nowthenstereo wrote:

I have a small budget. I was wondering if anyone out there can give me an opinion on the Dali Spektor 2 speakers or the Monitor Audio Bronze 2 speakers. It would be ideal if there were also someone out there who has listened to both and could tell me which they think are better.

Thank you

They are both good speakers, but I would advise against the Dali because of their VERY poor sensitivity (84 db/watt!).

This means you will need an amplifier with at least 120 watts per channel just for adequate listening, which is kind of ridiculous.

The MA Bronze 2, on the other hand, will work well with any amp of 40 watts or more. They also should have more bass, and also have a front port, which makes placement much less of an issue than with most speakers.

Another excellent speaker you should consider is the Focal Chorus 706, which goes for $549/pair.

nowthenstereo wrote:

Thank you for your comment regarding the sensitivity.
Unfortunately my wallet does not stretch as far as the Focal Chorus 706, which seem to be the same number of british pounds as dollars.

Your exchange rate is going to be a major issue unless you stick to UK-brand speakers, I suppose.

I would also look at Wharfedale speakers.

What is your price on the Monitor Audio 2 speakers?

nowthenstereo wrote:

Well, I have been and had a listen to lots of speakers paired with the Onkyo A9010. I will comment on three. Please excuse my lack of HiFi jargon in trying to express how they sounded. First, I listened to the Dali Spektor 2. When I saw the size of them (tiny), I wasn't very hopeful. They were shockingly good. I was really surprised by how much volume they were kicking out. They seemed agile and transparent and able to provide a detailed sound. On the downside, I felt that they were ever so slightly lacking in bass, and I say that as someone who despises the tendency that some people have to want bass shaking through their bones. So, we then put on the Monitor Audio Bronze 2 speakers. I had a few tracks that I was listening to repeatedly to compare speakers. One was Katherine Jenkins. With the Bronze 2, she suddenly had a harsh edge to her voice. The speaker was just hitting those high frequencies way too hard and generating a metallic sound. I was very disappointed. I felt like the strength of the Bronze 2 was in the detail and precision of the sound. They also had sufficient bass. However, not only was the high treble too harsh but also I don't think the treble vocal range had enough presence. For me, there was no contest. I put the Spektor 2 back in the system and suddenly Katherine was making me go weak at the knees again. A sweet sound. In the end though, I ended up buying the Dali Zensor 3. They had essentially the same type of sound as the Spektor 2 but they had the bass that was lacking in the Spektor 2. They also seemed to be able to handle higher volumes with ease. But what I really liked about them was how they produced a much more expansive sound. It did not seem to be emanating from two little speakers on stands (as it did with the Spektor 2). The origin of the sound seemed to be from somewhere in the room. It felt like we were on stage with Katherine. That was worth the extra £119 - Haha!
(I did actually get to listen to some Focal Aria speakers. Superb - the best I listened to! I also listened to some Wharfedale but they weren't quite as detailed as the Dali. They were a little bit more of a blunt tool in some of the treble sounds.)

When you speak of a "harsh edge to her voice", "blunt tool" and other similar things, I have to laugh.

You are putting garbage through all of those speakers and expecting it to come out like apple pie. Garbage in...garbage out.

The problem is the Onkyo, which is never going to sound good with ANY decent speakers. The better the speaker, the more it will tell you how crappy the sound coming out of that Onkyo actually is.

The best you can do with the Onkyo is to find some 3rd-rate speakers that will mellow its harsh output to the point where some of the rough edges are not quite so objectionable.

If you care about good sound, my advice is to dump the Onkyo, and avoid Yamaha and other harsh receivers and amplifiers. I have had 3 friends that had Onkyo amplifiers/receivers, and when I put a NAD of mine in their system, they couldn't believe how much better their system sounded. They dumped their Onkyo gear in a hurry.

Much nicer sound is available from Marantz, NAD, Cambridge Audio, and Harman-Kardon receivers, among others.

Of course they cost more. A Porsche or Corvette also costs more than a Ford Fiesta or Chevrolet Spark. If you want good performance, it has to be engineered into the product from the ground up, using better components and higher-capacity power supplies, etc. There is no free lunch. Cheap crap tends to sound cheap and crappy, and the A9010 is both.

Stick with that Onkyo and you are doomed to harsh sound quality.

nowthenstereo wrote:

I have a small budget. I was wondering if anyone out there can give me an opinion on the Dali Spektor 2 speakers or the Monitor Audio Bronze 2 speakers. It would be ideal if there were also someone out there who has listened to both and could tell me which they think are better.

Thank you

I went to Richer Sound yesterday to listen to them two.

I was Also shown Dali Zensor 1.

Audio Monitor had a lot more powerful and juicy bass which would make it ideal for hip hop or house music, where Dali Spektor 2 had quite shallower bass if you know what i mean.
I have played long intro black metal sound with powerfull strike at the end of it. My initial reaction to Bronze was WOW!, however I quickly got tiered of over bassed sound, where Spektor 2 was playing nicely and stiltedly so maybe they didnt impressed me with powerful entry, however you could listen to the music for all day on them and you wouldnt get tired. However i didnt think they we performing the best with black, death metal, I would reccomend them for classical, jazz, blues and hip hip. the same with bronze, however if i was mainly listening to techno and minimal i would go for bronze. I am planning to listen to them again, cause i could have been tired after work. I am also interested to see what klipsch R15m can do.