If you can audition, totem hawk or staaf. They are in your price range - they sound bigger than they look, offer exceptional details and imaging without sounding analytical or dry. Bass develops really well with both;. The hawk has the edge in the midrange band.
Floorstanding towers
I'm currently in the market for some new towers and have a few I'm looking at but am open to suggestions. I have my ways on the monitor audio bronze or silver series and the Martin Logan motion 40. I have also heard and like paradigm monitor series speakers. They will be paired with a parasound halo integrated and vinyl as well as streamed music will be the main source of sound. im open to ideas on other speakers in the 2-3k range for the pair.
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The HALO is a good amp that is capable of driving most speakers available today regardless of impedance. So there are literally hundreds more that can be recommended. All the speakers you have heard so far have metal tweeters. So why not go out and audition some models that have soft dome tweeters? After all, the goal is to find the speakers that sound best to you; not us. Some brands that come to mind are Dynaudio, Vienna Acoustics, Sonus Faber, etc. You may find that these types of speaker have a s sound and response that you like, especially with vinyl. But you have to hear them first. Good luck to you. |
Just completed a search for new tower speakers and will be purchasing GoldenEar Tritons (Three+, $2500 new). They are one of the stone cold bargains in audio. I would also check out Vandersteen 2Ce Sigs mentioned above.We might vey well have jumped n those if we hdn't heard the Tritons/ Both the above sound great with all kinds of music well, throw big soundstages and would easily be driven by your integrated. Both the Tritons and the Vandies are also more coherent the MLs - and have larger sweet spots. |
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Kosst_amojanNot all AMT drivers are bright and forward. It depends on speaker designer/builder's taste. Very few speaker builders know how to make speaker's sound forward or laid back (warm or bright, grain or smooth, dark or pleasant). Many doesn't know how. |
Well, since you don't tell us the size of your room, I'll say that if you have a huge listening space there is a pair of Dunlavy SC-Vs for sale on this site in your price range that are among the world's finest, though their cosmetic condition is poor, as well as a nice pair of Dunlavy SC-IVs for below your budget. Replacement drivers might be hard to get down the road, though, as Dunlavy is out of business due to the founder's death. As good as the other speakers mentioned in this thread are, I would take these speakers, had I enough room, they are classics. If your room is 10 feet by 10 feet, though, I'd suggest ditching the idea of towers and looking into a pair of stand-mounted monitors. The room limitations would be too difficult to overcome with a full range tower speaker. Hence my question about your room size (as well as your musical tastes). While all of the speakers mentioned in this thread might be terrific in a system, they might not be a good match for a small room or the type of music you listen to. |
I was shopping in your price range about 8 years ago. I ended up with Ohm Walsh 2000s ($2800/pr - Memorial Day sale is on now, I think). My review is posted in the review section. Just make sure your room size matches up with the recommended room size range on the Ohm web site. 120-day in-home trial. Nothing, IME, beats a lengthy in-home trial. |
I’ve owned several Paradigm speakers from both the Monitor and Signature line. I wanted to upgrade my Monitor speakers in the theater, and auditioned the Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2. They have a high end ribbon tweeter, and the Sierra’s simply blew away the Monitor 7 I had.(The Sierra 2 is a 14" stand mount!) So I eventually thought I’d try them out against my Paradigm Signature S6 V2 speakers. That’s right, a small bookshelf against a tower. Of course the S6 had more bass, but I couldn’t believe how well the Sierra’s matched up with the ribbon tweeters. The highs were a tie, and I preferred the vocal reproduction of the Sierras over the S6, a gorgeous mid range that sounded more open than the Paradigms. I sold the Sigs(bought a sub for the Sierra 2's), which retailed for 5k. Ascend uses the most rigid cabinets I’ve ever heard, made from bamboo. No cabinet resonance whatsoever which really improves the music. For your Parasound, I’d recommend their Sierra Tower with the Raal ribbon tweeter, about 2700 at their website. Once you hear them you will stop searching. |
Hope you gentlemen don't mind if I chime in. Just bought some b & wcm 9 s1 off audigon. I'm going to upgrade my surrounds. Would you buy b&w 683's , cm 6 s2 or any suggestions. Amp is anthem 225. 200x3 for fronto and use marantz sr 8001... 120 watt for rear surrounds. I'm a real old rookie. Don't even hook my stuff up.....just love good surround an good music. Thanks to All |
I second the Vandersteen recommendation. Would also suggest Magnepan (Several new or used models in your price range), or a used pair of Quad ESLs, either the 57 or 63 (and its later derivatives). Dipoles do really nice things vis-a-vis room interaction. I like some aspects of the Martin Logan presentation a lot, too, but you'll have to listen and see if you hear the transition between panel and woofer ... I suspect ML has gotten better at this since I last heard them in the late 1990s. The Tektons are potentially interesting too - big, efficient speakers do things nothing else does in terms of dynamics, scaling, and lifelikeness. It might be worth emailing Tekton to see if there's somebody in your area who'll give you a home audition. |
You would do yourself a disservice to not check out the Double Impacts. You will not get a beautiful cabinet. You will get the best sound for you money. The value on these is off the chart as is the sound quality. I've learned to really like the satin black cabinet that does not call attention to itself. Fades into the background and all I hear is a huge detailed airy soundstage. Beautiful. |
Having just put a system together for my girlfriend after a hell of a lot of research, and looking at many tower speakers right in your price range (her preferred style over mini monitors and size considering her room etc..). I unfortunately couldn’t audition everything, but after weighing many reviews and subjective user comments, I landed on a pair of PSB Ts. I am thoroughly impressed with them. Very well balance, produces enough well defined bass, a beautiful luscious mid-range, on through to and very refined high top end with their titanium tweeter. A very well balanced speaker. I really can’t complain about anything... And they look absolutely wonderful with a build quality beyond their price point. The dark cherry is gorgeous. These should definitely be on your short list for consideration.. I know the competition is stiff in this category, but these are something. FYI, I mated them to a Peachtree Nova150, Cambridge CXC CD transport, Rega P2 with AudioQuest cabling. It all matched up well and is one hell of a sounding system for the $4500-5000 range. Punches way beyond it.. |
You could narrow things down quite a bit by defining your "flavor" preference. For example, I have am a detail/clarity/sparkle fan who loves female vocals. I like a speaker that some others would consider bright; but actually measures very linear. I have Canton 3-way bass reflex towers and Boston Acoustic 3-way acoustic suspension mini towers. While shopping for the Cantons last year I auditioned in reverse order of preference Golden Ear Triton 7s, SVS Ultra, Elac not sure of the model, I think it was an older European one, and SVS Prime. The Prime was very nice to my ears. Of course, many people love a rounder, softer sound signature without sharp edges. And the U shaped response curve is still very popular. What's your favorite flavor? The closest Canton model currently available to the used ones I bought is the Ergo 690. They can be had new for $2,800 a pair. https://soundapproach.com/canton-ergo-690-dc-tower-speaker-single.html If I hadn't found such a good deal on the Cantons; I was very interested in Tekton. |
Look and see if you can find a pair of used Legacy Audio Signatures SE's. IF you could find a pair in the 3 to 3500 price range that would be the way to go (IMHO). I currently have 3 pairs of the Legacys (Focus SE and two pairs of the Studio HD's). Theses are truly unbelievable speakers and will compete with speakers that cost 4X' s their cost. |
