Sound bottlenecks: Cartridge-Amp-Speakers

Dkzzzz, you are dreaming in colour if you think you will find speakers with flat response from 20Hz to 50kHz at the price you mention.

Even if a manufacturer claimed 20Hz to 50kHz in a spec sheet, with no qualifying parameters (+/- 3dB, for example), it would only be meaningless bafflegab.

In the real world, a speaker with flat response +/- 3dB from 40 to 20KHz is exceptional enough. However that spec tells you almost nothing about what it sounds like in a store, and less about what it sounds like in your system.

Your question shows you need to educate both your mind and your ears.

For the ears, go talk to some dealers. Tell them what you want and ask to listen to some speakers in your price range. Take notes on how the music sounds.

For your mind, there are a couple of good books here. Start with the one at the top.

http://www.uhfmag.com/Books.html

I guess I just have to buy Sonus Faber on ebay and live with it.

ROFL!

I would shed a tear for you, but speakers by Sonus Faber shouldn't be too hard to live with.

If they're what you've never heard better than, you still have a decent set of ears.

It's hard to tell (about your little Yammies) without hearing them. Still, IME home theatre sound is a different thing, with a different purpose, from home audio.

The detail and refinement I get from my main setup is not unwelcome in HT but it's not the point. HT sound is not meant to be the main attraction. It backs up a constantly changing image and is about slam, dynamics and vocal intelligibility. IMHO it doesn't require the resolution of top-notch audio and mostly the gear is not built to provide it.

That doesn't mean many folks can't be happy listening to HT gear. It depends on what satisfies them.