What is your current speakers and venue? Would be helpful to see them. It is easy to create a virtual system with a few photos... that would be really helpful. What are yours tastes in sound?
$3500 floor standing speakers used. What would be your choice ?
My speakers are 25 years old, working fine for now, but who knows I might have to replace them at some point in the future.
The amp would be VAC Avatar SE 60 watt/ch all tube with onboard phono stage. Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck/Spacearm turntable and couple of tape decks.
I am thinking Proac maybe or whatever.
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Current speakers are Michael Green Audio Rev80i free resonance design. Let's say their sound signature is close enough to Grado RS-1 wooden headphones. I play at moderate levels, many kinds of music but not hard rock or big orchestras. I don't tolerate bright or "stupid" hi-fi kind of sound. Midrange must be right or I won't listen. Going down confidently to 35 hz would be enough. Soundstage is very important, the space should be "heard" and felt. |
@inna Ah, brings back some fond memories. I had a pair of MG Rev60’s many years ago. A very nice speaker using classic Vifa drivers. Learned a lot about proper loudspeaker set up with that little floorstander. Highly suggest you check out Tekton. Eric has many options in your price range. I think you would be floored by the performance of his speakers.. They would exceed your expectations by all the criteria you listed. See the parallel thread/review just posted by teajay on the Tekton Encore monitor. Then go to Eric's website to see his bigger offerings. You might do well to give Eric a call given the many options he offers. |
corelli, this is the first time that I "meet" someone who is familiar with these speakers. Yes, set up is critical, and if you push them too far they get out of control. But at moderate level with especially smaller scale acoustic music they sound quite good, acoustic guitar and vocals are convincing. VAC Avatar SE is an excellent match, Purist Audio cabling. Devore Nine.. bjesien, thank you, this sounds interesting. Tekton speakers..I usually don't like Eric's posts here and his preferences of electronics. |
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@inna I agree that some of Eric's posts have not served him well. He can be polarizing when pushed. However, the couple of calls I made to him were very cordial and helpful. It would be a shame to discount his speakers given that he has multiple models in your price range that I think would outperform the competition. Also, his speakers work will with a wide range of electronics, tube and solid state. |
My experience hearing Tekton was that they were exciting but bright and forward. I'd be more interested in these at your price point, listed on USAM: Dynaudio Contour S 3.4 |
Everyone will have their favorite speaker brand. Mine is Tannoy. There are frequently lots of tempting (to me) used Tannoys for sale. I’ve used Tannoys with lots of VAC components for many years now. In the bigger system I have Canterbury GR with VAC Master monos & preamp. In the office I’ve used Glenair 10’s (I swap these in/out with Canterbury SE), with VAC Statement 450S amp. It’s quite a price disparity, but a great match. I got these Glenairs used from TMR several years ago for $2000. For $3500 you’re not quite to Kensington money, but maybe close-ish (SE). Turnberry SE should be in range (current line is GR; prior SE models are very good). Maybe you could swing modern Legacy Cheviots. Avoid the DC10A, which are frequently heavily discounted - great looking model but I don’t know WHAT the engineers did to that poor speaker (crossover)? There are older 90s / 2000s models which are exceptional for the money too - e.g. D700. And of course the many vintage options, which Tannoy is known for! It’s either your sound, or not. The other speakers I’ve heard and liked (but not enough to change!) are much more expensive than 3500 even used: Magico S1, S5, Acora, Sopra 3, Von Schweikert VR55-Aktive, Audio Physic (forget the model but it was $14K+ and had a cone tweeter). I didn’t like Magico A3. Nor the really expensive Vons or Focals. The Magico S1, ueven Mk 1 used doesn’t quite get to 3500. Maybe some of the Audio Physics would get there. |
@mulveling +1 on the Tannoy suggestion. I don't own any currently. I worked in an audio shop in the 90's and 2000's that was a dealer. I loved the old Mercury's, always a no brainer for customers. The sixes series were great too, but their look was a bit polarizing. Before I went for the Volti's the Cheviot's were my main contender. I am still searching for a good and fair priced pair of Eaton's or System 12's for the mancave. Was also going to throw out the Paradigm Founder series to OP. |
2nd the Paradigm Founders. Really great speakers. Play well with tubes or ss. I have the 120h. Currently paired with a pass xa30.5 and tube preamp they are amazing. Also had them with an EL34 integrated and also very very good. You can find the 100f in your range for sure or the 120h for 4kish used if you look around. |
Used Sonus Faber, Totem or DynAudio (more detailed oriented than the others. The Sonus, best choice given your musical inclination, but not over ten years old. Some of the older ones were too warm and compromised detail. I have to agree with @grislybutter... if you could stretch to $5K... you could get a higher level speaker and really advance your system. But used Sonus. |
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Tektons (models with the array) have a unique type of sound, in some ways a hybrid of a horn and concentric driver type of sound perhaps....deserves to be in it’s own pocket like magnepans or electrostats or whatever. For the guy who clicks with that type of sound, some others speakers may sound kinda lame. Hence, it has a following. Their customer service as well tends to be better than most.
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If we could go into the details, assuming the same Avatar amp, what difference would I hear between same level ProAc, Tannoy, DeVore, Sonus Faber and AudioPhysics ? Going from $3500 to $5000 might be a possibility but I must be sure it is worth it. Yeah, I remember I didn't like the sound of old Sonus Faber for the reasons that ghdprentice stated. I also thought they were sort of primitive sounding but this might've been because of the electronics they were used with. |
I have Maggie 1.7's actively crossed over to subs. HUGE difference getting the lows out of the Maggies. At $3500 you should be able to get the Maggie 3.7's with a full ribbon tweeter and a quality active crossover. After that you can add a pair of subs when funds accumulate. Rolling everything off at 60Hz with the 18db slope is nice however found 60Hz roll off on the low end at 18db/octave then the high end is set at 70Hz and 12db/octave |
The best speaker I know of near your price range would be the used set of Silverline Bolero speakers for sale in CA. They are fantastic sounding speakers that play full range and beautifully check off the sonic boxes important to you. I think the seller is asking $4400, but perhaps you can get closer. They may not be close to you and perhaps just out of your price range? I do know they are immensely musical with fully fleshed out mids and excellent bass foundation. Easy to drive and very nice looking! Nice big stage with very good imaging and easy to listen to for many hours
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Asking for advice on which speakers to buy or listen to is useless. Even good speakers vary a lot in their plusses and minuses. First you need to know yourself, what factors you must have and which make a speaker impossible to live with. Then you have a chance to pick speakers. But you must listen yourself after you analyze yourself. The only thing you can hope from others is not what are great speakers but their analysis of the sound of speakers they like(and you have to hope their analysis is accurate). |
As I mentioned, there is no rush at all. In fact, if I could find Michael Green Audio's top Chameleon speakers, that would be great. They are impossible to find. Besides, I usually start threads not only for myself to get advice and suggestions, I try to initiate interesting and helpful discussion on a variety of audiophile subjects. But no one so far describes the sound of their recommended speakers. |
Well, indirectly I think I did when you mentioned what you were looking for. But to be more direct, the Tekton line is noted for a very smooth, detailed midrange that draws you into the music. Contrary to one comment, these speakers are not bright. I am intolerant of bright/forward speakers and I can listen all day to my Double Impacts without any fatigue. Bass extension is quite flat to 30 Hz. Powerful, taught, extended. Last, but not least, the imaging is precise with a large, realistic sound stage that exceeds the Magnepans I had prior to the DI's. |
The sky is the limit and there are so many used speakers to choose from it would be hard to listen to them all. I like Vandersteen and Ohm. For rock and your tube amp, the Tektons would certainly match well. A used or new Salk would be on my list too. Magnepan may be too hard on your tube amp, I know they were on mine. Perhaps look at Emminent Technology? |
@2psyop Salk has been out of business since 9/15/23. Eminent Technology manufactures only 2 loudspeakers LFT-16A and LFT-8B, and both are very inefficient not an ideal match for a 60 watt tube amp. A used JBL 4349 would be a much better speaker over any Tekton model for those about to rock! |
avanti19601,511 posts Spendor A5 or D7 They do so many things right if you lean on a kaleidescopic sound stage, quick burst microdynamics and transients along with refinement and clarity. Careful setup required but the user is rewarded. https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2777607I agree with this assessment. You said you’re looking for a description of the sound of recommended speakers. If this is the sound you’re looking for then these fit the bill. |
At the end of the day, people choose their favorite speakers because it sounds most like "music" to them. Which means different things to different people. In the case of Tannoy, it’sa bit complicated becasue the actual sonic balance can vary wildy from model to model - you’ll have some that are dark & thick, others bright, and everywhere in between. At its core, the "dual concerntric" driver is their claim to fame, and for me, IT WORKS. You get a 2-way "point source" driver that is wholly coherent and symmetric in the uber-critical critical midrange. You can cover "full range" sound (or almost, at least) from a single 10", 12" or 15" dual concentric driver alone - and this is a true "point source" approximation. Though, some Tannoy models add a dedicated woofer. Look, I waded into speakers over from head-fi / headphones as a young man, circa 2000s, and it was hard for me to like most of the multi-driver speakers I was hearing. Compared to the perfect coherence of headphones (which are generally full range single-drivers), many of these speakers sounded a complete mess on complex music (especially loud rock / metal) - with imperfect combination of the drivers in critical midrange, and with completely separate woofer sections you could always pick out (side firing, down firing), etc. Room issues added on the the problems, but here too - Tannoy’s controlled dispersion makes them much more room friendly. The old trope of playing Diana Krall / etc to demo expensive speakers was true - you HAD TO play that kind of material, to hide the mess on anything more busy. When I first heard a Tannoy DC it was just a compact floorstanding model (Eyris DC3) but it blew me away. It sounded much more real, natural, coherent. And the imaging was wonderful - 3D and holographic (my first taste of what that meant). With a good Tannoy implementation I get perfect coherence and "musical flow", from bass all the way through treble. Bass in particular, is always perfectly integrated for the single-DC driver models. (like the larger Prestige series). Other high-end speakers have gotten a lot better about presenting a coherent, integrated sound, but Tannoy will always be my love. And sometimes I still hear a discombobulation in other high-end speakers, and cringe (happened to me with Magico A3). I’ve also never liked the super-large Vons or Focal Utopias - I guess that’s just too much space for the drivers to be spread out over, for me (I like some of the smaller models). Anyways, within Tannoys they have different themes:
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I have Tekton Double Impact SE speakers and I think they sound fantastic. Lots of kick. Did not have a problem with Eric and had great customer service. I understand those who don’t like him or his products, although I think many have not heard them. I have had Magnepan, JBL, Boston Acoustics, Monitor Audio, Bose and many, many others. Didn’t know Salk went out of business, sad, great company. I am sure if the OP takes his time and listens to many speakers he will find the right choice. |
