$10K or less speakers for 20x20 rm with open back

The Aerial will play the loudest of the 3 speakers you list.

Some of the models from Daedalus Audio fall into your price range, and he will be exhibiting at the Capital Audio Fest. I and a number of other members here who own Daedalus speakers consider them to be very special.

Regards,
-- Al

My room is of similar size (16' X 34' w/cathedral ceilings), and my custom built 12" Tannoy HPD's, are able to fill this large room to very good effect with as little as 9 Wpc (SET 300B), but they have also sounded extremely good with 300 Wpc of solid state amplification.

You might consider investigating Tannoy.

Regards,
Dan

Also looking at Revel Studio 2. Open to suggestions.

I'll be hanging with Lou in the Daedalus room on Saturday at CAF and agree that these are worth having a listen if you are at the show. He will have the Ulysses and the new Muse--not sure I understand your room configuration based on your OP so hard to say which Daedalus model would be best. Do you mean the speakers fire into a 20 X 20 space that opens into another room behind the listening position? If so it would help to know the overall dimension since you could be looking at a pretty large room to fill. How far can you move the speakers out into the room? Hope to see you at the show!

I forgot to mention that I did audition the Aerial 7's (not T) many years ago and it was a very good speaker when provided enough power. The speaker seemed very amp dependent so system matching was important but when set up properly they sounded very good. The Daedalus are in another league, however, compared to the original Aerial 7s.

I am about 50/50 on attending the CAF, all depends if I can hold out that long and also if a killer deal should come up. I do think even the Focal 1027 would work (the ones listed on here) but I have a tendency to go bigger. That's why I am looking at the Focal 1038be. Figure I'm mentally at $7500 and if a preowned pair came up of Revel Studio 2/Focal 1038be, Aerial 7T or Salk SoundScape 8's came up for significantly less I'd have to jump on it and realize that it's better than what I have now, which is nothing.

Still need to figure out power as well. Think a Hegel h300 would power any of the above speakers OK?

Magnepan 20.1's and Sanders Magtech amp to drive them. Will blow your mind. You'll still have plenty of money for a nice tube preamp, turntable, DAC and wires.

Bryston Model "T".
20 year warranty and was designed to play LOUD!
Varying price range ($6000-$10,000) depending on finish.
Reasonable efficiency and shouldn't require a subwoofer.

Jump on used MAGICO!!

Seanile
You mentioned an "open back to the kitchen" of your room and I believe that it deserves some attention as well in order to achieve the best sound that you can without compromising your expenditures. I have a much smaller room that has an open partially open front wall (my speakers are on the front from where I'm sitting) to the kitchen and by investing in Room Tunes I have elevated the sound to a level that I never had before, instead of changing equipment (as I had), spending thousands and never getting anywhere near the resulting satisfaction as I enjoy now. It's just my opinion that you should also make this a consideration for your monetary allocation and enjoyment and let me know what you think if you would.

Also considering the Revel Studio 2. There are a few of those listed in my price range.

Of the speakers you have heard already which did you prefer. That is the only opinion that really means anything to you. I do think that most brands have a house sound that is frequently "voiced" thru out their line. If you like the Focal then perhaps you should trust yourself and go with them. You can "tweak" the sound with the gear you use to drive the speakers, but it is best to start with the speakers.
That said try to listen to as many brands as possible so you can feel reassured that you have made the best choice for your taste.

So far it's pretty close between the Focal 1038be and the Aerial 7T. Going to listen to Revel Studio 2's on Friday. Hopefully after that I will be able to make a decision. Then comes the fun of picking an integrated amp and figuring out how to play my iTunes library and have it sound decent. Also going to look into a high quality streaming service. I'd really like to avoid having to buy CD's.

"07-16-14: Seanile
So far it's pretty close between the Focal 1038be and the Aerial 7T. Going to listen to Revel Studio 2's on Friday. Hopefully after that I will be able to make a decision. Then comes the fun of picking an integrated amp and figuring out how to play my iTunes library and have it sound decent. Also going to look into a high quality streaming service. I'd really like to avoid having to buy CD's."

Given what you are asking for in your first post, I think the Aerial's fit the description best. They sound very good all around, but when you turn the volume up for loud music, the 7T should easily be the best. I've seen them several times in HT systems where people push them as hard as possible, and they hold up. That said, I'll make another selection that may seem like an odd choice. My good friend is a Meridian fanatic. They make speakers that have amps and DAC's built in. All you would need to add is whatever transport you prefer (CD, DVD, PC, iPod etc..), and that's it. Honestly, they wouldn't be my first choice, but they're not for me. I think there's a very good chance that you would really like them. If you just want something that has good SQ, and plays extremely loud and clean, it wouldn't hurt to look at them. They also look great and are fairly simple. You plug each speaker in and run a digital IC from your transport to the speakers, and that's it. No big boxes and cables all over.

Seanile, I'd suggest a trial audition of the Janszen zA2.1 if you can arrange one. With a little care in set up they can perform much better than show reports.

They are very musical and detailed, can fill a large space, are an easy load which does not require huge power, and placement is easier than most planars since they are in a closed back cabinet.

There's a pretty enthusiastic (and well-informed) review for the Focal 1038 Be II's here.

Decision made. Revel Studio 2 and Hegel H300.

Is a Mac Mini the best, most reasonable way to get my iTunes music to the Hegel? I keep hearing about Jriver as a good way to manage the music library.

Can you tell us about the sound, y you chose this over the others?

Used Cello Stradivari Master now on the 'gon.
Used Sonus Faber Amati Homage now on the 'gon.
Used Von Schweikert VR4 Sr. now on the 'gon.
Used Von Schweikert refurbished VR5 now on the gon.
Used ATC100 now on the gon.

ALL WELL UNDER 10K

You should try to hear PMC IB2i as well.

07-18-14: Keithtexas
Used Cello Stradivari Master now on the 'gon.
Used Sonus Faber Amati Homage now on the 'gon.
Used Von Schweikert VR4 Sr. now on the 'gon.
Used Von Schweikert refurbished VR5 now on the gon.
Used ATC100 now on the gon.

ALL WELL UNDER 10K

Looks like the OP already made his
decision. However, since we're on the woulda-coulda-shoulda phase, I'll add my
own: there are two pairs of near-mint Magneplanar 20.1s listed (with
enhancements) for under $6K. It's hard to beat that much radiating surface to
energize a large space, while the dipole radiation pattern helps control
bass/room resonances. The money saved (up to $4K) would buy a *pair* of really
good powered subwoofers to fill out the bottom octave. For $10K you would
have a rig that truly competes with the Wilson Maxx or Focal Utopia
floorstanders.

Once I listened to the Revel Studio 2 the decision was pretty easy. It just seemed to be the most well rounded speaker. Beautiful highs, well defined mids and good bass. Others seems to be stronger in one category and slightly lacking in the others. Whatever I went with had to have high WAF appeal as the speakers will be on either side of the fireplace in the family room.

Hopefully everything arrives by Friday and it will be a fun filled weekend!

Seanile,

I think you made a good choice; you are right, the Revels make almost no mistakes - very important for the long haul.

Make sure you have adequate power driving those Revels and you should be happy. Also, be patient during break in and let you and your system settle in over time...