Yeah if I was working with that budget I'd be looking at Sonus Faber or DeVore Fidelity. I have Liuto's now and really dig the SF sound.
~$15K floorstanders: opinions sought
There a chance I'll be able to make a significant investment in my speakers within a few months, and jump from $4K/pr Focal 926 to something in the 10-15K range. I'm running krell gear and have no intention of changing electronics, they are perfectly suited to my ears - - but if new speakers expose weaknesses, then I'll tackle that later.
Here's the thing: aesthetics matter to me, a lot, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love my art and home and music is a huge part of my lifetime joy. These are some of the brands /models that I personally think are beautiful, and I'd love to hear from folks who could speak to a possible pairing with Krell. I like precision, speed, clarity, and firm bottom.
Room is approx 18x20x9. New or used is ok.
Von Schweikert Endeavor SE
Vienna Acoustics Klimt The Music
Magico S3
JBL Synthesis (4700, 9900, etc.)
Spatial (loved the demos I heard but not sure if OB would work in my space)
Appreciate any insight, despite the aesthetic emphasis.
Here's the thing: aesthetics matter to me, a lot, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love my art and home and music is a huge part of my lifetime joy. These are some of the brands /models that I personally think are beautiful, and I'd love to hear from folks who could speak to a possible pairing with Krell. I like precision, speed, clarity, and firm bottom.
Room is approx 18x20x9. New or used is ok.
Von Schweikert Endeavor SE
Vienna Acoustics Klimt The Music
Magico S3
JBL Synthesis (4700, 9900, etc.)
Spatial (loved the demos I heard but not sure if OB would work in my space)
Appreciate any insight, despite the aesthetic emphasis.
156 responses Add your response
$15K - Too many to choose from. I prefer a used speaker (discounted of course). It all depends on your sound requirements as well as aesthetics. 2nd generation $30K speakers can be bought for nearly half price, 3rd generation $100K speakers can be bought for 1/4 price very often. Do you want a speaker which is geared toward a single listener or wide dispersion of a stable image? You state you prefer precision, speed, clarity, and firm bottom end. You don't want Magnapans unless you add a subwoofer. The first three speakers have deep bottom ends but for all your requirements, I doubt the JBLs fill the bill as to precision, speed and clarity, There are some superior high end speakers which have major discounts because they are 5 or 10 years old. Nothing wrong with buying used speakers. Good ones last many decades. |
JansZen Valentina A8 (active) or P8 (passive). https://janszenaudio.com/ These are hybrid electrostatics. New ones are built to order, sold only from the company direct, with a 30 day return policy. Used may be very hard to find. |
If you can get them go for Wilson Benesch, British high end speakers. I had the ActOne for years but like you wanted looks AND performance in all depts, so bought 2nd hand pair of Chimera. All carbon fibre, beautiful curves, only 7 inches across the front. New £24k can be found for £6-12k. With your Krells they will be awesome. I have mine spiked on to steel cups on to black granite. One German review gave then 99%/100. |
My only experience with Wilson is Sophia 1 and they are quite impressive. You want bottom-end, the aforementioned Sasha would likely deliver in spades. They are a major room commitment. If you have the space that seems to meet their recommendations it would be a likely successful venture. You like your Focal where I was not a fan of the 1038Be. If Focal still sound great to you, but you simply want more then those suggesting a move up their lineup does indeed make sense. There is a pair of red Sopra 3 right now at your price point. Those definitely make an aesthetic statement....a quite attractive design. On the flip side, Magnepans have always intrigued me but I haven’t ever heard any. You could buy brand new with those as they are reasonably prices for audiophile gear. I am sure the bottom-end would be a concern but that leap of faith may just pay off. Keep us posted on what you try and good luck! |
S2000cr has the right advice, scanning through this I was thinking the same thing. If you are sold on keeping your Krell then I would look only at speakers that match well with that type of sound and power. You can't have it all, I love the high power with Wilsons or Kef type sound sometimes and others the high efficiency horn speakers really do it for me. |
Will, I've been lucky enough to find a demo pair of the Acoustic Zen Crescendos at a great price and I could not recommend them enough. The veneer is absolutely stunning, and their size, presence, and full-frequency extension from 20-20+ khz is stunning given their price point. I don't think you would be disappointed with these! I'm running an all Allnic tube system in a small NYC apt and I wouldn't sacrifice it for anything. Smooth, smooth, smooth with limitless power and drive from the M-3000 monoblock amps. The AZ Crescendos have a sensitivity of 90db, so they would pair well with medium to higher powered tubes or solid state, in your case. Give them a try - I was looking at Wilson Sashas but these were just as musical, involving, and resolving at a much more palatable price point. There is a pair on here in beautiful bird's eye maple for ~11k, if I'm not mistaken. Good luck! |
Consider the QLN Prestige Three from Sweden, at around $10,000. It's impossible to know your visual aesthetic, but I think they're quite attractive, if unassuming-looking (they don't scream, "look at me!" which I consider a plus). Superb fit and finish, and a sound that's simply sublime. Stunning mids and highs, and a full, tight, low bass that can't possibly be there from this modest-sized two-way floor-stander, except that it is. Read the reviews from Rocky Mountain and last fall's Capital Audiofest, where I heard them and was thoroughly blown away. |
Of those you listed: 1. Spatial Audio M3 Sapphire or possibly the X5/X3 2. Magico S3 3. JBL 4700 - but, terrible resale value 50%, or less. But... my 1st choice would always be that of many recording studios... Legacy Focus SE/XD, or the ATC SCM50 or SCM100 (which are way too expensive). Harbeth 40.2’s are also superb... but... require careful matching to the right amp (ie. Hegel H390 or H590). |
"Krell high power sand amps . . . and JBL high-sensitivity speakers" The preceding are at opposite ends of the spectrum. My current two separate systems in different rooms of my home are 1. Large horns with SET valve/tube monoblock amps 2. Large Martin Logans with subs and high powered sand/silicon solid-state monoblock amps Over the decades I’ve auditioned a lot of well-known amps. Voicing is very important and dependent on a lot of variables. At home I’ve swapped equipment around between systems. The horns are very revealing in a bad way. Many highly touted expensive amps are noisy as heck (no it’s NOT my system) at low levels and idle in a 106dB system. Hum, dirty, etc. If you listen to classical music, it will BUG the @$%%* out of you. Move the same amps to my low sensitivity 89dB system, quiet as a church mouse, sounding great, and awesome. The opposite is true, i.e. low powered amps in low-sensitivity systems sound pale, two dimensional, and quite honestly insipid. Recommendations: 1. Although you CAN, I would not use high powered solid-state amps that have tons of NFB with high-sensitivity speakers. The sound is very forward, two dimensional, and in your your face. That gives the horns a way too loud harsh PA sound unfortunately. Then again, maybe that’s desired result? 2. First hear or audition the exact or similar combination of equipment with the understanding that it might not as good in your environment. 3. In the following order: start with your environment, then speakers (fit the speakers to the room, not the other way around. People buy a system because it’s rated well, then spend $$$$$$$$ trying to get it to work in the room), then amps, then preamps, etc. Trust your ears but define the type of sound that you are pursuing. Note the room characteristics, the golden ratio, and challenges with acoustics. You will save yourself a lot time and money. There is nothing worse than spending $100k on equipment and tens of thousands of dollars on room treatment only to find out that it doesn’t sound good no matter what you try. Then you try to convince yourself that you've spend major bucks on the sound, so it sounds great, doesn't it? Been there a few times, and done that, and won't do that anymore. Like me and my opposite ends of the spectrum systems, everyone should have more than one system, because one size does not fit all media sources, genre, etc. Good luck |
I am a big Spatial fan. Given that they are on your list, I would definitely try to demo a pair of X3s. I own Luminas and have heard the X2. The X2 is something of a hybrid of the two. AMT driver like the X2 and powered subs like the Lumina (although not servo). As to your room, they need to be at least three feet off the front wall, I found five feet to be optimal. Other than that, the design is intended to reduce room interactions. |
Only one person said you should buy used? I completely agree. Buying new speakers is like buying a new car. Get in, drive it off the lot, stop and go back and tell them you want them to sell it for you and you just ate thousands of dollars. Ditto for buying new speakers. There are lot of great used speakers out there if for no other reason that many people suffer from audiophilia nervosa and change gear more frequently than sane people would. |
As an owner of Von Schweikert's Endeavor SE speakers, I can attest that this product is one of the best Ive ever heard at any price point. Of course, there are other speakers that compete but the overall sound, the cabinet finish and the size make them an incredible speaker to own. And yes, they can play LOUD:):) |
wassaicwill, have you heard the Paradigm Persona 7F’s? If not and you have ability to hear them please go! Used and in superb condition they are in your budget $25k retail. I know of a pair for sale and he also has 2 Persona subs and Persona center ch. send me a private message if you happen to go listen to them and love them. |
You have to try to find some Raidho's to audition. Any of them. The D2.1, or the XT-2 are in your price range. I've been to numerous shows over the years, and to my ears, Raidho makes the best sounding speaker on the planet. Borresson has moved on to make his own line, but the used D2.1 and the XT-2 are both his designs. I own the XT-2's and couldn't be happier. Play all kinds of music, and the sound is incredible-- soundstage, precise imaging, the sound of every instrument and anything else, is so lifelike. Listening to "Girl" by The Beatles, sounds like John Lennon is standing in the room singing-- they are that good. The only downside (every speaker has one) is dynamic slam. If you are looking to play heavy metal slam, they are not for you-- but I listen to rock, Led Zeppelin, Who, etc., and the have no issues going loud without fatigue, even on lousy recordings. |
I liked the VA sound and wanted more than the beethovens could deliver. I tried several of the $20k range List (bought used tho) and home demo’d a few. The salon2 I resold Because 250/425 wpc couldn’t push the woofers and I couldn’t get a convincing sound stage. The Usher be20dmd were really good, pretty efficient with a good mid range. I could probably have kept them but a pair of Meridian Dsp 8000’s came up and I offered what I got back from the salon2 sale for kicks and the seller accepted. These are amazing, but a complete system, not much room to tweak. |
Just going by the type of sound you’re looking for, I’d look at YG first and then add ATC, Magico, and Vivid although they may or may not meet your aesthetic tastes. Aesthetically, I think the Joseph Audio Perspective 2 is a very nice looking speaker that is not physically imposing but still plays large and sounds fabulous. The Usher BE10 is larger but looks stunning with sonics to match. And the Vandy Quatro is also a sonic stunner if you dig its looks, as is the Acoustic Zen Crescendo ll. Avalon and Audio Physic are also excellent. Just doing a brain dump in your price range as I don’t know which, if any, might appeal to you visually. Best of luck in your search. |
There have been some great sounding, yet kind-of ugly speakers suggested here. At that price point, I’d treat myself to something that not only performs beautifully, but is also something beautiful to look at and admire.... Sonus Faber Elipsa SE. There’s even a set on here for sale. If you have the ability, see about demo’ing a set (or the Strads), nearby. |
nishan99, the Wilson’s I’ve auditioned were all excellent, although I personally felt the Tune (Tiny? Tater?) Tots were a bit forward in the upper mids, at least through Naim. But not the design I’m looking for, though the tots were tasty! The only Triangle I’ve heard is the beautiful little AIO3 network speaker (I own two), which is great for the price. I’d definitely be interested in hearing more. |
Could not recommend the Focal Sopra 2's at $15k highly enough. Focal generally benefits from tremendous R&D that they can afford from their business' multiple ventures. There is more R&D in the Sopra 2 than you will get in most speakers at this price point. I think they are one of the most aesthetically pleasing speakers out there, too. Of course that's personal preference so you have to see for yourself. I'd get them in one of the two new 40th anniversary color schemes. The tweeters especially are about as good as you can get. |
B&O Beolab 90. https://uncrate.com/bang-olufsen-beolab-90-speakers/ |
