is not just about loud—it’s about precise. I am after something that renders full-range material with tonal neutrality and visceral impact. Whether it's listening to classical, funk, pop or film scores I want to hear layers of detail, soundstage depth and dynamic impact.
Many great speakers mentioned here. It depends on your personal tastes, music, ancillary equipment etc. If you prioritize live, dynamic sound without being hard or harsh at any volume level, check out Volti Audio. Very few speakers in this price range can equal them in this regard.
At $15k, I would consider used Sonus Faber Amati Tradition…….or get two REL subs and pair with Sonus Faber Olympica III or Olympica Nova III.
I have SF Olympica III with dual REL 212 SE subs and is extremely comparable to Amati G5 without subs. I honestly can’t tell the difference, except I can turn my subs up higher if I really want to.
You might consider the Fyne F-703s. I have the F-702s and am very pleased with their music reproduction. The F-703s are, here in the USA, right at your price point. Amplification and speaker cables will have an impact on the tonal qualities, sound stage, and dynamics. I am driving the F-702s with 200 wpc solid state monobloc and am very pleased with their music reproduction sound reproduction, although the F-702s have only 8”/200mm bass speakers while the F-703s have 10”/250mm bass speakers, so I added two Rythmik 12” subwoofers at a reasonable cost. The Fynes provide a superb sound stage, three-dimensional dispersion, and excellent instrument and voice tonal qualities. If they are available in your area they are definitely worth a listen.
Perlisten Audio S7T, Revel 328be and Sonus Faber would be the three that I would pick myself personally. You really need to audition these in person and see which ones work best for you and the music you listen to. They all have different characteristics and honestly you can't go wrong with any of them, even the other ones on your list as well. The end of the day doesn't matter what anyone else says,. It's what you really like.
Narrow it down to your final two and see if you can get it in home audition with them. If not, go back for another listening session. Make sure you're playing all the music you would listen to at home and don't forget the bass. These speakers well. They are great. They are not true replication of Base. All of those brands have excellent subwoofers they can offer you.
Perlisten speakers are a great choice from that list. Not sure what else is available in Australia. Suggest the Arendal 1528 towers if available. They are big, have multiple drivers and will fill a large room with plenty of sound to meet your list of needs. They also make great subs if needed.
I just purchased a new pair of Legacy Focus SE speakers. I've heard them many times over the years and again at the AXPONA a couple weeks back. I'm coming from Magnepan speakers! Hard to go wrong with good quality full range speakers.
Another one here for Legacy speakers!
I have the Studio HDs, and my Step Father has the Focus SE and loves them.
Incredible detail, incredible sound staging and control, and realistic tangible timbre.
I’ve become a Sonus Farber fan and currently own a pair a few notches above what you are interested in. Over the years, I’ve listened to about half their line and have enjoyed them all.
I own Yamaha NS-5000's which are at your price point. They are efficiently sized for a maximum input wattage of 600. Woofer, tweeter, midrange are all made of the same Monel coated carbon fiber Zylon fabric. Hence no speaker at that power rating (for your large room) can match their tonal accuracy.
The Zylon drivers are the result of Yamaha's desire to exit the beryllium market for the element's toxicity and difficulty to shape. Notice beryllium is ubiquitous in high end tweeters. Yamaha used it extensively. But they had the resources to leave it behind.
Mine are on casters that screw into the spike locations on the included stands. It provides a 3 inch lift. They are driven by Wyred4Sound SX-1000R monoblocks, an Ice Module design capable of 1000+ watts at four ohms. So I never turn it all the way up. Previously they were driven by 500 watt Ice Modules which were OK but not as good, especially in the bass. The woofers have superb detail.
This model is marketed with Yamaha's other high end homeowner gear. The amp has nowhere near enough power. The speakers were designed by a team of young engineers long after the ancient designs of the other gear were perfected. I read about them in their display at Yamaha's Innovation Road museum in Hamamtsu, Japan.
NS-5000 has not been reviewed in U.S. popular media. I had to read an Australian site. It is an overgrown studio monitor of modest proportions to appeal to people who do not want their room dominated by huge speakers. My wife was at the counter paying for them before I had made up my mind.
I own the Perlisten S7T’s they are amazing. I’ve owned many great speakers including Revel F28BE, B&W Nautilus 802’s, Paradigm Personas and more. They all had their strengths. I’m also a HT guy besides 2 ch. The Perlistens are wonderful. But as one might guess here, they are going up for sale. I’m building a dedicated HT room and the wife wants to not see larger towers, so in-walls are coming - just not sure which ones but Perlistens in-walls are on the short list. Just my 2 cents worth!
That's right everyone I am in Australia and I do not ignore American brands as they make some brilliant stuff but UK and Europe are go to countries when it come to speaker manufacturing as far as I'm aware.
As per the guy mentioning getting a subwoofer was a bit absurd but i let him have his two cents worth of comment. A decent large driver floor-standing speakers can cover low frequencies very well. So justifying a sub for the propose is as one guy said silly. And he said "not true 20hz-20khz", what in the hell that means?? Human hearing is 20hz-20khz and most speakers can reproduce those frequencies very well. But again I let him have is .5 cent worth.
If you had been in the USA, Canada or Italy I would have suggested used SF Serafino as there are several excellent examples for sale on Hi Fi Shark. If as suggested you are in Australia, like me, the chances of finding top end Sonus Faber speakers used are slim. If you have to go new then the SF Olympica Nova or something in the Dynaudio range are worth looking at. Unless you really like extremely analytic speakers with accentuated high end avoid B&W and Focal.
I will second the the couple of recommendations above for Legacy.
Focus SEs or Focus XDs are worth considering. Also any of the models above these if they fit your budget. I believe you will be impressed for what these speakers offer for the price.
Most people respond with the ones they chose. Understandably.
For me a listening tour was necessary- and buying the ones I loved best at the best deal possible.
I have Magnepan 3.7s, Bryston T-10 Actives, and love them both after much auditioning. They are used for different kinds of music therefore 2 pair.
Now I "need" a Wilson Watt Puppy 50th Anniversary speakers. And I'm looking for them used. Understandably.
Get what you heard and loved. Then make sure your listening room matches the room you auditioned in.
BTW my Cousin is a Sonus dealer (among other great brands). I get them at his cost (40-50% off retail) I had a pair- loved the craftsmanship and the snob appeal but the sound was dull to my ear. Just me. I like French vanilla ice cream. Maybe you like rum raisin. Make your own ears happy. Nobody's opinion who doesn't pay for your system matters. Only you happiness with your music matters.
You can't just give a budget and room size and ask for loudspeaker suggestions. Well.....you can but good luck! 95% of the time the people who respond to such posts just recommend what they have. Silly.
As others have said, you have to listen for yourself.
Case in point is the recent Axpona exhibition of a $2M system featuring the reigning flavor-of-the-month Magico and their flagship monsters coupled with D'Agostino electronics. Today's version of the S'Phile website features a rave review of the sound. Check the 'net and various Youtube videos covering the show and some very experienced industry insiders, dealers, and experienced listeners could not get over how bad the sound was. The set-up was in a very large room but the Magico's arguably were still overpowering the room but here is the key-different people hear differently. Somebody else's gold may be your dog shite.
One more thing-the very first response to your post recommended you get a huge subwoofer. News alert-going down to 20hz is not the be-all and end-all of good sound and it is not necessary for every listener. That is the hallmark, no offense, of not knowing much about this hobby. I recognize that false mental paradigm as my own when I was inexperienced at home audio. Almost 40 years ago I bought a pair of B&W 805's and falsely thought if I added a subwoofer I had all the frequencies covered and that was all I needed. Silly wabbit, trix is for kids!
@texasblues1959 because they would be the priced higher than local brands. Nothing wrong with them, it's just practical to chose items made in the area, less transportation costs.
At that price point there are MANY great choices. It's such a bummer (to me) that it is so hard to demo many of them. I ended up demo'ing a few, including Magico. I ended up buying Raidho XT-2's several years ago. Knowing what I know now, I would have bought them on the used market. But they are fantastic. I would add to your list:
Raidho
Borresen
Legacy
I have not auditioned Legacy. And no knock on Magico, but I preferred the Raidho's.
Personally I'd stay away from actives. Why? Because the Class D amplification used inside the speakers won't last nearly as long as passive speakers. My $2K sub died after a decade. Who would want to spend $15K on a pair of actives, only to have an issue with one of the amps inside the speaker-- after a decade? The warranty might be 3-5 years only, so you are out of luck if the active dies on year 6.
Sonus Faber Amati TradtionThese pop up occasionally used. I bought a used pair and I LOVE them...! Maybe a stretch at $15k...?? Make a deal..! They are pretty wonderful.
AS a Goldenear Triton reference speaker owner, I would suggest considering picking up a pair for @8K and if you want better sound consider upgrading the crossovers, internal wiring and binding posts for another 2.5K or so from humblehomemadehifi.com. See the What’s best forum for more information. These speakers are very highly regarded and a tremendous value at their current pricing. Best of luck to you.
I will first note I am NOT an acoustic expert, so, I have limited knowledge in the field but per sound characteristics I am not sure as most speakers sound the same to me and for some reason Sonus Faber tickles my fancy. Out of all the speakers the SF sounds most pleasing and the bass response is wicked, and then there's Buchardt A700 WOW!!
My understanding is I need dynamics, agile bass, refined midrange clarity where you can hear the nuance in vocals and breaths.
I am located on planet earth, probably 1000s of kms from where you are but definitely from green earth. Lol.
Take a look at the Volti speakers, like the Lucera, which are bulky, nice looking, and quite easy to drive. They have a warm tonal balance and sound quite lively. While they look like a plain box, the construction and finish of Volti speakers is first rate.
@hifiworld2024 I will add one thing that is sort of interesting. I sold a pair of Sonnetto VIII to a guy the other day and one thing that i hadn't noticed before was the little specks on the midrange driver. Doesn't effect the sound at all because it is a pattern that is on it. Just a piece of unique information to go off of. Not sure if you are a no grilles or grilles type of man.
@hifiworld2024oh if you have a subwoofer already then yes get the Perlisten and you're good to go.
The A21+ is incredible too so I think you're set in that section
Also yes Electrostatic speakers are akin to headphones... I'd rather headphones than such a Lazer focused dispersion pattern. No thank you on that.
And I'd rather you push the Perlisten as close to your front wall as possible before bending your speaker cables. Their roll off rate makes them front wall friendly. Do that so the integration with your subwoofer is fine
f you're looking to spend around $15K on a pair of floorstanders, I'd strongly suggest giving the Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III a serious look.
They hit a sweet spot between beautiful craftsmanship and genuinely musical performance. Not just warm and rich — they’re also detailed and dynamic without ever getting fatiguing. Great for long listening sessions and especially strong with acoustic, jazz, and classical, but they hold their own with more modern stuff too.
I’ve heard them paired with McIntosh gear and it’s an insanely good match. The synergy between the two brands just works — smooth, full-bodied, and immersive. If you want a speaker that feels like a long-term piece of furniture and a performance upgrade, the Nova III is hard to beat.
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