Speakers in 10-15K price range for Classical music


Well I am in the market for speakers. My music choice is primarily classical and then a little bit of everything else such as jazz and soft/alternate rock. I started with a budget of 5-7K and auditioned Maggie 3.6, Quad 989, Spendor S8e and so on, but quickly realized I couldn’t get what I was looking for in these speakers. They all did pretty well on solo or few instruments but could not nearly reproduce a symphony (Mahler’s fifth, or Tchaikovsky’s sixth or Schubert’s ninth) with any authenticity. This was about a year ago. Since then I had stretched my budget and am now looking for speakers in the 10-15K price range.

Now here’s the challenge. I didn’t like the Thiel, B&W or Wilson sound. I had liked Maggie 20.1 in the past, but can’t find any dealer nearby that carries them for an audition. Heard the Vandersteen 5a for about 10 mins and they are pretty convincing, but I need a proper audition and then it’s still beyond my price range. Now my question is what other speakers I can look at for the kind of music I like?

Thanks much in advance, for your help.

Oh, my system is Krell SACD and 400xi Integrated Amp. Will upgrade the amp eventually, but will need to wait for another year at least :)
neal1502

Showing 1 response by kurt_tank

Other speakers in your price range, (used of course), that I would recommend would be:

The Avalon Eidolons, which are very transparent, and image and soundstage very well. (However, they are just slighty less than full range.) My friend used these for years, and he is mostly into classical music. They are fairly neutral and have a very nice tonal balance. They are very pleasing to the eye as well. Used, they run around $10K. You might even be able to find the Eidolon Diamonds for around $15K.

The EgglestonWorks Andra II speakers, (which I own by the way), are somewhat similar sounding to the Eidolons, in as that they too image and soundstage wonderfully. But they are a full range speaker. (Note: they might even have bit of a mid-bass hump - I can't tell if it was the speaker or my room, to be honest, but I think it worth mentioning. I have done a few minor room treatments, and the mid-bass hump seems to have disappeared almost entirely.) They look pretty good too, but IMHO, not quite as nice as the Eidolons. Used they run around $10K too.

Now, your amp will work for both of these speakers, but to be honest, they both deserve better, as both are very transparent, and will sound as good as the electronics in your system are. (I highly recommend Lamm amps, as that is what both my friend and myself used with both of these speakers.)

My two cents worth anyway.
Good Luck in your search!