Best speakers around $130k?

I’ll bite…

Last year, around this time, my wife asks just how much spend had occurred over the year, she was noticing the new cartridge (Etsuro Gold), the new phono stage (CS Port), and the new bespoke phono cable (LFD). Since we’re in our 60’s, she says that kind of outgo sure can’t be the norm in retirement. We discussed the speakers (Wilson Alexia v1) were getting long in the tooth, would probably be the next thing to upgrade while we’re both working. So, like the OP, what speakers would be candidates? I enjoyed my Alexia, so Alexia 2 were of course an option but those are due for an upgrade to v3. Alexx V were on the table, probably near the top of possible options. That puts a lot of speakers into the possibility mix with a caveat of what is available to listen to within reasonable range. I could see myself driving 3 or 4 hours max to hear some speakers, or hopping a flight but the silver tube isn’t a place I like to hang so again, a few hour flight probably max range. I’m in Portland so my range was essentially the west coast to mid-west.

Wilson, Magico, Evolution Acoustics, Diesis (because I had heard them in NYC before), Martin, YG, Kharma, AvantGarde… so many options if the budget is stretching up over $100k. And as others have mentioned, at this level all are probably excellent comes down to matters of taste and how they’ll fit into an existing system. My Audio Research REF160Ms were not yet a couple years old, so not eager to change amps with speakers.

So about February of this year I noticed Bob V., who owns Rhapsody Audio in NYC seems to be having a pretty strong pandemic. (I heard the Diesis at Rhapsody a year before.) With everyone cooped up at home, it seemed hi-end audio was benefiting and Rhapsody was opening “remote listening rooms” across the USA. This meant an opportunity to hear Alsyvox, Diesis, and Bayz at a single location. Excellent news — the Diesis were on my radar, the Alsyvox were getting best of show at RMAF and elsewhere, and the Bayz too — their looks crazy cool and reports made me think they’d be a lot of fun to audition.

So I mention to my wife about these “remote listening rooms” and she says “maybe you should do that!” WHAT? I assured her that it would probably cost a fortune. Long story short, I am now hosting a Rhapsody “remote listening room” here in Portland. “Rhapsody out West” I’m calling it, and anyone is welcome (with prior appointment) to visit and I can play Alsyvox Botticelli (with external crossovers), Bayz CounterPoint 2, or Diesis Roma, all with Pilium electronics (Alexander pre-amp, Achilles stereo power amp).

These are all strong competition near the OP’s original price point (or less), all are exceptional, and none are conventional “box” speakers. It all comes down to personal taste and system matching. All three very room friendly.

So yeah, a plug for “Rhapsody Audio” but mostly if you care to audition three world class speakers here on the left coast, brands you can’t easily hear elsewhere, look me up. Contact info is on the Rhapsody.Audio website, and there are other listening rooms in SoCal, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and of course NYC.

The OP didn't ask for your value judgements on how to spend his money. He asked for comparisons of speakers currently on the market near his price point—because he had heard the Wilson Alexx V and wanted to know what else might compare. A rather open ended question to be sure, but I am always amazed how many people, for whatever reasons they might have, pass judgement on where a person spends their own money.

When I was but a boy, the idea of spending $10K for a pair of speakers would have seemed an unrealistic dream. I am blessed now to have accumulated some resources over the course of a lifetime of effort (no luck, no inheritance) and am able to enjoy the fruits of the efforts of others. I respect when a person goes from vision to end-product, building a company along the way. No easy task, often full of small failures along the way. That they are able to make manifest a product that represents their life energy—and the product is wonderful, beautiful, and brings me joy... that is something I can appreciate and respect. We should all be so blessed.

Buy what you can afford. Enjoy the hobby how ever you see fit. Just don't go raining on everyone else's parade. If you've heard speakers in this price range you think the OP should be aware of, by all means share your thoughts.

If you think spending $100k on speakers is foolish, DON'T DO IT. I'd love to have an Aston Martin, or a Ferrari, or an Alfa Romeo, but I don't value those the way I do audio products, so I don't spend my money there. But I'll never be heard telling someone who chooses to spend money on cars he's foolish. His money, his choices.

Diesis, Alsyvox, and Bayz are all very room friendly speakers, more so than Wilson (in my opinion). To get the full potential of Wilson will take more time tweaking setup than any of the speakers mentioned above, yet all speakers benefit from careful setup. (Properly setup Wilsons will deliver a lot of sonic goodness no-doubt; the Alexx V are great speakers.) And while room treatment can & will help in most cases, having a room friendly speaker lessens the need and increases the WAF because you won’t have wall tampons and corner tampons everywhere.

Somebody said buy some Maggies give the rest to charity... aside from what another contributor said Alzyvox Botticelli are a different world from Maggies, the second part of the statement is a good one. When you get to the pearly-gates, the giving to charity part might be your salvation. :-)

But yes, I like the comments regarding the Alsyvox. A panel unlike any you might have heard before. Did I mention the deep, controlled, tone-full bass?

And the Bayz, yeah, I wish they made coffee. I think ocean liner anchor-chain, but I get the band-saw, drill press comments too. You should hear them if you get a chance, they'll knock your socks off. Really quite something! (The image below shows the smaller Courante 2.0 model. I have the big CounterPoint model enroute from Hungary... in matte black.)