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Your thoughts on best audiophile speakers in $10,000 neighborhood?

I know the best way to select a speaker is to auditioon them at a dealer or in my own home. However, living in a rather rural area in northern Michigan, there's only one reputable dealer (Sonus Faber) in town so I may end up relying on reviews and your feedback. 

I used to own Vandersteen Model 2Cs in the late 1980s, but finally want to step up my game. I currently have a legacy Nakamichi receiver / amp with 1000wpc, but will probably upgrade that once I select a new pair of speakers. Currently I'm playing mostly LPs on a Technics SL1210G. I now listen mostly with a Mark Levinson 5909 headphone connected to a small Class A pre-amp, so I treasure detail and transparency and don't lean toward "warm" speakers.

Room is good size since it encompasses living room and opens to dining room and kitchen behind it. Cathedral ceiling is about 12 feet high. 

I'm considering the following speakers: Vandersteen Treo CT, Wharfedale Elysian 4 (perhaps too big for my room), Monitor Audio Gold 300 and the Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII. These all fit within my budget. What are your thought about any of these...or do you have others to recommend?

Thanks for whatever guidance you can give me.

 

aphilc
soix
8,701 posts
 

I treasure detail and transparency and don't lean toward "warm" speakers.

Given that I’d recommend looking at the ATC SCM40 v2.  The passive version is $6k but there’s also an active version that includes individual amplification for each driver and active crossover for $11k, and all you’d need is a preamp.  Best of luck.
https://soundapproach.com/atc-scm40-entry-series-6-3-way-passive-tower-speakers-pair.html

https://soundapproach.com/atc-scm40a-entry-series-6-3-way-active-tower-speakers-pair.html

mihorn
451 posts
 

Check out Wavetouch audio speaker. WT is only natural sound speaker in the world. All other speakers sound un-natural like a left speaker in below video. The right speaker is modded with WT natural sound technology.

Many women (& many non-audiophile men) hate audio sound because all speakers sound un-natural like the left speaker which hurts and causes problems to many ears. Your wife will love the natural sound of WT speaker.

WT speaker is 92db sensitive and sounds fine in my studio (24'w x 40'L x 11'H). WT speakers sound live as if you are in live band cafe.

Live recording of WT speaker. Ask your spouse if she likes the sound of below video.

Compare to the original music.

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,807 posts
 

Love my Treo CT. Have fun searching.

deep_333
815 posts
 

I’m considering the following speakers: Vandersteen Treo CT, Wharfedale Elysian 4 (perhaps too big for my room), Monitor Audio Gold 300 and the Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII. These all fit within my budget. What are your thought about any of these...or do you have others to recommend?

The Elysian 4 is a kickass speaker (it should be priced way more for how it sounds, imo). Other considerations could be the Borresen X2, Borresen X3 for your budget. Personally, i would forget the other ’meh’ speakers on your list and also budget for a subwoofer to go with the speakers you get.

Subwoofer Candidates - Elysian

- Rythmik F12G

- ELAC Varro RS500-SB

 

Subwoofer Candidates - Borresen

- KEF KC62

 

 

 

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,795 posts
 

There are so many speakers out there. A couple questions in my mind include:

(a) Do you want speakers you can move around from time to time without hiring someone? This is an important question to me, because I like to try out positioning things and also have moved my speakers a couple of times.

(b) A speaker with decent efficiency (including an impedance curve without sharp slopes and big dips) will make amp matching a bit easier. The Vandersteen Treo's graph looks really good to my eye.

(c) Tweeter type is critical. I have been very fond of the RAAL tweeters in my Ascend Towers. This speaker is way below $10k and punches above it’s weight. That speaker plus some Townshend platforms would come in around $7k max. They are clean and accurate without being "analytical". They make music.

(d) I am super happy with my Rythmik F12 subs. Easy to dial in and much less than REL.

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