Dear Johnnyturbo - I own the green mountain audio europa's and heartily recommend them. I have replaced my innersound eros with them (a highly regarded electrostatic hybrid desing). I will never look back. If you are at all interested in learning about why phase and time aligned speakers in general are likely to be better reproducers of the original recording as intended by the artist, please check out the audio publication "the audio perfectionist". They accept no advertising and while they are certainly opinionated, they are not held accountable by their advertisers. They have some nice articles about loudspeaker accuracy in layman's terms and explain how to read performance measurement charts that you may see in stereophile. In addition, there is some good information on why dipole designs, by their inherent nature, will never be phase and time aligned, which, to my ears at least, is critical for accurate reproduction (read no time smear). Vandersteen also makes a great in your budget speaker. Anyway, good luck and happy listening!
speaker suggestions- $1200 or so
Hi- Right off, I feel sorta sheepish, as I am working with some distinct limitations on $$ available and hearing issues so assert any claims to be an audiophile; but i do really care about hearing the music I love as best as i can. so here goes: I have a 'old' NAD 2200 PE (1988) and NAD 1155 (1988) with a Denon cd from the same era. My room is basically 12x14x8/9' ceilings, with an extension into a second room of the same size (can use french doors to split the rooms. I play a solid combination of jazz, singer/songwriter, world and alot of Dylan. I play very little classical stuff. I do have a moderate hearing loss in the mid-range. Consequently, with the aforementioned constraints, I am looking for speakers with very clear mid and upper end, transient sound, and solid, though not necessarily deep lower end. Given my hearing issue, I highly value sound clarity at lower volume. I have done alot of net reading and there seems to be many choices out there. I know that, in the end, regardless of recommendations, the truth is in the listening. At this point, I am tending towards the Green Mountain Audio Europas, the Axioms 22ti with sub or the M80.
I would most appreciate and look forward to reading your suggestions. Thanks for your time.
I would most appreciate and look forward to reading your suggestions. Thanks for your time.