Speakers costing range of 2500-3500 per pair

I have to say that I too like the Vandersteen 2's with an integrated.  I have heard them driven by NAD or Emotive or Rotel or Yamaha's and they always deliver.  They will sound better and better with much more expensive gear adn to me, that's the sign of a great speaker.  If you really want to have a speaker with great tonality, extension, able to move some air in teh room and not fatiguing, you owe it to yourself to bring your amp into a Vandy dealer and listen to your own music.  

There is a reason it's been around since 78 and it's only gotten better and better.  Still as good a value as there is in audio IMHO.  

I vote for a pair of speakers hand crafted by Fritz Heiler. Why pay to support a large company's glitz and overhead when you could be using your purchasing power to get the same top of the line drivers used in the "big box" speakers, superior series crossovers, and hand made, expertly veneered cabinets for much less? Fritz is a one man army. He built me a custom pair with the same configuration as his Rev 7 model but with the 4 ohm 7" Scanspeak Revelator mid-bass driver instead of the 8 ohm, which adds more robust bass and quicker overall response. The teakwood boxes are flawless and look amazing. Fritz takes a personal interest in each customer and will help you choose the best model for your system. Check out the many reviews available online, most of which are linked to on his website.

I own the Aria 926  I think they come in around the $3.5K mark.  I compared them in my house directly against the Sonus Faber in the same price range,  The SF might have been even a few hundred $$ more.  My setup is class D amplification, Tubed Pre, streaming and vinyl.  The SF were the winner for strings and wood but I chose the Aria because I thought the covered the gamut of music I listen to just a little bit better.  I think the Aria are sensitive to room configuration they need space.

speakerpeeper2 posts01-27-2018 11:47amI vote for a pair of speakers hand crafted by Fritz Heiler. Why pay to support a large company's glitz and overhead when you could be using your purchasing power to get the same top of the line drivers used in the "big box" speakers, superior series crossovers, and hand made, expertly veneered cabinets for much less? Fritz is a one man army. He built me a custom pair with the same configuration as his Rev 7 model but with the 4 ohm 7" Scanspeak Revelator mid-bass driver instead of the 8 ohm, which adds more robust bass and quicker overall response. The teakwood boxes are flawless and look amazing. Fritz takes a personal interest in each customer and will help you choose the best model for your system. Check out the many reviews available online, most of which are linked to on his website. 

I haven't heard any of his speakers, but I hear folks say 'why support a large company' all the time. What is large to you?  Most audio only companies are not large by any means.  This is such a cottage industry so most companies never get that large.  What you will get with a company that isn't under 5 people is more stability when you need help in the future.  Many have been burned by companies that are 'small'.  What a company does have if they produce enough is economy of scale.  They also have much better R&D and most often can produce a better product as the same cost.  I have purchased a lot of stuff from a one person company and will continue to do so, but I purchase with some risk also.  

I've yet to hear any of the speakers that are one to three man shops sound better than a great pair of Vandersteen's.  Not taking anything away from Fritz's speakers as I haven't heard them that I know of.  I just don't feel that he is giving you better sound because he's a one man shop.  Also, you mention personal interest with customers, you have a shop where you can audition speakers adn they take a personal interest for sure and love building life long relationships.  Most companies I purchase from also will let you get in touch and care when you have questions your dealer can't help with. Heck, Richard Vandersteen even has a board on his site where he personally answers the questions and if you call there, you can most often get in touch with him.  Lot's of great companies out here.

nitrobob..To bad you sold your Ascend Acoustics. You were using the wrong amplifier. The speaker is known for its killer bass and works best with gobs of power. You were using a Marantz 7500, a budget surround receiver with not enough power reserve to meet the demands of the Ascends. Don't be deceived by the price. They are designed on a level of the best studio and high end speakers on the market. The owner of the company,
David Fabrikant, is one of the finest acoustical engineers in the country who stays off the radar. Their word of mouth reputation makes up for a large cult following globally. David also is a speaker driver/designer. Their way ahead of the game, using a bamboo cabinet structure which is 500%
stronger than MDF capable of much higher resistance to cabinet resonance, distortion and internal turbulence. If you are into heavy metal, hard rock, the Nrt tweeter is better than the RAAL for that type of music. You would've been better off using a hefty 200 watts outboard amp that doubles at 4 ohms which would've transformed your Sierra Towers to a performance level you were not aware of. No wonder you got 6 buyers in eight hours.