[OldLPs]


Hello!

 

I am looking for some new speakers to pair up with an old hifi system I mostly use to play classical LPs. I think I have narrowed my choice to the Monitor Audio BX2 or BX5. Both seem to have great reviews and I can now get them a lot cheaper than when they first came out. I have found BX2 for 175 euros and BX5 for 260 euros. The reviews I saw were much more enthusiastic for the first than for the second so I am wondering if it is worth shelling out the nearly 100 euros more. Any opinions?

 

Thanks.

 

[commsysman]

I think both speakers will give you very nice sound.


The BX-5 can move close to twice as much air, and so would be more suitable for a larger room than the BX-2.


For proper operation you will probably need to spend around 100 euros for rigid steel stands for the BX-2, which kind of equalizes the price difference.


Using the typical cheap wood stands that do not provide good solid coupling to the floor is a ticket to poor performance; don't skimp on stands.


The Sanus Steel Foundations or something similar are good.


Personally, I find the floorstanding speakers better in every way, both aesthetically and for superior bass performance, but that is an individual choice.

 

[OldLPs]


I have small children so tend away from floor speakers on practical grounds. I have solid wooden recordshelves which are very stable and which I thought I would put all the hifi on top of. The room is quite big with a hard floor. One part has a higher ceiling section and there is a built in echo there. Not sure how all this will work acoustically ...

 

[Transmaniacon]



Quote:
Originally Posted by OldLPs  /t/1522919/monitor-audio-bx2-or-bx5#post_24492670


I have small children so tend away from floor speakers on practical grounds. I have solid wooden recordshelves which are very stable and which I thought I would put all the hifi on top of. The room is quite big with a hard floor. One part has a higher ceiling section and there is a built in echo there. Not sure how all this will work acoustically ...

Hard surfaces are never ideal for acoustics. You could put down an area rug to help with reflections, but the best way to improve room acoustics is with room treatments.

 

[OldLPs]


Actually there is a huge rug in the middle of the room but generally it has a harder acoustic than any home I have been in. I think it is partly space and shape not just the floor. It isn't very fully of furniture too.

 

[OldLPs]


Aside from questions of acoustics can anyone give an objective opinion on the merits of the Monitor Audio BX2 versus the BX5?

 

[Zax89swe]


If the price diffrence is small you should go for the bx5, You will get little more scale and bass and you dont have to buy stands.

 

[buzzy_]

To explain a little more - they use the same tweeter and midrange, they're designed to sound the same. What you're really asking is bookshelf vs. tower, which there are a lot of threads on.


The towers can handle more amplification and thus generate more output. They can also go lower, so they'll sound fuller and more natural for music. But the BX2 is a large enough speaker that for classical music, it would still sound very good unless you're listening to low-range instruments. It won't be able to produce volume well below about 60-70hz, even with some equalization (ie, turning up the bass).


As for reviews, you often see reviews for the bookshelf and the largest speaker - in this case the BX6. The second largest speaker doesn't get reviewed as much. But I haven't heard them, so can't comment.

 

[commsysman]

I am not sure how high your speakers are going to be.


For the best sound quality, the main drivers of the BX2 should be at ear level for your listening position.

 

[Zax89swe]


Dont know if this is always true but dosnt floorstanders use to have better crossover/filters then standmounters (in the same series of course).

 

[MABX2]

I spent a great deal of time and listening prior to deciding between the BX2 vs BX5. They both are excellent speakers. I even got my wife to come to the store to have a listen. She thought the BX5 sounded better. She said men and women are more sensitive to different frequencies. There could some merit to that.
Anyways, I preferred the BX2. And that's what we got.
The bass from the BX5 would have been to hard to control in our home setup and room treatment was too much work for me. I forgot to mention kids. We have two small children. I'm not concerned about my kids but their little toddler friends with their pencils and crayons who come over a the time.
I set the BX2 on a shelf lying on its side (gasp!). Tweeters are located medial. Between the speakers and shelf I put Sorbothane isolate-it pads (Amazon). It Rely made a difference in bass response (no boomy bass, no shelf rattle). Anyways...these are powered by a Marantz NR1604 (bi-amped) connected with 12AWG speaker wire. The marantz is hard wired via ethernet to the network. Most of my audio is streamed ALAC files from my MacBook/iPad/iPhone. AMAZING sound! I packed up the subwoofer and threw it in the basement. The bass response is more than enough for our use.
Low volume listening is the real plus in this set-up. We can listen to FULL DETAILED music when the kids are asleep.

If you are in a similar situation as we are in (young kids/boomy bass due to environment) then the BX2 all the way. I highly recommend those sorbothane isolate-it pads until you can make use of proper stands.

Hope that helps some parents out there.



Pros for my setup
1) BX2 is front ported. The speakers can get right up against your wall.
2) kids can't puncture the woofer of the BX2 when placed a bit higher (tweeter is about 42" high in an 8' ceiling.
3) no need for subwoofer
4) detailed low volume music (does not lack bass with low volume)
5) amazing high volume music
6) NR1604 does it all. No extra airport express, no extra DAC, no extra tuner (needed airport/Bluetooth and tuner if I were to get the marantz PM6005)

Cons
1) kids :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
2) not on proper stands