Monitor Audio RX8 - B&W CM9 - KEF R700 - FOCAL836v - TANNOY DC6T SE
A few months back I compared the Monitor Audios and the Focals, driven by an Exposure CD/Amp combination and the Focal was the hands-down winner. The Monitor Audios had a tiny bit more wallop in the bass, but this seemed to come at the price of a lifeless treble. On a good classical recording of Magdalena Kozena singing Mozart the MAs came across as dull and stilted, whereas the Focals brought her voice to life quite beautifully. I wouldn't characterise the treble as 'bright.' I ended up buying Focal 714Vs as the 836 would simply have been too large for my room, but they were lovely speakers.
Thanks
Hi L00k_C
Thanks for your reply.
I meant to ask you to clarify earlier - your room size is 3m (width), 4m (length) & 3m (height)?
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
Hi L00k_C
Thanks for your reply.
I meant to ask you to clarify earlier - your room size is 3m (width), 4m (length) & 3m (height)?
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
Thats right...
Re Rick @ Musicraft suggesting the ATC scm40's....
I myself have been very tempted by these speakers but am concerned by the speakers requirements for power/current and expect they need a dedicated 2 channel power amp/two mono's to make them sing. I am about to pull the trigger on a Cambridge Audio 851A integrated amp that manages 2x120wpc into 8ohms and the amp has two dedicated power supplies (one for each channel). The question is do you think this amp would work well enough to make the ATC's sing or if its even worthy of powering such speakers? I am of course considering a demo of the ATC's too!
I too like the d'Appolito arrangement ever since hearing it on the Reference 104/2 back in about 1990. You could say this was a precursor to KEF's UniQ design as it was aimed at producing a similar sort of effect - a single point source from multiple drivers. The UniQ solved many of this issues of the d'Appolito array.
That aside, I haven't heard anyone yet say that they felt the R700's lack bass. There are various aspects that have been addressed with the R series to allow the speaker to produce much less distortion than normal and very little coloration, so maybe the bass you are hearing from them is much cleaner than you're used to? Or possibly that the amp you tried them with was a little lean sounding? Or maybe they were auditioned with the bungs in? This can reduce the bass by up to 6dB, which is a fairly drastic reduction.
I too like the d'Appolito arrangement ever since hearing it on the Reference 104/2 back in about 1990. You could say this was a precursor to KEF's UniQ design as it was aimed at producing a similar sort of effect - a single point source from multiple drivers. The UniQ solved many of this issues of the d'Appolito array.
That aside, I haven't heard anyone yet say that they felt the R700's lack bass. There are various aspects that have been addressed with the R series to allow the speaker to produce much less distortion than normal and very little coloration, so maybe the bass you are hearing from them is much cleaner than you're used to? Or possibly that the amp you tried them with was a little lean sounding? Or maybe they were auditioned with the bungs in? This can reduce the bass by up to 6dB, which is a fairly drastic reduction.
I should have said 'lack' bass rather that I wanted more.... is that better.....

Ofcourse you might be right in saying that I might be used with a worse kind of 'bass; and the comparison might be unfair to R700
Hi L00k_C
Thanks for your reply.
I am busy at the moment however i will reply when i've got a moment to spare. In the meantime i am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
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A few months back I compared the Monitor Audios and the Focals, driven by an Exposure CD/Amp combination and the Focal was the hands-down winner. The Monitor Audios had a tiny bit more wallop in the bass, but this seemed to come at the price of a lifeless treble. On a good classical recording of Magdalena Kozena singing Mozart the MAs came across as dull and stilted, whereas the Focals brought her voice to life quite beautifully. I wouldn't characterise the treble as 'bright.' I ended up buying Focal 714Vs as the 836 would simply have been too large for my room, but they were lovely speakers.
Thanks