"Roy" rp wrote in message ...
"Philip Meech" wrote in message
...
Would you do a Yank a favor and tell me how audiophiles
in your country rank the top British bookshelf speakers,
particularly in light of the chinese gold rush at Wharfedale and Quad.


ATC (if you have strong bookshelves) and AVI. Well those would be my choice,
but am I an audiophile?


I would second the ATC recommendation. I've been using active ATCs
for approaching three years now. Currently using Active 20s (the new
design) and I love 'em. Their passive models are also excellent -
among the best passive speakers I've heard in their respective classes
(I've had good long listens to the SCM-7s and a home dem of the
SCM-12s - not heard the SCM-35 floorstanders yet) though IMO not quite
in the same league as their actives (I know some people would disagree
though).

AVI make some very good speakers, though not to everyone's tastes.
The new Quads are excellent as well.

For something a little more laid-back there are the new ranges from
Spendor and Harbeth, and also ProAc. Not really my cup of tea, but a
lot of people like them.

I recently had the pleasure of briefly listening to a pair of £8,000
ART Expressions in a hifi shop. Absolutely wonderful speakers, from
what I could tell. In the guise I heard them they were the full-blown
floorstanders, but you can get them without the big bass modules and
use them as standmounts (for a mere £4K). They also make the Skibo, a
much more affordable, similarly modular speaker, which has garnered
some good reviews though I haven't heard them personally. ART are a
fairly little-known Scottish brand I would keep an eye on.

And on the subject of little-known brands, Leema Acoustics make some
stunning little speakers - the Xens are absolutely terrific
mini-monitors ("mini" in the truest sense of the word), and I hear
their larger Xavier floorstanders are also excellent.

Ooh, and Wilson Benesch is another very well regarded British speaker
company.

And of course Rega, Epos, and Neat. I haven't heard much of the first
two (though each has their devoted followers), but I recently had the
pleasure of listening to the new Neat Ultimatums. I think they were
one of the big floorstanders, but they make a (~£3K) standmount too.
These sound SERIOUSLY good.

Oh, and Acoustic Energy. I remember liking the AE1 Mk. II when I
listened to it on several occasions a couple years ago. It's since
been replaced by a much shinier (and more expensive) model, the Mk.
III which seems to be getting good reviews.

And how could I forget B&W? Perhaps the biggest British speaker
manufacturer. IME their speakers are pretty good but you can usually
find better for the price. I have yet to hear the Signature 805s,
though, which have been raved about quite rabidly, though are reported
to have a rather different balance to the regular '05s. I remember
being impressed with the CDM-1NTs a couple years back, when I heard
them driven by a Linn Ikemi CD player and some big, expensive Bonnec
amps. They came very close to the performacne of the 805s at just
over half the price. They sounded much less impressive when used with
inferior amplification, though. Have yet to hear the new 700 series,
though they seem generally well-liked.

Ah, and PMC! They make some seriously good speakers. Sort of like an
alternate-dimension ATC. They use transmission lines exclusively,
which means they go loooow, though when I heard the FB1s I wasn't
quite convinced - the bass didn't quite sound "right", though this was
a while ago and my tastes have evolved since then. They've
recently come out with a couple new floorstanding models which have
been much praised by the press and owners alike. They are also
renowned for their standmounts, which (thanks to the transmission
lines again) go much deeper than most standmounts. They also have the
option fo being used actively with Bryston amplification. Oh, and
their AML-1 is a very expensive wee active standmount that is
supposedly fantastic.

There's also Mission and Tannoy, but I've never really heard speakers
from either of them that I liked.

Then there's always Linn and Naim...

Hmm, seem to have rambled quite a bit. Hope you find something of
value in that load of waffle.

Dunc