Concert Experience for $5k?


I have a budget of $5k for new/used stereo speakers.
I have a VPI turntable, PrimaLuna Dialogue preamp and a Cary Audio V12 tube amp. (yeah, the one with 12 EL34’s sticking out of it) I’ve got quality gear and plenty of horsepower.

I am chasing the rock concert experience. When you’re at a live show drums have a sharp attack and crack. Bass/kick drums have a punch you can feel. ....that’s what I want to feel when I play a live album.

Which speakers - new or used - would you recommend to recreate that rock concert feeling?
128x128t-bon3

Showing 5 responses by t-bon3

I currently have 10-year old B&W CDM-9NT floor standing speakers.  As it's a narrow room with a tile floor (Las Vegas - everything is tile because of the heat)  the speakers are very close to the wall - call it 8".  That makes the room very bright. 

I forget which power cable I upgraded too.   The interconnects are WireWorld $ilver Eclip$e.  The speaker cables aren't on par (yet) because I plan to change the speakers, which will likely require different termination.  

Good speaker suggestions so far.

I had to laugh at the La Scala's though - that will never pass the spouse acceptance factor.  She'd try to turn them into end tables or something.
I was at an Elle King concert last Saturday night and thinking to myself - "I wish I could get this sound & feel at home when I play this album"  
I was in front, close to the stage and thoroughly impressed with how an entire drum kit sounds.  Music at home sounds good, but nothing ever hits as hard (not talking about sub-bass) or has that "attack" that you get in person. 
Like a heroin addict - that's the high I'm chasing.  
Thanks for all of the great input!  I can't believe how many people have responded with Zu.  They've moved up to the top of my list.


"I can't imagine why anybody would want the "concert experience" in their home"  

I live in Las Vegas and go to a lot of live concerts & shows.  As such, I've developed a special fondness for live recordings & concert albums.  

Some of my more memorable experiences:
I was the Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan 20 yards from the stage at a Black Keys show - amazing!  When I go home & spin an imported concert album the energy and immediacy just isn't there.  That concert probably had the most energy of any show I've been to.  The floor was literally bouncing.

I saw the Stone Temple Pilots at the Pearl theater a while back it was the absolute best sounding (rock) venue I've ever been in.  Just an amazing wall of enveloping sound.  (yeah, you had to be there)

I've seen Jack White live a couple of times.  He releases all kinds of live albums exclusively on vinyl.  Playing concert albums just doesn't come close to making me feel like I'm in the audience - that's what I want to feel when I listen to those recordings.  I want to close my eyes and smell stale beer.  :-)  

I know I'll never get that chest-cavity shaking feeling you get at a rock show, but I want to find a way to recreate some semblance of the energy and dynamism of a live show when I listen to my live albums.