I feel that i still haven't maxed out my Thiels, there is still lots of room for improvement in my system for the years to come therefore no need to change the speakers.
Best 40 to 50k used speakers
What would you consider the absolute best speakers on the used market, budget 40 to 50k max.Open to any suggestions thanks.
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I’ve got the focal scal utopia evo I one room running on Monoblock benchmark AHB2 amps. I listen to vinyl with a McIntosh preamp and digital with a Benchmark DAC. In the room next to it I have Kii three with BXT(these head to the Beach next week). I’m super happy with both systems. I honestly do not hear a huge difference. The Focal’s I bought were a demo pair, the Kii three used on Audiogon. If I ever replace the Focal system I’ll probably go with active speakers like Dutch & Dutch or Kii threes. You will be happy at this price point with whatever you do. The decision to me is more about what kind of experience your looking for. Long story short I can recommend both the Focal Utopia and the Kii three whole heartedly. Keep looking for demo or used your on the right track
Michael
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My two picks:The Sound Lab Majestic and the Classic Audio Loudspeakers T-1 Set up properly they sound very similar- both are quite fast since both have power supplies to run their diaphragms (the T-1 uses field coils). You'll need more power to run the Sound Labs. I run the CAL T-3s at home and 50 watts on them is plenty! |
Please pay attention to the Prestige-3301MF. Very musical speakers with a modest budget. Prestige-3301MF photos of the build process |
Please pay attention to the Prestige-3301MF. Very musical speakers with a modest budget. Prestige-3301MF photos of the build process |
It could cost $40-$50K to outdo many great inexpensive speakers such as my Legacy Focuses $2.5-$3K used). However, I am planning to purchase Von Schweikert VR9 MkIIs very slightly less than that. Those were $115K 5 years back. $40 to $50K can get you new VS speakers (or as stated above the VR55 Aktives used) or Lumenwhites which are great. I would have bought the VR55s but they are much less efficient than the VR9s. Some people prefer Magico (I would never own the Q, S or A series, haven’t heard the M series), Wilson (don’t like the expensive ones), B&W (cheaper new than your used budget and are also power hogs), Focal, Tidal, Giya, Rockport, Vandersteen, Kharma, Avalon, Marten, Evolution Acoustics, etc. all who make and made expensive speakers which can sell for your price range at 40% to 60% less than when new. Bigger Maggies new are also less than your budget and do amazing things. |
Whatever from Tidal you can afford in your budget. Specially if you're from Germany - easy to check out German speakers. https://www.tidal-audio.com/ I would also check out Kaiser: https://www.kaiser-acoustics.com/ |
Assuming the $40K - $50K is your assumed new speaker price, I went through a similar exercise a year or so back. Also, we have about the same size rooms. My top contenders in no particular order were: - Vandersteen 7 Mk II - Vivid Audio Giya G2 S2 - Evolution Acoustics MM3 - Wilson Audio Alexia Mk II - Magico S3 Mk II After hearing all above I purchased the Giyas which, to my ears were the most cohesive (blending of drivers), effortless at any level, accurate (not warm or sterile) of the bunch. I may have bought the Vandys if I could have found a pair used. I think I liked the Vandys highs better than the Vivids but the Vivids play louder more effortlessly and cleaner than the Vandys. YMMV |
Wow, what a nice budget, especially, for a used pair of speakers! You should end up with something extraordinary~ I spent a few minutes with the responses; no surprises there. All wonderful recommendations...everyone has an opinion. I wonder where you could go to audition more than one example of something in this caliber? Traveling can be tricky these days, but I would hope you would want to listen to as many possibilities as you could find? "The journey's the thing" I didn't see any mention of Gayle Sanders finest effort with his Martin-Logan Statement e2 What a spectacular system! The design, the presence and the sound quality always blew me away! Arnie Nudell's Infinity IRS-V is another remarkable speaker (once the woofers have been replaced) Paul McGowan at PSAudio can attest to that... I 'second the motion' regarding the original Nautilus' (I owned the 8th pair made for over 15 years) what a wonderful experience! However, they require 8-channels of amplification for the pair, so you really will need another large budget for power... I wonder if 50k would buy a nice pair of Wilson Audio Alexandria's? That another pretty great speaker~ Remember, regardless what speaker you decide on, you will want multiple subs to go along with it~ regardless. Have a great time with this... Stay well and safe; best regards, Jim Gray Jim Gray Designs jimgraydesigns.com |
I moved from KEF Blade 2s to a pair of spotless used Sonus Faber Aidas for just a little more than $50K USD, including shipping to the US from the UK. Since you're in the EU, presumably they could be had for less if you can find them. List price of the Aidas when first introduced in 2012 was $120K and the new Aida 2 are now $130K. I'm very familiar with the sound of my original Aidas and have heard the Aida 2s demo'd at an open house hosted by a large Seattle dealer. The 2s are excellent speakers, but I would definitely say they are nowhere near $80K better (the differential between what I paid and a pair of new Aida 2s). Getting into the realm of personal preference, I've heard Wilson Alexia 2s many times (list around $50K new) and I much prefer my Aidas. |
You might consider purchase of an old pair of YG Anat and upgrade the innards to whatever level of Sonja components you can afford. Better yet, find a used pair already upgraded, as I did. You'll get the sound of the current model without the price tag of the current sleeker cabinets. You'll want a passive bass unit even if the used one has active bass. I have Anats upgraded to the lowest Sonja level and paid less than 1/2 of what you are considering spending. They compare favorably with the delicious current top of the line YG Sonja used by a reviewer buddy of mine, although listening to his does at times produce a bit of tweeter envy. Although I have all top notch components, I'll never get the full benefit of what these speakers can do. Make any downstream improvement, the speakers are up to showing it off. Perhaps most astounding is how versatile the YGs are in terms of what the room size is. They can "disappear" in even a very modest sized room. The YG Hailey's have been mentioned. They are fantastic but you are unlikely to come up with modestly priced used units. I'm quite certain upgrading the Kipod model to Hailey level isn't possible. In any event, the bigger YGs are more fantastic and more room-versatile, even if you need a fork lift to move them. |
Tidal has blown me away at every show I’ve seen them. http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/tidal_contriva_diacera_se.htm |
May want to check these guys out -
best value
if you can get on used market Lansche Audio https://www.lansche-audio.com/products/no-5-2/ |
Since you are in Germany then you have to go listen to DynamiKKts speakers. Ascendo recommended them to me! Go Figure. The are easy to drive and I think the starting price for floor standers is $20K and they go up from there. They are so much fun to listen to. Extremely dynamics, open deep bass, etc. Just a joy. Lamm family bought them also. Happy Listening. |
From 70k to 14k : https://tmraudio.com/brands/YG-Acoustics.html |
Another vote for whichever Focal Utopias fit your room. I have the Stellas myself, the EM bass is just effortless, even in my difficult room (concrete floor, patio windows behind speakers) Amplification? Has to be Boulder. Truly a marriage made in heaven. So rich, textured and authoritative. But above all, musical. This combination is truly on the side of the performer - producer |
