I live in the pro studio world and very rarely audition consumer electronic products. We like to refer to your world as the "dark side," where consumers routinely get screwed buying into the hype of the next new and greatest sonic invention. I rely on products that are true reference products, bombproof, reasonably priced, and can't afford to have ANY down time. Companies like ATC, Chord and Benchmark.
Occasionally, I stumble across consumer electronic products that just sound right. With that said, I was pleasantly surprised at what I heard from Dali (The Ikon 6 is a steal at $1,600) and TAD/Pioneer's new EX line. I have a friend who is the father of HD television editing and he has wonderful KEF 207 speakers.
Given your budget, you might want to "downsize" into pro products that, IMHO, deliver striking price for performance, rather than some flash in the pan reviewed product that will be yesterday's news in 2010. Your consumer electronics industry delivers that worst depreciation of any product category--usually 50 to 80% off the retail price over a three year period. If you have money to burn, fine. I just can't get excited about buying the sonic road kill being offered up in the threads above.
Occasionally, I stumble across consumer electronic products that just sound right. With that said, I was pleasantly surprised at what I heard from Dali (The Ikon 6 is a steal at $1,600) and TAD/Pioneer's new EX line. I have a friend who is the father of HD television editing and he has wonderful KEF 207 speakers.
Given your budget, you might want to "downsize" into pro products that, IMHO, deliver striking price for performance, rather than some flash in the pan reviewed product that will be yesterday's news in 2010. Your consumer electronics industry delivers that worst depreciation of any product category--usually 50 to 80% off the retail price over a three year period. If you have money to burn, fine. I just can't get excited about buying the sonic road kill being offered up in the threads above.