1st time buyer: Paradigm vs Revel vs B&W vs ?

thanks for the matrix rec - wife came down with a hard veto due to the exposed tweeter , however. buying those used would be appealing to me, oh well.

the salesman who disparaged the revels is a revel dealer and the only location within 100 miles i could hear them. he sells them, but does not carry them as he much prefers the b&w 683s.

my current plan is to try to listen to some psb's, vandersteens, and paradigms and get a sense of the general sonic differences. i will try to read about the cv's.

thanks for the input

I auditioned the Revels,Paradigm's & B&W's. I favored(and bought) the Revels. You need to listen and decide for yourself.

Check out the older focal Electra's, They sound great and a very easy on the old lady

just got back from some auditioning. i still cannot listen to the revels as the local dealers do not carry them on hand. I listened to vandersteen 1c, paradigm studio 60, psb imagine T5, and B&W 683s.

I really like the vandersteens - very open. I am a bit concerned about how they would perform in HT applications.

The paradigms were the most dynamic and powerful and i liked them quite a bit as well, a bit unfair as they are 2x the price of the others (except the B&W)

The B&W's were my least favorite - not quite as open and engaging as the V's for some reason

I was impressed with the psb's, particularly at a 900$ price point.

for music i'd probably rank them: V1c, paradigm, psb, b&w

So, i am perhaps as confused now as when i began auditioning. I really like the idea of buying used, not only to save money but also I am just not sure how well i will be able to tell the difference between a 1k and a 2k speaker.

In this regard, paradigms might be the most logical choice = studio 60 v3 seem to go on sale fairly frequently for 500-750$

Please forgive the rambling, i do have 3 ?s

1. any major reasons not to buy used?

2. will i be disappointed with the vandersteen 1c for HT

3. if i bought a pair of used vandersteen 2c/2ce etc, can my receiver power them? the sensitivity is 86 db (vs 90 or greater for all the others)

thanks for all your responses and help

One reason not to buy used is that it sounds like you've got a local dealer who demonstrates nice gear and whose continued existence you might want to invest in. Just a thought.

-Bob