufactured speakers. I've got my eye on the Vogue at £625 plus a bit more if I decide to put some nice wood veneer on them. Have any of you gone down this route .... was it a good move or have you regretted it ever since?

I've been reading some of the earlier threads from the keen speaker builders among you. I'm not in that league but I did knock up a few Wharfedale kits in my youth so I reckon I can cope with this relatively simple task.
Posted on: 21 March 2004 by Steve B
My first speakers were from Wilmslow but it was far too long ago for me to remember what they were like.

However, I reckon you could get some decent used speakers (Linn Kan, Royd, Rega etc) for a lot less than £625. Then if things got really tight you could sell them, taking relatively little loss.

How much would you get if you had to sell a pair of kit speakers?

Steve B
Posted on: 21 March 2004 by trickytree
Roger,

I was at Wilmslow a few months ago to buy some bits and also have a listen to some Home Studio Monitors. The only thing I would say is that in my honest opinion the kits are rather on the expensive side, the HSM being about £450 for the basic kit,minus cabinets. Now I have to say that I do rather like the HSM's, but that is an awfull lot of money for what is a nice but certainly not exceptional speaker.

As an alternative, £250-300 will get you a pair of S.H. Epos ES14's complete with stands. If your room is a bit on the small side or you cant give the 14's the space they need then the above mentioned Royds or even a pair of Mk 2 Kans with dedicated stands.

If you realy want to go the DIY route, then try FALCON ACOUSTICS, they have a wide range of more afordable designs.

A further option would be to buy a secondhand pair and upgrade those instead. The improvements I have wrung out of my modest Kef Codas has been a very pleasant surprise.

Paul.
Posted on: 22 March 2004 by Jeroen P
Roger

Have you ever considered Neat? I too have a 112/150 combination and was more than just pleased when I heard a Neat Mistique with this setup. Second hand thay are not that expensive and would get you some considerable change from £625.

Jeroen

Roger, send you a private message
Posted on: 22 March 2004 by blythe
Intro 2's.
If you speak to a dealer, you may get a bargain on a new pair.

Computers are supposed to work on 1's and 0's - in other words "Yes" or "No" - why does mine frequently say "Maybe"?......
Posted on: 22 March 2004 by RogerH
Interesting that you should suggest Neat Mystiques, Jeroen because I was reading about these at the week-end, not least because they seem to have gained unrivalled popularity among members on this site. I did hear these a while back but they were playing with Creek gear, not Naim. I thought they sounded OK but certainly didn't make me buy them with Creek stuff at the time. I thought they looked a bit small and mean for the price (£795 new?) and I wasn't convinced that the speaker units were of high quality ... don't know why, just a perception thing I guess. If I'm honest, I was a bit put off also by the lack of grills to hide and protect the naughty bits from dust .... and kids.

Mind you, if I continue to read such positive things about them, then I reckon I should go and have another listen.

Thanks for the advice anyway.