I want to buy a turntable

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Baron von Kriterium

(1) 4301 has an 8" driver; the 4401 has a 6.5" driver. The 4301 is the studio version of the consumer L19 model. The 4401 is the studio version of the consumer L15. The 4401 is more highly regarded than the 4301 and is ideal for smaller rooms and was used as a near field monitor in studios. I use it in my office where I run sound out from the PC into a Pioneer receiver.

I set the 4301s up at work and they are connected to an Audiosource amp and a little tube preamp I bought off Amazon.

Yes, there is a difference in sound with the equivalent consumer speakers. The monitors are "neutral" and so their crossovers are different than their consumer counterparts. The monitors have high frequency tuning knobs as well. Otherwise, I do not know the methodology JBL used to name their monitors.

(2) I don't know enough about British speakers to make any recommendations. My only experience with them was with a Kef sub-woofer which worked fine for me. The difference between new and vintage is not so much the design philosophy but the components used to make the speaker. Drivers are better today and so are the capacitors in the crossovers.

(3) Canadian speaker manufacturers enjoyed a working relationship with the National Research Council and benefitted from the NRC's work with speaker technology. Therefore, Canadian speakers from the 80s and 90s are excellent. Again, I never owned any, so I comment on any particular brand, but I have been looking for some Mirage speakers. Paradigm, PSB, and Energy were the other major speaker brands I can remember back then. I think they had their own sound, distinct from west or east coast.

The BBC monitors were a technical revelation when they were designed and first built back in the early 1970's, they gained a huge following and cult like status that has carried over to the present day but you are mostly paying for the cult like status not the actual sound quality, there are far better small monitors out there for the price or cheaper ones that sound as good.

I run a pair of B&W matrix 805's in my bedroom, second hand they go for about 6 to 800 depending on condition and they blow the BBC clones away, an old pair of Kef reference 101/2's from the 90's would also and you can find those for 400

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Bump!

So I've caught the HiFi audio bug. I mostly blame Tidal and the Naim Uniti Atom, as after hearing them at my parents house, I really clued into how much different a high-quality source and system can make. It's funny to say, but it rekindled my love of music again, and it's become a nice family for us to bond over.

Never thought I'd run across "Naim" in a CP forum post.

I've been a Naimy for 20+ years, with a variety of analog systems through to my now-beloved Superuniti (similar to, but IMO, superior in sound quality to the Atom).

Great to see how good kit can inspire someone to start out on their own journey!!

Good luck; there are loads of great speakers out there - hopefully you've checked on Canuck Audio Mart or Audiogon...both are quite reliable as well as local retailers. The hardest thing is actually being able to listen to them in your own environment...some retailers will allow this, many won't. But, the more equipment you purchase over the years...the easier that becomes.