It depends.
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What's your source? Type of music you listen to? Room size and acoustics? Can you live without the last couple of octaves? (bass is the most expensive part). Do you have a good dealer near you? So many choices and most will just tell you what they have and like, but maybe they've not heard speakers in your range in a long time. |
MusicDirect Focal closeout. $2700/pr speakers for $1499, new w/warranty. It's a lot of very high quality speaker for that money. I also like the Magneplanars a lot and my main pair are 1.7s, but in transitioning from Cerwin-Vega, the Focals will give you more of the slam, plus a captivating, airy soundstage, small footprint, and easy matching to your amplification. |
Revel Concerta F12: http://www.revelspeakers.com/productdetail/~/product/f12.html JBL L890: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/407272-REG/JBL_L890_H_L890_Studio_L_Series.html P.S. That Focal speaker looks good. I would definitely check that one out. |
Common thread in this thread OP is that you have to give many parameters. For anyone who's just giving you speaker names, you can go to any site and look up speakers for under X amount, however no one knows what your room is or what your whole system is. I can easily tell you to get a pair of Vandersteen 1's (new) as they don't smear and they are better than many speakers in that range that aren't quite as room dependent, plus they will be fuller range than most of the monitors that you will see in that range. Awesome bass for the price and neutral mids. Some of the best reviews out there if you Google them. That said, they may or may not be your cup of tea. There are some monitors that will be great too, but what type of music are you listening to. If you run the CV's you possibly like rock and play loudly. If so, you need a speaker that will do that. You would probably want a fuller range speaker too. If you are serious about your question, please come back and just start to talk to everyone. You'll get the same list of speakers from most of the posters, but you may get some great info to put you in the right direction. What part of the country are you in? Many of us have great dealers we love and can get you to some good folks who can help you make the right decision. Just saying..... |
I'd look at full size speakers in that case. I'd also want a speaker that isn't tipped up in the upper end. What part of the country do you live in? There are many speakers you can look at obviously, but if you can find a nice dealer near you, that would be of help as I do believe that it's nice to get a system and not just components put together, although you can still make that work nicely. If you were to sell your amp, you could get an NAD integrated for a few hundred and a new pair of Vandersteen 1's. Those two work so great together and the integrated smokes many in the 1k region to be honest. I just sold mine as I had to get rid of a few of my systems as I upgraded. They would play loudly, but be very natural and it's a GREAT mix with vinyl. Just read the reviews and you will see what others feel about them. One of the best speaker buys you can get. They will fill your room. You can keep the Acurus with them too. My buddy used to sell the Vandy's with the Acurus amps years ago and they sounded great on rock. Nice staging and just no fatiguing. You're going to get a large list I'm sure, but if you love rock, it's hard to do it with monitors IMHO> |
OP, here is a review that I think you will find helpful. It even addresses how efficient the Vandy 1C's are. Easy to drive by your system or if you ever upgrade it will keep sounding even better as I was trying to point out. Your dealer will help you with the set up to get the most out of them. Very easy to do. http://www.tonepublications.com/review/vandersteen-1ci-loudspeakers/ |
Given my own personal priorities, I'd almost certainly go with Magnepan MMGs ($600) and a pair of SVS SB 1000 sealed 12" subwoofers ($950). That's a true full-range system of crazy high SQ potential. You'll have to do some work to optimize integration, but -once dialed in - this one is a killer. NB: I use a similar set-up with Rythmik subs and Audyssey to optimize integration. If you use only digital sources, I think this is an amazingly cost-effective solution. If you use analog sources, the ADC to DAC may be an issue for you. |
I would consider a bargain on rega rs5, as they are being discontinued. You probably can get them fro $1200 or less new, and they sound incredible low-midrange to treble, no one can argue on that. Bass goes low to 40, the quality is arguably good. I own them. Magnepan .7 is another great choice, so is Vandersteen 1C (I have owned them). If you look at Focal, even at half the price, they are still ugly and hot in the treble, with no bass... never a bargain. |
Another thought, if the Tekton Pendragon or Enzo are too large the Lore S is within your budget new. Last, and surprised this one hasn't come up yet, is the Monitor Audio Silver 6. Nice review in GoodSound. I think all the Tektons I mentioned and the Silver 6es would all be a big step up in refinement and provide you a much more audiophile-level experience overall while maintaining or surpassing the dynamics and slam you currently may have or want. Not a lot of speakers can do that (at least well anyway) at your price point IME. Again, best of luck. |
no wrong or right answer of course, but if it was me i'd opt for a really good monitor like the kef ls, totem model 1, dynaudio, etc., rather than one of the good-but-not-great floorstanders you'll find at that range. you won't feel the need to upgrade as much and have a more portable thing you'll always find a use for |
Loomis, there are a few floor standers in this range that disappear like a monitor, but are fuller range. If you notice, the OP listens to a lot of rock and most folks who do, need those lower octaves to fully enjoy their music. I was a monitor guy for years too as I though they were more accurate and disappear better etc...., however with newer advances all around, there are manufactures (Vandersteen is just one that I'm very familiar with) that are most satisfying and honestly, they have as good a following and customer loyalty as most anyone (that's why the 2 is the best selling high end speaker of all time). I personally didn't like them that much years ago and it was because my local dealer didn't set them up properly. Once I heard them a couple of years ago, it was a no brainer for me in my quest for a great new speaker as I don't change my gear like most folks do. What Vandersteen is able to to in the newest 1's is amazing for the price. I even know a few dealers who don't carry them, but have heard them tell me they are the best buy in the under 1500 range. To me that's very subjective as they aren't everyone's cup of tea and I fully understand, if he wants to stay in his range and get a fuller range speaker, he's able to do it without the sacrifice that nearly any monitor has to make due to the laws of physics. Jus saying you can only do so much to get da bass in a smaller cabinet at this price range. |
I vote for Infinity IRS Delta's which can be found under $2k. My 2nd pick would be a pair of Infinity Renaissance 90's in exceptional condition. Ren 90's sadly rarely appear in genuinely excellent, unmolested condition these days. There are too many 'Franken' examples around being sold by scammers operating out of Texas. You need to carefully check the condition of the grills incl: the pegs (an essential element in the sound of these speakers, and now unobtanium) & foam transmission line as the foam on many examples has started to rot. Therefore despite the now unobtanium Emit and Emim drivers, a nice re-foamed pair of Delta's would be my pick ;) |
Wow, check these out! Drop this guy a line! http://app.audiogon.com/listings/full-range-jbl-ls80-loudspeakers-2015-08-03-speakers-92683-westminster-ca--2 |