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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 4 responses by neal1502

neal1502 OP
11 posts
 
Thanks much Layman, 4musica44107, Classical1 and Cajunpepe. Really appreciate the suggestions. Now I have a big list of speakers that I need to check out.

@ Classical1 - I haven't tried the Quad and Spendor at home, rather at the dealers who had much better electronics than mine.

I'll post my experience as I go along.
neal1502 OP
11 posts
 
Guys.. I didn't mean to suddenly drop off of the thread, was just having a terrible time with a new ISP. I am off to Denver today for the RMAF and would respond to you all on my return. I have auditioned Sonus Faber Cremona M in the mean time. I'd write about that as well as my experience at the RMAF.

cheers
Neal
neal1502 OP
11 posts
 
Thanks Rpfef, Rcprince, Hjungmd, Knownothing, Nolitan, Jrmanders, Jult52, Karelfd, Rackon, Learsfool, Usblues and Ihcho. I surely will have to check the Shahinians, perhaps even make a trip to NY, along with the other recommendations (ProAc, Harbeth, ART, Totem, Brodmann (future?), Nola, may be horns, Merlin, Tyler etc.)

@ Rcprince – I’ll email you
@ Jult52 – sorry I didn’t have Strauss’ Salome, but Mahler’s Fifth too has a lot of detail and dynamics and like you said, many speakers are incapable of reproducing that
@ Magnumpi205 (Donald) – the show was good, though many manufacturers didn’t participate this time. I have posted my experience in my other thread:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1253679708&openmine&zzNeal1502&4&5#Neal1502
@ Ihcho – no I didn’t check out the Tylers, but there’s someone that lives in my city, so might be able to check it out there
neal1502 OP
11 posts
 
First of all, thanks much for so many great suggestions. I want to personally thank Tsciame, Krisjan, Shadorne, 4musica44107, Nealrm, Paladin, Kurt_tank, Magnumpi205, Glai, Grannyring, Hi_hifi, Nextlevelav, Ojgalli, Dfaulds, Jburidan, Macdadtexas, Abramsmatch, Rcprince, Larryi and Semi. Really appreciate your thoughtful response. I surely need some time and lot of research to absorb all the info.

My room is 20x13x9. Probably not the best room for a full range speaker. Where I live (Charlotte, NC), we got very few dealers. Closest I need to travel to is Atlanta or Raleigh. What I was looking for in a speaker is that can represent the ‘body’ of a full scale orchestra. That can soundstage and image well. And that can isolate different instruments. Can depict the depth of the stage, or can keep up with the increasing pace of say, Saint Saens’ Piano Concerto 2. Not sure if this info is helpful in any way.

My next step would be to look up places where I can audition these.

RMAF was a great suggestion too. I have booked my tickets to get there :), though this will eat into my budget, but I guess it would be worth every penny.
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