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Speaker advice for first hi-fi setup - Monitor Audio Gold vs. KEF R series!

Hey guys,

I'm going through the exciting process of building my first hi-fi setup, exclusively for music listening.

I currently listen to music in my study (roughly 12ft x12ft) through a pair of KEF LS50W, hardwired into a MacBook Pro. No external application / DAC is used for this setup.

I now want to have a music setup in my living room, which is roughly 16ft by 20ft, with one side opening up to an entryway into the rest of the apartment. The floor is tiled, with a fair amount of furniture. I listen to old and new-age rock, soft rock, indie, with a bit of acoustic / vocals thrown in. 

I've auditioned a bunch of speakers over the past couple of months, starting off at a lower budget and then moving to the mid-price range to get a better sound. These include: Q-Acoustic 3050i; Dali Oberon 5 & &; Dali Opticon 6, B&W 683, 703 & 704; DynAudio Evoke 30; Spendor A4 and A7; Revel F36 and F206; Focal Aria 936 & 948; KEF R7; Monitor Audio Gold 200 (both 4G and 5G).

The two speakers that really caught my ear were the Monitor Audio Gold 200 (5G) and the KEF R7. I enjoyed the warmth of the MA speakers and the soundstage / imaging of the KEF (it was as if the music was floating around me).

I'm confused now and keen to hear some impressions on these two speakers. It's important for me that the speaker sound has a bit of weight (a drum solo should have 'impact' when I hear it), should be warm yet refined and overall 'fun and easy' to listen to.

Thanks!
parabola82
parabola82 OP
6 posts
 
Thanks for the input guys!

So many speakers (systems!), so little time (and money).

Guess the journey is as much fun as the destination.
tim_p's avatar
tim_p
361 posts
 
Monitor Audio ard KEF are good choices, I use KEF in home theatre and have a pair of Monitor Audio Platinum PL300II for 2 channel. I have heard all levels of MA from bronze to gold over the years and find them to be a very musical speaker. When I want a blast from the past I just switch out to my Klipsch LaScalas.
joekapahulu
240 posts
 
I have Kef R300s bought 5 years ago. I bought them after side by side listening compared to LS50s for 4-5 hours in a shop. If they changed the amp they ran both speakers thru it. I found 2 key things. First, the R300s had more bass than the LS 50s to my ears but otherwise sounded almost the same in midrange and highs. The electronics placed in front had a HUGE impact on the overall sound of BOTH. I bought a Marantz PM8005 to go with the R300s. It was nice, warm and could run direct or thru the preamp. It was also broken in as were the speakers. I was told both would take 50-100 hours to break in. Since I lived 4-5000 miles away from the shop this was a key thing to know and I respected that I was told this upfront. They didnt lie. The Kefs took a good 100 hours to break in as did the Marantz. During that period, I also swapped out the amp at home using 2 other pieces I had from McIntosh and ATI. Ultimately, I loved the McIntosh combination the best and used it for months. The Kefs were ruthlessly revealing but mostly neutral. I learned I had some really great sounding CDs. .Meanwhile I ran the Marantz through Spendors and Ohms and eventually that broke in fine. When I finally reunited the two "modern" pieces I was surprised at how good they sounded. Each had gotten to the point of mostly being broken in. I found even more that the combo was very revealing. To this day 5 years later I like both pieces but am thinking of upgrading the amp... to see what might deliver even more of that neutral sound. The speakers are keeper unless I buy better Kefs. I do like the full Reference series but that would require a few investments to deliver....
Moral....buy what you like, listen as much as possible for synergy and assume breakin...
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