Best Rocking Speakers 15K and Under

I bought a pair of KEF R105/3 back in the day and it took about 10 years of throwing different gear at them to get them to sound as good as they did in the showroom! I will never fall for that 'they need time to break in' line ever again. Congrats on your purchase.

fatigue ? I get fatigued with anything that last too long  .Like music that's on for more than a couple  hours ,  I need  quite time .

trknomo  , since your earlier  speakers  were JBL , I would suggest a pair of  Klipsch Forte 3  , made to rock , I  purchased a pair 10 days ago  .I am hearing things I have never heard before on  songs I have heard many times .You don't need to spend $15K  , unless it makes you feel good

Quested Speakers if you want to play it loud fatigue free.

Yes Bache I’m off the market for awhile, went with Legacy speakers and probably stay with them for at least a couple more years

@trknomo     are you still on the market  ?

I do have to agree with you about the Legacy speakers and lack of fatigue. I listened to so many speakers bringing my own music and they gave me that impression during demos and it held up once I brought them home. 
 At CAF they actually spoke to me about the Calibres and once my construction is completed next year, just adding the Foundation subs. But thought I would be getting better sound moving up to the Focus SD or the Aeris. But you may be proving that wrong. Another option is adding the subs to my Signatures and using either the Wavelet or the MC Men220 which is using room perfect. Had a demo on that and also just incredible. 
 So I guess I have more and demos to do over the next year, but will most likely be with Legacy speakers and different configurations of.

+2 JBL 4367

I've used the Wavelet at various points with Aeris as DAC, Preamp as well as RoomEQ but did find that my Esoteric D-02 and C-02 preamp had advantages overall so I utilized the Wavelet for its best in class (IMHO) RoomEQ.  Either way you cannot go wrong. To me the value of 3 components in one that Wavelet packs into one great device astounds me as does the flexibility of running it the way I did with Aeris (with my own DAC and pre using Wavelet for RoomEQ) and still do with this setup.  RoomEQ alone Wavelet is worth its weight/price by far.  If you need and leverage the DAC and pre-amp, all the better!

I am using my Esoteric A-02 ironically enough to just drive the tweeter section on the Caliber XDs but what great presentation it makes! When I had the AERIS, the A-02 drove only the mids and tweeters on the AERIS so very similar config, similar high-value payback in sound
but limited use a high-end external amp.

The great thing about Legacy's latest internal amp designs is that the mids and mid-bass of the Calibers running off the internal amps (dual in this custom config) and the bass and sub-bass in the FOUNDATIONS (like the bottom half of Aeris) sound so good it makes one question the necessity of high-cost amps instead of just running with state of the art digital amplification since that's what Legacy gives you with these 2 great systems (never thought I'd read my own writing of that last sentence about digital amplification versus traditional SOTA Class A, AB or Tube by the way!).

It's too early (only about 275 hours of play thus far for a comprehensive evaluation against AERIS but I will say that already this combination has impressed the hell out of me with rock-solid super-deep and fast bass and sub-bass, great mids and very airy and transparent, realistic highs all with a very natural and musical presentation and enveloping imaging.  As a further bonus, the 7.5" accordion-edge midrange on the front of the Caliber in what looks to be an enclosing technique that is horn-loaded to my non-expert eye is pleasing my ears in ways that I only remember the midrange on the Aeris doing (and that is one amazing driver!).

I've also had this setup running non-stop for the stated time and not 1 minute of ear fatigue.  Legacy is the only maker of speakers I've owned that I can say that of and it is deja vu, no ear fatigue, from my days with Focus SE and Aeris (and whenever I've heard Whisper HD and XDS...)

I am a creature of habit when it comes to burn in,....I'll play many things early on in burn in cycle (techno, jazz, light classical, acoustic, vocal, some light rock) but reserve large pipe organ works, large symphonic (Mahler, Bruckner, Shostakovich, Orff, etc...) and Taiko drumming discs for very late/at the end of the first 350 hours of break in.  Tomorrow and through the week are the days to start some of these works so it will be interesting to hear what happens with this speaker combination.  Based upon what I've heard thus far,...these should also be very good and impressive days!

Very very impressed and loving the sound!

@zephyr24069 Wow that is a really interesting set-up. So you’re just using the Wavelet for the crossover and room correction? And the esoteric stereo amp for the Calibre Tweeters? How is that sounding compared to the Aeris? Again an incredible system that is defineltely unique

@trknomo  See my system thread https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/5078 for details of the path forward and what I have today from Legacy that also rocks out extremely well!

My new ATC 40 active speakers are residing at the dealer who ordered them for me.  I agreed to leave them to play with for a couple of weeks before taking possession.  The shop sells very high end stuff and stated so far the 40s are scary good cold out of the box.  Sweet mids, thunderous and tight bass and ridiculously loud.  They're running with I believe a Sim 380D Mind.  Best of luck.

The Focal Sopra 2's rock!

ozzy

@zephyr24069 What did you replace them with? 

Legacy Aeris with Wavelet definitely rocks out with authority then you can turn around and throw in the most delicate string or other work and it does that too!  Two years I owned them and was constantly amazed with their versatility....

@geek101 Wish you luck with the Aeris, wonderful speakers and will most likely be my next upgrade in two years. Doing major home renovations next year so will take a year to recoup and save more funds. 

@nitewulf They may have been the ones I listened to as well

@stereo5 Do what I’m doing this spring and make the house bigger

Well time to put this thread to rest as it was fun and had so many great recommendations for speakers and listened to just about all of them. Tks to everyone who chimed in and gave advise

Congrats on the Legacy speakers.  I have always loved their sound.  If my living room could accommodate them, I would own a pair of Aeris. 

@trknomo You story is somewhat similar to mine. But I did not go to RMAF to listen only to Legacy in-fact I read a lot about them before but discounted it. You know if it is too good to be true etc. But I was pleasantly surprised with price to value that Legacy Audio offered and to me it did not feel like I was compromising with the sound I am looking for in any department. I got myself the Aeris, still waiting for them to be delivered :). And yes they are a delight to work with even after the purchase. 

Enjoy your system.

Congrats, I bought the Signature SEs from Audiodoctor. They are incredible speakers, they play everything well.

Congrats on your speakers.  Hope you love them for a long time.

Glad you found what you were looking for! I've heard nothing but very good things about the Legacys. 

Devialet Premier Phantom Gold
Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 20

@mofojo That’s actually a tough question. If the Magicos were available I wouldn’t have went to CAF and ended my search there. But after spending about 4 hours this evening playing all the vinyl that the Kef Ref 3’s made not enjoyable and the Legacy’s really playing them well I’d say I’m very happy with my purchase. I can only say that I hope if I had the A3’s I would be having the same experience and I think I would be.

On another note I learned a valuable lesson with the Kefs. Don’t spend time and money trying to make something work. I swapped out my entire system because I loved the look and finish of the Refs. But in the end all I did was loose more that it was worth.

So did you like the Legacys better than the Magicos or just didn't want to wait? 

Well finally made my decision after listening to just about everything imaginable. Had the Magico A3’s at the top of my list. Went to listen to them one more time and AB’d against Focal Kanta 2, Focal Sopra 2 and Sonus Faber Olympica iii. The Magico won hands done. Only problem was 4-6mth wait with a 5K deposit down..Ouch...too long to wait.

So knowing this I decided to go to CAF the next weekend. . Listened to the entire Legacy line and had incredible help from the staff in the booth and at the end if seemed like the Signature SE’s would best fit my room. Did a couple more rounds listening to everything else I could and when I came back to Legay I knew thats what I wanted. 

 Picked them up this morning and been playing a wide variety of music and so far everything sounds really good. Can’t wait to get some more time on these and fully break them in. So my search is officially over !!

twoleftears750 posts08-02-2018 1:40pm@ctsooner Point taken. But all I can say is that hearing Mahler/large symphony orchestra in full hue and cry on the Harbeths produced the most lifelike sound, from the point of view of scale and sheer majesty, that I've heard from any loudspeaker. Ever. How that translates into rock, I don't know.

I"m sure you do.  That's why you love them, but a top speaker will be great on everything.  Ask any of the top designers privately adn they will tell you the same thing.  Harbeths are a really sweet speaker, but not the last word for micro and macro detail.  They don't 'disappear'.  Those are their trade offs. All equipment has trade offs and that's why they all sound differently.  Designers also have different likes and dislikes along with different set of ears and brains :)....

I find many speakers to be boosted 1-3db on the top end (anywhere from 8k up) and it hurts my ears over the long haul.  It just does. There are a couple of speakers (forget which ones) that are boosted a spec up there (it gives the illusion of a larger soundstage) and I don't notice it. I have a pair of Empire Ears Phantoms CIEM's that have that little boost and I love them.  A true reference quality CIEM. We all like different flavors.

I’ll also suggest the JBL 4367’s as I used to own them. I work for a dealer that sells B&W, PMC, Paradigm, Golden Ear, Dynaudio, McIntosh etc. As a stereo fanatic and installer, I have listened with interest to all of their models in homes and at the showroom.   I prefer the JBL's which we don't sell.

I now own JBL M2’s, which I find a bit less harsh than the 4367’s on most music. They are more harsh on the eyes though, Haha!

@ctsooner Point taken.  But all I can say is that hearing Mahler/large symphony orchestra in full hue and cry on the Harbeths produced the most lifelike sound, from the point of view of scale and sheer majesty, that I've heard from any loudspeaker.  Ever.  How that translates into rock, I don't know.

The 850 literally slides into the same opening. Go for it and good luck!

@noromance That was one of the reasons I went with the Feickert TT over others I was looking at is the ease to swap out Tonearms. Once I get things I bit further I may experiment. 

I know you don’t want to change front end but if you are using a Jelco 750 on the Woodpecker, consider the drop-in replacement 850/950 tonearms. Big upgrade.

@rhansen162 Actually not looking for ultra revealing. I’m looking for the warmer side of neutral. 

For ultra revealing, you should have a listen to the Egglestonworks Rosa SE’s.  Although they lack the lower end bass the Andra’s give you, I actually find the Rosa’s more accurate and revealing with just enough bass to fill out the music (although adding a very small sub completely transforms their sound).  My Wilson W/P’s were more of a “rock” speaker, however the Rosa’s were faster and cleaner when playing very fast, complicated or “full” music.  Seems impossible to find a dealer in the tri-state area with them to demo as US customers seem to only want the bigger Andra’s, but maybe someone here has a pair at home they’d let you listen to?

I’m currently using the McIntosh C50/MC452 combo on Rosa’s.  Good friend has C1000/MC2301’s on a pair of Rosa’s as well.  Amazing sound!

@melbuyone Yes I’ve watched that video myself as well. Maybe that will be my next set of speakers. Like to see what Paul comes up with in the 10K price point. 

The best rocking speakers under $15k are still in the design phase over at PS Audio & will be based on Arnie Nudell’s final speaker project; the ’IRS-killer’. Those speakers will have active servo-controlled bass drivers & Paul tells me they will really rock! https://www.psaudio.com/askpaul/the-secrets-behind-ps-speakers/

Benzman, as a Persona Dealer, we absolutely loved your findings.

We would love to sell the A3 for no other reason then they will certaintly be one of the most looked at speakers in that price point and it would add to our outstanding selection of Legacy, Paradigm, KEF, Quad, Dali, ATC, and Elac lines.

With that being said and not having direct experience with the A3 we have always found the Magico line to be extremely well crafted but a bit too refined in their presentation, they were not bright and not dull the sound just seemed to lay there, without any striking qualities for our taste.

The Paradigm Personas may be a controversial product that some people may find bright but we find when they are matched correctly to be one of the most holographic and most transparent speaker systems for the price out there and the bass of the 3F is also surprisingly deep down to 24hz in room which is very similar to the Magico’s bass response of 22hz with a bit greater efficiency.

We would also agree with you that the Persona's can play loudly without distortion, our 9F are being driven by a T+A power amplifier which provides 300watts into an 8ohm load and 500 watts into a 4 ohm load and we can play this system at ear bleeding levels without strain.  

We also believe in the attribute of having the exact same material for the tweeter and midrange being both Beryilium being a huge advantage in having a very coherent sounding loudspeaker. 

At this point there are a few standout new loudspeakers at or around this price point which are very exciting and very high value products that bring the cost of owning a state of the art loudspeaker down in price.

We would say the Personas, the Magico A3, the Kef Reference line and the Sopras’s are four of the best at these price points for the clarity and tranparency camp.

In our minds the Legacy’s Focus are going to be very hard to beat if your tastes go to the warmer richer presentation with deep and puncy bass response.

The Focus are way more efficient, play louder and go lower than most of the other high end loudspeakers from most of the major manufacturers.

We love the Legacy’s for all of their outstanding attributes and superb value for the dollar wlhat is interesting is the sheer difference in bass that you can only get from a larger 12 inch bass driver vs the 7 inch woofers of both the Magico A3 and the Persona 3F, the smaller bass drivers are impressive for their speed and how much deep bass both Magico and Pardigm can get out of these small high tech woofers, but neither of these speakers can do the amount of sheer bass output without distortion that the Legacy’s can put out.

One lovely comment at the last New York Audio Show a person came up to Bill Dudeleston and exclaimed that the Aeris at $25k sounded better than most of the $60k and above loudspeakers he has heard.

We have the previlage of having three reference grade loudspeaker lines Kef, Paradigm and Legacy on display and each of these wondeful lines have their own personalities.

After having been in this industry for over 30 years all of these manuacturers should be congratulated for creating something truly remarkable for a somewhat affordable price point. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

So at Axpona they had the Persona 5F running off two
Mac 500 watt per channel monoblocks. The Mac's put out 1 k peaks and we measured over 100 db on Personas from 20 ft away in a 25x 50 ballroom. The Personas never once even showed any signs of stress. If you want to rock it out you are not going to beat the Personas

@benzman To bad I’m on the east coast or I’d take you up on that offer.

@ctsooner Yes you are correct, I’m looking for a good all around full range speaker that can sound great playing all genres of music and when the time comes to crank up Sabbath, Audio Slave, Metallica to 100 db levels and have it hold together and give me excellent bass response. I have listened to the Harbeths but not for me. 

@ohlala I had the JBL L250’s and they could really rock the house down, but play CSN, CCR and Traffic and sound great as well. I guess thats why I really want to hear the 4367’s which seem to have a similar bass response. Wanna hear what the 15” woofer can do with them. I may in fact be disappointed but I need to find that out. 

If you really do not want subs and your goal is LF extension, the JBLs will not likely work for you. Their efficiency and other things are maintained in part by early bass rolloff. The spec graph is on JBL’s website. I am completely unfamiliar with ’70s JBL but can tell you the 4367s are very flat, deigned for good dispersion in the home and unromantic. They are stereotypical studio monitors but have a laidback presentation. There is not another model you are considering that loads a room l like they do, is well blended from mid to high freq or is as dynamic.

The booming sound from your proac audition was likely a combo of your position and speaker position in relation to the room. Walk around a little during auditions.

Guys, if you read everyone's posts, you can understand how the OP listens and what he likes in a speaker.  He wants dynamics and a lot of detail.  if he doesn't want the Vandersteen's, he won't want the Harbeth's.  Harbeth's are one of the most enjoyable sounding speakers, but they lack some dynamics and are not going to give you the micro and macro detail. They will allow you to listen and enjoy music all day long.

The best I've ever heard were the new anniversary 40.2's with the top of the line MSB system with Audioquest dragon and Hurricane cords.  This is overkill for this speaker, but man was it fun to listen to.  I just don't feel that the OP would be happy with that speaker, but of course he should listen to it if he is able to.

I haven't read through the whole thread, but if your ceiling is 15K I'm surprised not to find mention here of the Harbeth 40.2.  I heard them recently and thought them extraordinarily good.  After the first few seconds of playing the first cut, when I recovered from my initial shock, my first words were, "Wow, just wow".  Later that day I heard the Contour 60s, and to my ears--YMMV--there was simply no contest, not even close.  Also, the Harbeths have now handily knocked off my top spot favorite up to this point, the similarly priced Vienna Acoustics Liszt, which, allowing for (in)accuracy of acoustic memory, I would still rate well above the Dynaudios.

Funny as I heard the Magico A3 at Axpona and did not think they sounded as good in any way as my Magico S3. I just sold the S3 s and bought Persona 5F and they absolutely destroy the Magico's. Dynamics,details in live music like room ambiance that the Magico's never even conveyed. 
Salk makes great speakers and his facility is 30 miles from me. Please feel free to reach out if you want to kill 2 birds with one stone.  

@ctsooner Hoping to hear the Contours this week if all goes OK. Same dealer has a pair of Proac’s that I may listen to again while there.

@rcprince To be fair the first time they were just set-up and not even broken in. The second time was at a Music day at the dealer. The third time they were now going on 3 weeks old and well broken in and spent a good hour listening. And the last time I was auditioning some preamps but had them all going thru the A3. Enjoyed what I heard but last impression was based more on preamp. 

@steve59 I dont think it rude as long as you told the guy you really just wanted to hear them for a future reference. If it was a brand that was sold in stores that would be different, but with the SS’s thats not possible.

I hope you get to listen to your final contenders in your listening room. I'm enjoying the thread.
 There's a pair of SS8 about 20 miles from me that I want to trouble the owner to listen to even though i'm not in the market. ..would it be rude?

Given that you've listened to the Magicos four times, I think that they may be what you're looking for.  Sometimes it's best to trust your feelings...

Based on what your tastes seem to be, the Contours may do it for you.  

Short list after doing some more listening:

Magico A3 listened 4 times now and compared against Focal and Paradigm and B&W

DynAudio Countour 60 (haven't yet heard but wanting to)

Legacy Series and Bache. Been to AudioDoctor once and have to get back. It's just finding the time to hang out there for a few hours as there is so much to see and listen to there and great people to shoot the bull with. 

JBL 4367 Still have to find a pair to listen to. Aesthetically not my favorite but willing to listen as I think they might be the best next to vintage speaker sound. 

There were so many great suggestions here and have listened to few whether at a dealer or an item within driving distance that someone was selling. Found many out of my price range as well. But for now the list above will be one of the ones I settle on. 

@whitecap Yes I did think of the vintage route, just don't have the time to fiddle or rebuild anything

@robertplong Listened to the Supra 2's next to the Magico's and liked the Magico sound better

@rvito Don't have the corners for the Klipschorns

@timo62 eliminated the Proacs after another listen of them and not a fan of the Quatros. Have been at Audio Connection and yes John is a great guy and a lot of good information.