What speakers match my system? $3,000 Budget


I've been looking at PSB Imagine T2's and remain open to new products, but I think for speakers it may be a better investment to find something used and not impossible to find.

I have a budget of around $2,000-$3000, and if it makes any difference I will likely transition to vinyl in the near future.

The current setup:

MacBook (FLAC 24/96) or airport ---> Monarchy DIP Upsampler --> Emotiva XDA-1 DAC ---> AES AE-3 pre ---> Mcintosh MC2125 amp --> Klipsch RP-5's

All comments and suggestions are welcome!
hockey4496
Sorry its soundstagehifi.com . He also compares the kef r500 to the psb t2 which he strongly favors the r500 and compares to his revel salon 2 speakers at $21k these are no joke. I hope you can listen to a pair before you buy. Best
Assuming your room is not too large for them, I would recommend an audition of Ohm Walsh 2000s ($2800 + shipping). I own this speaker, and I think it will deliver on what you're looking for. They come with a 120-day in-home trial period. If they're not for you, you will lose only the round-trip shipping.
Stanley
I have listed some other speakers that would probably be worth your time reviewing their web site(s) and going from there.

Sonest Concerto 3 (or other in there line) (Stereophile Review)

Atlantic Technology AT-1 (Stereophile Review)

Triangle Esprit 30th Anniversary Edition Antal (Hi-Fi World review)

Reference 3A, Episode or MM DeCapo (or others in there line) I have seen the Grand Veena sell for around $4,000.00. ItÂ’s a whole lot of speaker but with a sensitivity of around 91db

Nola Contender and Boxer

Also Merlin makes a two way stand mounted speaker that is highly regarded (Cant think of the Modle designator

Al of these are in your price range.
Don't give up on me, I will try to call on Sunday, But most likely it will be Monday. In the mean time I will try to find a couple of speakers that were revieved in Stereophile and AS, that may be something you want to look at. As far as the Triangle speakers go, It's going to be hard to find any in your area to audition. There is some discussion on Steve Hoffmans W/site. Sam Tellig Rated the Commetts Class "B". Theres an exceptional review that a British Mag did, you can find it on audiowaveshifi.com
I will phone, first chance I get. Also Reference 3A makes a highly regarded speaker, you may want to check out there line.

Brad
I would recommend a you demo a pair of kef r700 if possible. Check the reveiw on soundstage.com on r500 he is dead on in his reveiw. You can also see his comments. On audio asylum on r900 type in kef r900 in search . Good luck.
Though I know a Zu lover here (Gopher), who sold his Superflys due to room issues
Triangle 30th Anniversary Comete or Antal
Limited Edition Loudspeakers.
I have the Antal, which replaced the Celius ESW. I tried to upgrade twice prior to going with the Antals, and each time I kept the Celius ESW.
Golden Ear has a highly rated Tower in your price range, and if you have the room its hard to beat the 1.7 Maggie for $1995.00. You can check out the Triangle(s) at audiowaveshifi.com
Hope this helps. Theres a lot of great speakers out there
since your looking at the PSB's you should be able to find the Synchrony one for $3,500.00. in the used market. These are probably the best of the litter here. I auditioned some locally and was really impressed but at same time they were being driven by 12K Cary tube monoblocks and very expensive everything else; the reviews are promising though

Hope this helps
Brad
How soon are you moving? And how permanent will your new place be? I might wait until you have a room for those speakers...
Tektons (Pendragons) and Gallo Classicos (CL-3, CL-4) will rock your world. The Tektons are *very* efficient, no need for any more than 75-100 watts/ch. amp. The Classicos would like to see a hi-current amp of 100 - 200 watts/ch...

-RW-
I would like to mention that Adele 21 is the worst production imaginable. I like the music but I can't play it at home and instead just enjoy it as background music at the grocery store. You need tone controls for that one. Even with tubes and soft dome tweeters the high notes are unbearable.
I highly suggest that you use the recommendations here only as a guide and not as means to make a decision. You will have to find a way to listen to at least a few models to get a sense of the range of tonalities and identify what sonic cues are most appealing to YOUR ears. If I'm not mistaken, I would guess that the vast majority of Audiogon audiophiles would also describe "deep/ rich bass and mids, better clarity and detail in the highs, and also something with a smoother transition from mid to high" as desireable, but the challenge is that you're unlikely to get too many of us to agree as to what speakers satisfy this need.
Having said all this, my personal preferences are Thiel first and Vandersteen second. A preowned pair of Thiel 2.4s are hard to beat for the $$$.
Sure, the sound I'm getting now has great tight bass (which is important to me), and wonderful rich mids on vocals but the highs can get a little scratchy, empty and seem to lose detail especially with fast paced strings like the violin. Adele (album 21) is a good example that shows all the strengths (fantastic deep bass and clear rich vocals) but also all of the weaknesses (raspy highs and just noisy sounding instrumentals).

So basically something with deep/ rich bass and mids, better clarity and detail in the highs, and also something with a smoother transition from mid to high.

Musical preference is: classical (cello, violin, piano), classic rock, stuff like Adele (not sure what genre that falls into), and the occasional techno or hiphop.

Room dimensions of only 15'x14' aren't a factor in my decision because I'm moving soon.

Does that help narrow down the options?

Thanks!!!
Lots of speakers can match your system, but it would be helpful to know what aspects of sound are important to you and what you're looking to improve from what you have now.