Best speakers for my system


Hi everybody,

I hope you can give me some good advice. I have a Levinson No. 336 amp and a Levinson No. 390S CD processor. I have Audience AU24e interconnects and speaker cables and an Audience AR6T power conditioner with an AU24 powerChord. What speakers would work well with these components? I'm overwhelmed with the choices. My budget is probably something between $5 - 12K, depending on how much the economy improves this year.
gapperis123
Geoch and Countingbackwards, you both recommend Proac's, which are a speaker brand I have high regard for. I have not heard them with the Levinson gear of this genre (or with any Levinson amp for that matter). Have either of you? I would be interested in your opinions as to mating them with the ML amps.

My experience with the 331/2/3 .5 amps and the 334/5/6 amps is that they are a little bit more forgiving than say the Krell FPB/C amps, maybe slightly softer on the details or a bit less strident may be a better description. Almost a very slight "softer" (rolled off sounding top range) and slightly lighter in the bass, but not weak. I actually like both this line of Krell amps and also these ML amps - I am not picking one over the other. I am actually looking at a new (used) amp and the 334/5/6 or the FPB 300C or 350C amps are being considered (along with a Spectron Musician possibly).
I'm sorry, I haven't.
But this is my preference for a high current, high wattage, SS amp. I've heard them with Pass, Musical fidelity, Goldmund, Nagra, & over a dosen tube amps. & they can manage to keep their unique personality above any of them.
I've had the Response D28, D38, 5, 4 over the years & I think the newest D38R with the ribbon tweeter betters them all in compatibility as an all-rounder & value in this price category.
But I'm not shure about the matching with the ML once I've never heard them together.

Kind Regards
Given your equipment and room size, I would second the recommendation for the Thiel 3.7. They like tons of SS wattage, but after a long break-in period, they will really sing. They are at the top of your budget range, but I can't imagine that you would ever want for much more. I've been lucky to hear them twice and walked away both times extremely impressed, and with a severe case of speaker lust....
Geoch, thanks for that follow-up. I think of the amps you list (at least those that I am familiar with), the Pass (depending on model) is more close to the ML amp (with the Pass possibly being a bit smoother - when in Class A operation at least). So I would think that if the Proac's are good with the Pass, they are also likely to be with the ML. Thanks also for your comments on the 38R vs. the 38. It seems like the Proacs would be a very good recommendation for the OP to listen to. I wouldn't think his ML amp would have any problem whatsoever driving the Proacs.
"Speakers are so personal!!”

Elizabeth is so right its almost trite. So, I figured, if you’re willing to to put a decision so subjective up for grabs, I’ll do a quick Audiogon search for speakers in your price range and see what jumps out. So I did; and here’s the problem: It’s not that nothing jumped out, it’s that nearly everything jumped out.

Advise: Get out there and listen. Have a ball doing it.