$3000 stand mounted speakers?


Whats a good contender in the $3000 range for a small monitor speaker to use with an EL34 tube amp w/ 40 wpc? The room is lively w/ hardwood floors and 18' x 22' x  9'H family area.
I'm contemplating the ProAc Tablet 10, but I'm wondering if I can do better by increasing my purchase up to $3k.

(FYI, I don't want floor standing speakers because of WAF, and have no problem from my end on this matter.)
mjcmt

Showing 2 responses by meiatflask

I have always had EL34 amps and stand mounted monitors, since 1978 when I had the original Rogers LS3/5a and a Marantz 8. Have been through many combinations through the decades and some years ago settled in on the ProAc Tablette Anniversary driven by a Primaluna HP Amp. 
About three years ago, I entered a similar quest thinking that I could take a step up from the ProAc.  I listened to the Harbeth P3ESR and liked them at the dealer, but side by side at home, I thought the ProAcs were better, primarily in soundstage, imaging and tonal quality of female vocals.
I then decided that I would have to go beyond the $3k price point to get a step up.  I listened to the Joseph Audio Pulsars, and was really impressed, then they came out with the graphene version, which I heard, but not side by side to the original. I knew I could live with the original version, so I went on a quest to find a used pair of pulsars. Joseph audio does not have a big dealer network, but I was impressed enough with them that I was willing to buy without a home demo. Over the period of ~3 months, I found two pairs in the 4K-5k range, but missed out on them to other buyers.

So how does the story end? I listened Maggies and bought them.   But, you know the audiophile story:  talk to me again in 2-3 years and I might be looking for a good stand mounted monitor in the $5k range.  What did Harry Chapin say? “All my life’s a circle....”

Mjcmt-  sorry can’t be of any help with the different tablette versions.  Think you might be confusing the anniversary and signature versions, which are different.  I only listened to the tablette anniversary at the time I purchased them. They have since been discontinued.  I did not compare them to other proacs.  The anniversaries I had were rear ported, so a bit sensitive to room placement to get the best bass. I believe the 10 is not, so you can place it nearer to the rear wall if that is an issue. Not sure the sonic difference between the 10 and the 10 signature.   Many years ago, I had Proac response 1, which were better than the original tablettes (just seemed more musical in the mid). So you might consider looking at the current response line as well as the tablette 10.