I bought a pair of Proac Response D-40r in Rosewood. I think they look and sound great. Yu can look at my system for pictures. They should work fine in a room the size of yours.
Floor Stander with Small Footprint 7K - 15K
SAF issue requires an elegant floor stander with a small footprint (narrow and deep is good). 2-way or 3-way okay. Room is 15d x 30w x 10h. SimAudio Moon 600i has enough power to drive pretty much anything well. Don't suggest a KEF Blade. That won't fly.
My music tastes run all over the place but I do favor impeccable vocals, cellos and trombones, and bass that is clearly musical though not necessarily earth-moving. That being said Led Zeppelin and orchestral music have to have impact.
Your thoughts, AudioGon-ers? Thank you in advance
My music tastes run all over the place but I do favor impeccable vocals, cellos and trombones, and bass that is clearly musical though not necessarily earth-moving. That being said Led Zeppelin and orchestral music have to have impact.
Your thoughts, AudioGon-ers? Thank you in advance
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If you have a PSB dealer nearby, check out their new top of the line Imagine T3. (The pictures don't do them justice.) They fit your needs being beautifully finished in their new high gloss cherry finish, and are elegantly proportioned so they should be high on the SAF. They are a significant step forward for PSB, easily being their best speaker yet. They're also full range being rated 3dB down at 24 Hz, they really sound amazing. New they retail for $7,500 and are a great deal at that price. Worth your time to check them out, you may be as surprised as I was with them! Good luck in your search. |
I like the ProAc D40 mentioned above too. I don't know about specific models, but I have also like J.M Reynaud speakers (the ones I heard did NOT fit the floorstanding, narrow profile requirement). I would also add to the list of contenders the YG Carmel (a little out of the price range but very good) and the Neat Momentum LX-6. While the Audionote AN-E also does not fit the narrow profile requirement, it is a speaker designed so it can fit close to the corners of the room so it can be unobtrusive as well. The Gradient Revolution is a reasonably compact system that can be placed very close to the wall/corners (VERY flexible in the way it can be used). I don't know if any Gershman model fits the price point or has the right profile (they are odd looking speakers), but they do deliver good sound. Good luck on the search. |
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I have auditioned most of the speakers in this thread. I use Ayre gear and both analog and the Empirical Overdrive DAC with Mac Mini server that has the David Hynes power supply and other major upgrades. I order for my tastes: Vandy Quatro ct Vandy Treo CT (I have the regular Treo's and will be upgrading soon) Wilson Sophia 3 (used if you can afford them. They really blew me away as I never liked Wilson before. These were musical and did everything well) Rockport Magico S3 Proac D40R (the ribbon tweeter NOT the dome) |
"Proac D40R (the ribbon tweeter NOT the dome) Ctsooner (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)" I just remembered one I forgot to list. The ProAc Future 1's. If you can find them, I would definitely check them out. If I didn't get my Vandersteen's, I would have probably have bought them for myself. |
"02-25-15: Ctsooner I never got to hear the Futuras. Always wanted to, but no one seemed to have them. I wonder how many they sold. I thought I saw a pair for sale on here a month ago." I don't know what part of the country you live in, but they had them in NYC at a place called Stereo Exchange. They were excellent speakers, but I do think they were a little over priced. If I remember correctly they were around 10k. They weren't big, heavy speakers like some of the more traditional ProAc's, such as the Response series. But they were great sounding speakers and if you can find a good deal on some, I think they would definitely be worth looking into. |
Shelby+Kroll Reference I have the Nano Series and absolutely love what they do with acoustic and voice. They throw an sound stage that is spooky real. They have impeccable tonal balance with clarity in spades. My room is 11' x 15' x 8' and they work very well there. The Reference takes everything I like about the Nano up a few notches. There is a great review of the Reference Stereo Mojo from last Spring. http://www.shelbykroll.com/ http://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649183528-demo-shelby-kroll-reference-system/ |
Chapman T-7. The latest version. Extremely musical and balanced. Easy to drive. No affiliation except I have owned an older pair for many years. Stuart is passionate about his craft and is great to deal with. He's been quietly building world-class speakers for about 40 years. Even with the gorgeous wood trim option, price is well within your budget. There are some excellent reviews online if you care to investigate. |
This thread really got me thinking, so I went out and auditioned some of the speakers in this price range and the Vandersteen Quatro's will give you the ability to tune the bass to your room. You mentioned your wife. I have the same situation and she likes the various veneer choices and the different color grills that Vandersteen offers. She also liked the shape as they look even smaller than they really are. Then when I told her that the Quatro's can be set up within inches of the wall (due to their ability to tune the bass) she was on board in a big way. It's always cool when the wife likes the look of your speakers as anything else can be hidden away, lol. Wondering what you are looking to audition? |
Certainly late to this party, the solution to your quandary is the Chapman T –8 MKII loudspeaker. if you want something aesthetically pleasing but a little bit more money go to the Chapman T – 7 in the special rounded dual cabinet version. There’s absolutely no need for a sub with the speakers as they go down past 20 cycles with response climbing even at 20 cycles. Incredibly natural sounding speakers with fantastic depth, resolution ,easy non-fatiguing listening yet with incredible life like detail. They look rather plain and simple on the outside but the engineering inside is extremely complex. Unlike so many other speakers where you pay for what you see – here you pay for what you cannot see but what you can hear… Isn’t that what a truly great value and accurate musical speaker is supposed to do? The internal designs are complex involving transmission line cabinets, specially cured woods for bracing , elaborate acoustic silica sand chambers for the Crossovers whose components are potted in various hardnesses of sand dampening urethane, speaker wire is individually cryogenically treated internally, and the crossover design is quite advanced using extremely large and high-quality parts from some of the worlds best manufacturers of capacitors, inductors , resistors etc. by weight alone the crossover designs are typically 5 to 6 times as much as other competitors. Ahem, remarkably the speakers are very easy to drive despite the electronics inside, and offer a very benign impedance to amplifiers. As such even with a nominal 89 db of sensitivity they can play satisfyingly lifelike and loudly with just 30 W of tube application. Yet they can also withstand 450 W of solid-state amplification provided you feel like throwing a dance party that night. |
Revel F206. Punches way above its price class($3500). Gorgeous build and sound. Will not disappoint I assure you and Ive had some big bucks speakers. When you open box and listen you won't be thinking gee I should have spent more and wonder how they can sell for this price. IMO but I've been around. Oh goodness the Revel Salon 2 used which is very narrow and deep can't be exceeded for the $ again IMO. 10-12k used. |