With $20,000 in your hand, what speaker would you


I've recently gone into retirement. I am a 52-year-old diehard audiophile. I've had just about every statement level speaker the American market has offered over the last 10 to 15 years. The speaker I have found the most satisfying overall is my presently owned modified pair of Maggie 3.6R. I've also had their 20s and started with the Mg 3A. for my second favorite speaker I would have to pick the Avalon radian HC, and not the Eidolon( I had problems with the ceramic midrange distorting with dynamic vocals and the base was not perfect). I had dozens and dozens of conventional and electrostatic speakers so many I could bore you with the list. So let's just say I've been around the block a few times.

Let's assume that I made no mistakes meeting the speakers with the proper equipment, power conditioning and acoustical environment treatment. I have been mostly a tube person but I switched over to the new passlabs equipment because I found that I am
the equivalent sound or better than my reference tube amplifiers, without the heartbreaking experience of blowing up and $2000 tube replacements.(As I said I am retired now, I can't afford the maintenance fees anymore.

What I'm asking of my fellow audiophiles that have been listening with reference great audio systems is that they e-mail me back and give me their opinion on what conventional loudspeaker they would own if they had say $20,000 or so to spend(20,000 retail). Semi-full range down to say 35 Hz or so.

I'm going to keep the Maggies but, they don't feel the need when it comes to wanting a more compact/dynamic speaker that I could also drive with my Belcanto SET. Although, they don't need to be ultra efficient.

I would really appreciate anybody's input, I would find all of your input invaluable in making my decision.

by the way what do you all think of the Grand Veena 3A speaker. Is it better than anything for under $20-$30,000?

Thank you very much for all of your help,

Regards,
Andrew

thanks again,
Andy

PS I am still keeping the Maggies.
acollen
Update on the Magico speakers, the Model 2 and Model 3, which retail for $18k and $27K respectively.
They are both excellent speakers. The 2, to my ear sounds a bit 'hooded' in the midrange, in that the harmonic structure sounds truncated or not as live as it should be. It simply didn't breathe the way that live music does.
The 3's were a different story, much better. Remarkably, the Model 3's were open, alive and didn't constantly remind me that I was listening to good loudspeakers in the way that Wilsons and Avalons do. While the 3 is excellent, it can't get out of the way of the music enough to make me go into that other realm of listening, in which you're inside the recording.
Again, falling back on previous statements, the MBL's and the Sound Labs both, to my ears, cross that barrier into a sense of realism that very few can or do.
JMHO

Larry

Larry

if at $27K a pair of speakers doesn't floor you or everyone that hears them... the designer missed the mark and has lost perspective on value & performance.

I'll go so far as to say the same thing for those speakers which sell for only $20K.

.... ONLY.. 20 thousand.... rotflmao.

it's gotta be that or the listener has unrealistic expectations.

On third thought... nope... it's the speakers' designer. it can't be us... Can it?

Of course not. Although nothing in this world is perfect, at and above 20K or even less, speakers at those levels MUST be honest to the source, and involve if not seduce the listener.... granted too if all else is in good order upstream.

JMHO
Joseph Audio Pearls ---

Did not see these mentioned above. They would certainly be on my short list.