As I impatiently wait for delivery of a BHK 250 amp, I realize my setup will require a new pair of speaker to balance the new amp and current BHK Preamp.
Auditioning would be ideal but not practical in the current Covid-19 environment so I am seeking advice from the experts.
What would be a (subjectively) good pair of speakers to match with the BHK-250?
I am open to add a sub but space is limited so most likely would not add a pair a of them.
Budget is around 6-7K total.
Listening area is small, around 220 sq. ft.
I listen to most music genres (no hip-hop or country), most of the time is classic rock and jazz (hi-fi streaming and CDs)
Thanks in advance.
is it possible to go to nearby dealer to go listen?
What are the actual dimensions of the room as square footage alone doesn’t help with speaker choices.
Once I narrow the options I will try to audition them but it will not be with a BHK 250. I am interested in what others find a good match to the amp.
Got you. It is 17’x13’.
Do you prefer stand mount and subs or floorstander?
Bookshelves should be enough for the room but I do prefer floorstanders
What do you have now and what type of sound profile do you prefer? Warm like a Harbeth or brighter like a Focal? One of the longest running floorstander models on the market and still a great choice in it’s 8th version is the Vandersteen Model 2CE Signature III at $3279. Still leaves you room for a pair of Rythmik subs though you may never feel like you need them as they will easily reach the high 20’s to low 30’s depending on the room.
https://www.vandersteen.com/products/model-2ce-signature-iii
Another solid option in a floorstander is the optioned out Ascend Sierra Tower at under $3000 again leaving you room for the subs which they also sell.
Not aware of where you live or what options are available to you within a reasonable driving distance.
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I would agree, a pair of Harbeth and a REL S/510 or S/812. The Harbeth are handy because they can go quite close to walls. Plus there have been several new models in the last 5 years and very little between them, so a used pair would be very close to the latest XD and probably half the price.
Focal are brighter, I don’t like them but lots of people do. Bright is probably not the right work, more like surgical.
BHK would drive both easily.
Yes a pair of C7-ES3’s would work and I own a pair so familiar with the sound if that’s something the OP would like, but would stay away from the REL’s with the BHK amps regardless of Paul’s “love” of them. The Rythmik’s are as good or to my ear’s a better product built in the US and will integrate the same way for a lot less money for equal size. I have been running a pair with a BHK 250 for over 4 years with no connections or hum issues just solid bass. You can get two Rythmik F12SE’s for less than the price of a single S510 and three for the price of an S812.
A used pair of Wilson Sophia speakers would be about $7K.
I don’t know about the larger speakers, but the smallest Harbeth speakers (P3ESR) I demoed in my home did not work for classic rock at all.
What about Tannoys? Cheviots are in budget.
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Checkout the Ohm Walsh wT-5000. You won’t need a sub and they can scale from a small room to large room if you ever want to move them.
I have a pair of their wT-2000 in my office and their sound stage is phenomenal with my Stellar Strata.
danm
I’ve got a narrower room I’m using for the “Music Room” at our house in SC. It’s 12’6" as opposed to the OP’s 13’ and though longer at 21’ still presents the same challenges he will face as to distance from sidewalls. It will restrict him to speakers that are comfortable with an about 2’ distance from sidewalls and a center to center spacing of 7-8 feet. I decided a couple of weeks ago to put my Harbeth’s into the system in place of the normal speaker that works the best for all types of music in that room. Like you found the Harbeth’s in that room with subs are great with some types of music but rock is not one of them. The brand new Vandersteen’s are a speaker that I am familiar with that will work in that room and will play anything and have acquaintances with the Ascends that rave about them with similar types of music. Not aware that Wilson’s will work in that type of environment but they may just haven’t heard of them being used that way. I know that the two speakers I use in the systems in Florida wouldn’t work in the SC room due to size and spacing requirement so wouldn’t even try them. The speaker I settled on in SC the US distributor didn’t think would work and at first I took his word for it but later decided to carry them up based on the manufacturers spacing guidance and in fact they work great. But they are narrow floorstanders that are front ported transmission line speakers.
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Your choice of speaker affects your choice of genre! Stand mounters are great for chamber, small ensembles and jazz groups. Sophia is great with large orchestral works such as Mahler and Bruckner. They’re Wilson’s best value for money 
Do you actually own a pair or had a pair in your room or a room of a similar size?
I used to hang out at a friend’s who owned the Wilsons. I used to own Tannoy Sterling and Tanny D700 at the time. His room was 16’ x 13’ approx. carpeted, with Persian rugs on the side walls. No fancy treatment. I enjoyed listening to large orchestral works at his place more than anything else.
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Since you’re a Dynaudio guy why didn’t you just recommend a model like one of the Contour floorstanders that would fit his room. They are now pretty heavily discounted plus fit his style of music. I know many people that own Wilson’s and Classic Rock is not something most of them listen to nor did David Wilson.
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I was not sure people liked the Dyns. It seems that I am the only person who talks about them here. Edit: just checked and the Contour 60i is $9k, Contour 30i is $7k, my stand mounters 20i are $4.5k. I wonder of used ones are available.
The problem with Dyn’s in the US is their distribution network that after awhile leads to heavy discounting just like with Focal but they don’t end up at places like Music Direct or Audio Advisor. The dealers have to take the beating so it’s not as well known that the discounts are available. You can buy any of their models for 20% plus off just like Focal. Even TMR was discounting brand new ones for thousands off that they picked up from other small dealers.
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I found myself avoiding large classical works with my small speakers because they perform their best with chamber and jazz ensemble. Once I have relocated and settled down, I will be looking at the Contour 60s. Their twin bass drivers are 9.05" each as opposed to a single mid & bass driver in C20 @ 7.08". But then, power needs may change and this invites a power amp upgrade!
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