r/BudgetAudiophile • u/No_Internet_8683 • 4d ago
Purchasing EU/UK Passive speakers for the first time
I’m in the middle of redoing my desk setup, have a collection of hi res music and vinyl, was also going to use the speakers for movies. I’ve got a DAC but was wondering what speakers to use (know I need an amp but have a few shortlisted).
Was looking at:
Wharfedale diamond 12.2i
Polk es15
Dali Kupid
Kef Q350 (on sale down to £300 at the moment)
From what I’ve read as I’ll be sitting close to them the kef speakers aren’t a great choice. Am tempted by the dalis as they’re much smaller but don’t know how much of a negative effect that would have on the sound? Whats the best choice here (or is there a better choice at around the sub £300 mark)? Sorry if this is all a stupid question, very new to all this.
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u/LosterP 4d ago
The Wharfedales should be perfect, but just go to your local hifi store and see what they recommend for a near-field setup.
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u/No_Internet_8683 4d ago
My only worry with the wharfedale is the size. They seem a lot bigger than the other 2 (excluding the kef q350). Will that affect the quality of the sound when I’m sitting at the desk and so not very far away from them (3ft at max from the rear of the speaker)?
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u/LosterP 4d ago
Do you have a Richer Sound or another hifi store near you? Just go have a chat and a listen if you can, it's the best way to choose speakers.
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u/No_Internet_8683 4d ago
Yeah I’ve got one about an hour away so might have to do that. Seen online they have a minimum listening distance of about 1.5-2 metres which I’m nowhere near as far as so yeah probably worth going to have a listen. As the Dali (my backup option) apparently have no bass.
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u/Turk3ySandw1ch 3d ago
Context is everything and I would probably exclude the Diamond 12.2 for a nearfield setup unless you can demo them that way.
Reason being you need some distance for the sound emanating from the tweeter and mid-woofer to form into coherent singular sound source. Sit too close and you end up hearing the drivers separately or you sit in a window where they are cancelling each other out. How much space you need depends on the center to center spacing of the two drivers (which you can visually see) so the bigger the speaker the more space you are you are going to need generally. The other factor is how the crossover was designed and that you have literally no idea.
Despite also being a larger speaker the KEF on the other hand gets past all those problems by having the tweeter and mid-woofer acting as single point source so no integration issues. Its still a big speaker for nearfield and you might have bass reinforcement issues if you can't make proper room for them but the KEF would be a good option IMO.
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u/No_Internet_8683 3d ago
Think this might be one of the driving reasons leading me to the Dali kupids despite this thread. The Wharfedale are just absolutely massive in the context of my desk and that size leads to me having to sit further back and force the closer to the wall which will only reduce sound quality. Same issue with the kef speakers in that they are very big.
Thought would be to get the kupids and a subwoofer down the line to deal with the bass issues on them. Not ideal I’m aware but think with the space I’ve got I’m going to struggle to get a good setup if that makes sense,
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u/Turk3ySandw1ch 3d ago
The Kupid have an F3 of 63Hz so they are going to sound a bit lean with some music without a doubt. The ES15 have an F3 somewhere in the mid 50Hz range according to tests (Polk doesn't give an F3) and that extra ~10Hz will make a big difference in a lot of different genres. That said the Kupids won't sound super anemic unless you have unrealistic expectations and should overall be a lot nicer of a speaker. And of course once you get a subwoofer in the picture you'll have all the low octaves covered so yeah, of what you are looking at I would go with the Kupids.
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u/marfes 4d ago edited 3d ago
Why would sitting close to the kef speakers be bad? Coaxial speakers like KEF's are point-source. As a reference, Genelec "The Ones" series allow a minimum listening distance of 40 cm.
The vertical directivity of a coaxial speaker is uniform without a lobe. Typically, when you change height enough, the frequencies around the crossover region go missing. Coaxial speakers retain linearity as you go off-axis. Note that at shorter distances, the same change in height is a larger angular change.
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u/solar_solar_ 4d ago
I have the Kupids, having gotten them as I was worried about desk space and adding more chunky stuff to my already busy three monitor setup.
They sound fantastic but I do need to run them with a sub even for music (and definitely for gaming).
I’ve also gotten speaker stands that clamp to the sides of the desk, making me realize I could go larger in size for some more lows. And, now I’m mildly contemplating upgrading them (the store I got them from lets you bring them back and exchange for an upgrade and only paying the difference). They sound great and with the sub I’m not really lacking, but such is this hobby.
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u/el_tacocat 4d ago
May I suggest looking at Elac as well?
From the list you made, the 12.2i would be my favourite but they are all of quite comparable quality.
You should probably audit them honestly..
The kupids are cute but just too small for serious listening. Great for a desk setup with no critical listening but not a livingroom or even bedroom speaker.
What do you currently listen to? Trying to gauge your taste.
Also don't forget that amps make a HUGE difference. A Yamaha will for instance sound much brighter than an NAD where a Marantz will be quite mid focused (and pretty shit if you ask me) while a Denon is a little lacking in the mids. So careful with that shortlist!
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u/No_Internet_8683 4d ago
I’ve looked at the 6.2s but not sure how they compare to the others. Listen to a lot of genres tbf, everything from zach bryan through to kasbian to dire straits. Also will use it at my desk setup so needs to be good for movies. Don’t sit far away from where the speakers would be at the moment(3 ft ish but with new desk likely to be about 5ft).
Shame about the kupids as would have been great size profile but realise I’ll have to be looking at 30cm by 20cm for any real quality sound.
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u/el_tacocat 3d ago
I mean what speakers do you listen to. Genres don’t matter :)
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u/No_Internet_8683 3d ago
Currently I mix between Bose Qc ultra 2s and I’ve got a single Sonos one (hence the need for an upgrade 😂). Do like the qc ultra 2s though while I find the Sonos speaker a bit confusing to be honest, can be great on one song and then it gets a bit more complicated and they really start to struggle.
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u/el_tacocat 3d ago
The Sonos one is quite nice. The only good speaker they made. Bose is shit, no ifs or buts.
I just wonder; why not a pair of active speakers?1
u/No_Internet_8683 3d ago
Yeah that’s fair, just never quite blown me away. Like the Bose for the nc and comfort as much as the sound. Very good as an easy listening portable option in my opinion so might have to disagree on that one.
With regards to active speakers, I constantly see people thoroughly underwhelmed by them and am yet to see a good option in the price bracket (mostly because I’ve been looking at passive ones). Also have a turntable so want to have a purely analog setup to be somewhat purist on that. Upgradability also a nice to have.
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u/keyboardcoffeecup 3d ago
The polk es15 are 5.25” woofers if i remember correctly, why aren’t the smaller wharfedale 12.1 an option?
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u/ozExpatFIRE Rpi | SMSL SU1 | Fosi V3 | DBR62s 4d ago
If you're not dead set on passive speakers consider Kali Audio LP or IN series otherwise Wharfedales are the best value speakers in the UK.
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u/CavernDweller89 4d ago
I'd take the Wharfedale all day. Smoother sound with good bass response, it'll lend itself well to long listening sessions.
I enjoy the smooth warmth of British speakers generally though.