1-boxer for bedroom: speakers?

Posted by: Neil Bennett on 15 September 2008

Am planning a one-box system in a re-modelled bedroom. Either a Solo Movie 2.1 or 5.1, dependent on what comes up 2nd-hand/ex-dem. However, not having room for loads of speakers, I will run it in 2.0 or 2.1 mode in either case. Any recommendations for the (front) speakers? I use Katans on my dining room Classik, and have N-Sats as rears in my AV system, both with good results, but no experience of a Solo. They might need to be bookshelf-mounted since stands might not muster a hogh enough WAF to be approved!

Neil
Posted on: 15 September 2008 by JAB
What about a Denon s302 for example?
Posted on: 16 September 2008 by pjl
Wharfedale Diamond 9's with SW150 sub.

Peter
Posted on: 16 September 2008 by djftw
I have heard a pair of B&W FPM (Flat Panel Monitors) sounding very nice with a Solo movie, can't remember which ones, but they are designed to be wall mounted either side of a flat screen and consequently take up almost no space at all!
Posted on: 16 September 2008 by JAB
the Denon is an alternative which might be worth looking into. if its an arcam the arcam alto speakers seem a natural choice.
Posted on: 17 September 2008 by Neil Bennett
Some interesting suggestions; thanks, will look into them.

Neil
Posted on: 17 September 2008 by Allan Probin
Another suggestion: Linn Komponent 104's. Very clean, clear and precise sounding. Perhaps veering a little on the clinical side but that may be of benefit in a room that has a dead, over-damped acoustic. They are about half the volumetric size of Katans and look smart, small and discrete. They are only 15cm deep so would be suitable for wall mounting (wall mounting brackets are included with the speakers). Fantastic build quality – the cabinets are made from a surprisingly thick gauge of aluminium (to maximise internal volume). They feel very solid and chunky, give them the knuckle-tap test and you would think they were carved from stone! They originally sold for about £600/pair but can now be bought new for £299/pair.

I listened to a pair in my main system and found them rather program dependent. On light acoustic, female vocal and so on they sound great. The clarity is quite startling. I compared them directly against my Katans and they made the Katans sound rather warm and fuzzy. However, start pushing them a bit and feeding in something heavier and I found the 104's heading towards stridency. Overall I still prefer the sweeter sounding Katans but this comparison was in my main system in a medium sized, sparsely furnished room.
Posted on: 18 September 2008 by JAB
the f80 sounds good but is not so hot on dvd movie replay
Posted on: 06 October 2008 by Neil Bennett
Thanks for all the suggestions, many of which I've looked into. I think what I'm going to do, after a re-think, is scrap my dining-room system of Linn Classik/Katans, use the Katans (possibly on wall brackets) for this, and sell the Classik. I'll then use the ex-kitchen Bose Wave in there for the (very) occasional use for background music that is required these days.

Neil