Speakers for a large room for around $1000

Below I list some of my favorite modest floorstanding speakers that are in your price range new. The PSB and Focals are the most efficient.

-Focal Chorus 714V or 716V
-B&W 684
-Aperion Intimus 5T or 6T Tower
-Paradigm Monitor 7 or Monitor 9
-PSB Image T5, T6, T65 ($800/pr. at Audio Advisor now) or G-Design GT1 Tower (1/2 price at $1000/pair at Audio Adivsor now)

Revel, very good... For 100± watts solid state. Monitor Audio very good... For a smaller room. Vienna very good, not sure how it will work in this application. A couple of other speakers that I really like but might not cut it in that space are the Quad 21L2 and Rega RS3. In any case, one or two subwoofers would be a welcome addition.

The best small floor standers I have ever heard in a space that size are the Totem Forest, but they list for $3500.

Here is another idea that may work very well - Vandersteen 1c. $1000 new, and musical as all get out. I might recommend matching a modest solid state amp instead of tubes, say NAD, Cambridge, Music Hall or Rega with the Vandy's and then just enjoy.

OK, I was anticipating the WAF issue - why I hesitated with the Vandy recommendation up front, and why in part I suggested the 1c over the 2ce, which is just more of the Vandy thing visually. But the 2ce is closer to full range than any of the other speakers you or I have mentioned here.

High WAF with decent sound narrows the field some. I suggest focusing on Focal, Vienna, Monitor, Quad, anything used from Totem, and maybe the Aperions and the PSB G-Designs. One speaker I didn't mention earlier is the Paradigm SE. These are very nice looking and sounding speakers, a little more costly than the Paradigm Monitors.

Here is what I recommend, buy the best sounding and looking small floorstanders you can find new or used and be prepared to have to try several pairs in your space. Do the same with amplification - don't restrict yourself to tubes at this time and price point. I would plan on eventually supplementing your system with one or two subwoofers, since most small floorstanders are essentially stand mount speakers with an extra (small) woofer and a built-in stand.

Blnd2spll,

I am not crazy about unique Mirage or Ohm sound. Some people love it, but it is not my cup of tea - personal preference. So I think you can't go wrong with either Vienna or Paradigm. I wonder if your local Paradigm dealer has the SE model available for a look and listen - they have real wood veneer versus the Montor 7's vinyl, and have better parts and sound top to bottom. If the Monitor 7 is a great budget speaker, the Paradigm SE is a REALLY great budget speaker. Either will probably make you and your wife happy.

That said I have to agree with where Dmastri is trying to take you here with the Vienna recommendation. The Mozarts are a cut above the Monitor 7's and probably the SE's too. Craftmanship and sonic qualities are more sophisticated and as Dmastri says, will reward better upstream gear as it is upgraded. The Vienna sound quality is understated but very natural to my ear. I agree with you on finish, and prefer a nice warm wood grain over black. I know my wife would send tall, dark and shiny speakers straight to the dump.

Another idea:

If you can stretch to $1249, there is a pair of Spendor S6 for sale on Agon right now. Like the Vienna's or ProAc's mentioned above, these are very, very nice speakers.

There is also a pair of Monitor Audio RS-8's for $800 that look to be in nice shape. Nice sound, high WAF.

Good luck.

"Clearly, the speakers and the speaker interaction with the room are key considerations, none of which almost ever synchronizes well with the WAF. "

No truer words have been written here.