Best standmounts with a 7" woofer/driver

Reference 3A de Capos

What does high end mean to you?  Is there a price point that matters?  What are the measurements and specs other than the 7” woofer?  What sound signature matters to you?  I use Fritz speakers, which use a 7” driver, but I don’t know if you would consider them high end.  I do based on their performance, build, and having compared them to others in the same class that cost two or three times as much.  There are many others that would likely work for you but don’t have a 7” woofer.  Without knowing what sound signature you’re looking for it’s difficult for folks to give you good recommendations.

Woofer size is meaningless a 5 inch woofer in a transmission line will outperform a much larger woofer in a conventional cabinet 

So design is more important then size of driver 

If you want great low bass from a compact loudspeaker look at an alta audio Alyssa very tight and deep bass 5k using a proprietary hybrid bass loading  design 

Dave and Troy

ALTA AUDIO DEALERS 

Persona B is my favorite, but they need care with placement and component matching.

It's hard to beat the Atalante 3s unless you more than double the price (or used).

The Dynaudio Contour 20 might be similar but still better materials, more bass

Harbeth M30.2XD @ 8"...Spendor Classic 3/1 @ 7"...

@grislybutter Thanks for the extensive list of standmount speakers.

My sound signature is warm with great bass, not to bright or harsh. I listen to all genres of music.

I realize driver size does not make a speaker. I was also intrigues with the Trenner & Friedl ART speakers.

When I say high end, I mean quality parts handcrafted type of speaker. Not a mass produced Chinese manufactured speaker.

Fritz’s speakers would fit that bill.  Joseph Audio Pulsars (both versions) would as well,  Harbeth, Dynaudio, and Spendor have been mentioned already.  You might consider ATC as well.  I’m sure you saw @grislybutter ’s list which is great.  You can use that to research what others think of various sound profiles and then audition some yourself, if you can, to see what you like.

Buy a used pair of Joseph Audio Pulsars (either version) and compare.  It’s got a 5.5” midwoof but goes lower than the Revivals (by measurements) and by all accounts moves more air than expected for their size.  The bonus is you get that magical asymmetric crossover that delivers an expansive and effortless 3D soundstage and pulls off an amazing disappearing act few can match.  Very easy to sell if you’re not blown away.  Just one option FWIW. 

@bunkertoy of course!
You can check out all the data at https://speakerchoices.com/index.html

compare them, find the links to specs, all that.

You know me, I own Atalante 3 monitors and feel that anything you get would be, at  best, a sideways move. When auditioning (and that's what you should be doing), give the new speakers time to break in and then put the Atalante 3 back in to have a better take on whether it's an actual improvement. 

All the best,
Nonoise

My choice is always the Totem Mani II. Although the bass driver is 6 1/2”, there are two in an isobarik formation. I haven’t heard all the stand mounts out there, but nothing else comes close. With great stands and a proper amp they are excellent, and bass that’s matched by no one in the stand mount world. Well, except for those crazy expensive Wilson’s I listened to at the Audio Show last year. 

Thanks for the input everyone. I have lots of speakers to read up on. @nonoise I do love my Atalante 3's. I got the bug reading about the Trenner & Friedl ART speakers.... I could be possessing the best speaker for my modest system. Unless I go to new levels in gear maybe upgraded speakers won't change anything.

Thanks again, always enjoy the input on here. my fave place to hangout. 

Cheers

@bunkertoy It may be hard to find and demo a pair, but check out the T+A Talis R 300. They retail close to $10K a pair, but they are exactly what you are looking for. Very high level of craftsmanship (cabinet is machined out of a solid block of aluminum), with a close to 7” driver that is warm and natural but also dynamic and detailed.

T+A is renowned as one of the best audio electronics companies, but most people don’t realize that they started out as a speaker company first, over 45 years ago!

I just recalled that I took a video with an iPhone demoing a Patricia Barber track on a demo pair of these (I am a dealer). Subs are not enabled here. The speakers  go down to 35Hz, but with room gain it’s easy to hear how it can go lower than 30Hz. Enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions on these.

I have to agree with @nonoise ​​​​@grislybutter on this one--hard to beat the Atalante 3s. I'm still breaking mine in. I traded in my Dynaudio Special 40s for the Revivals. I have a REL T7x that I occasionally used with the S40s but I haven't used them with the Atalante 3s since there's plenty of bass (for me). You could try speaker cable upgrades possibly?  

@blisshifi  @bluorion I have some nice Tellurium Q Black speaker cables. I wonder is anyone has auditioned Magico speakers ?

I know the company T+A, but mainly as a DAC company. I'll look into their speakers.

I love hearing about these other high end brands not normally talked about online.

I have a pair of T+A Criterion T100 speakers. Although not bookshelf size, I can confirm they are very will made and sound great in my small listening room.

My System

The best stand mount speakers I’ve ever owned was TAD ME1. 

The Borresen M1 of course ! 

Ronboco M1 are 100k? The x1 Borensen monitors for less than 8k are so musically live sounding.

Joseph Audio Pulsar Graphenes, only bookshelves I think would be a noticeable upgrade.....but the Alta Alyssas should be listened to if you have the opportunity

Wharfedale Elysian 2

($6995)

Treble:    3.5" (90mm) Air Motion Transformer
Midrange:    6.0" (150mm) coated fiberglass matrix cone
Bass:    8.5" (220mm) coated fiberglass matrix cone
Nominal Impedance:    4Ω (compatible 8Ω )
Crossover Frequency:    360Hz, 2.9kHz
Frequency Response:    35Hz ~ 22kHz (+/-3dB)
Sensitivity:    89dB (2.83V @1m)
Recommended Amplifier Power:    25 - 250W
Weight:    67.2lbs
Dimensions (HxWxD)    27.6" x 13.1" x 17.0"

I would like a bookshelf that can move some air. Big sound. I currently own Revival Atalante 3.They have a nice 7 inch driver. Just shopping for possible upgrades. My room is 14' X 12'

Not sure what specific upgrades you're looking for. If you're after more air movement, a bigger sound, or deeper bass, the Atalante 5 could be the best candidate, while still retaining the traits you like in the 3. The options might be limitless and people are shooting random darts here unless you specify what you're aiming for.

Reynaud Bliss Jubile'

https://hifiplus.com/articles/jmr-electroacoustique-bliss-jubile/

If you want a bookshelf speaker with bass, listen to the Generation 4 by Watkins Stereo.

https://www.watkinsaudio.com/shop

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/watkins-stereo-generation-four-loudspeaker/

If you like the Atalante 3s but want deeper bass, larger soundstage, better imaging etc you can add a pair of subwoofers to your setup and that should do the trick.  You could spend half of what some of the recommendations cost and get excellent subs that would likely give you what you want.  I added a pair of subs to my system and it did all the things I mentioned above. If you don’t want to entertain the idea of subs then forget I mentioned them 😀

My sound signature is warm with great bass, not to bright or harsh. I listen to all genres of music.

I realize driver size does not make a speaker. I was also intrigues with the Trenner & Friedl ART speakers.

When I say high end, I mean quality parts handcrafted type of speaker. Not a mass produced Chinese manufactured speaker.

Gershman Studio xDB have an 8" woofer, but are relatively compact stand mounts speakers that will go down to 23 Hz.  They convey a lot of detail, have great imaging, project a huge soundstage, and manage to be a bit on the warm side and very easy to listen to.  Made in Canada by a smallish boutique company.

@big_greg Hey thanks for this recommendation. I've never heard of this Canadian company. I'll do some reading on these. 23Hz is crazy low. Cheers man

Legacy Calibre.

@big_greg  Thank you for bringing this to our attention. After reviewing its specs, it is realized that the xDB model actually 'cheats' a bit and may not be classified as a traditional stand-mount speaker since the entire 'stand' functions as an extension of the transmission-line like bass port. Its sibling, the Studio II, is more in line with what we're discussing here—a sealed box design with an 8" long-excursion woofer reaching down to 28Hz (?dB) moves a lot of air.  There’s a connector inside the binding post panel that can even be disconnected to reduce the bass response by 2-3 dB if the room is overly pressurized.  Interesting.

All excellent options! Two more to add to the list:

Proac Response D2

PS Audio Aspen FR5

I own the Dynaudio Special 40 and find that they have plenty of bass for me, but @bluorion comments about upgrading to the Atalante 3 has me thinking. 

If I am the importer and obviously biased, can I mention the ATC SCM20 active or passive should be on your "7 inch driver" list?  It's a true stand mount.  ATC does not use a transmission line or port to boost bass with the cabinet on the SCM20-its a sealed box, with the ideal 12dB per octave roll off from its usable limit (which is about 85Hz).  

It should be discussed that bass needs a larger room to be heard.  The science of Wavelengths need to be considered, because expecting true 32Hz means you need an 11 meter (or about 35 feet) room dimension to support wavelengths at 32Hz.  Even if the speaker is capable and tries to produce it, it's longer than the room so it won't work out well!  So some acoustics minded folks would say, measure your room, know how low the usable limit of your room is.  Then work backwards to find a speaker that goes at least that low.  Investing in bass you cannot hear will generate another Audiogon post ("my speaker says 50Hz but they have no bass in this room") .  A 10x13 ft room can ideally support as low as 85Hz - hence the the SCM 20 at about 85Hz roll off is an ideal fit in this size space.  With low frequency, the larger the room the better.

[it should also be added there are tricks using multiple subs at low level to force bass into a space smaller than the room dimensions technically allow.  Sometimes 3 or 4 subs are needed.  This is how we do it in a studio or home when a client has to have it, but this work around gets expensive and has its own flaws and limitations]

Brad 

I love the ATC look and offerings but the website is still difficult

@g2the2nd Wow the Legacy Calibre looks like a great speaker also. A rare 3-way bookshelf.

Love hearing about these more rare brands.

Soundfield Audio MMW-1’s

https://soundfieldaudio.net/mmw

Listening to my Pulsar 2’s right now, and can’t imagine a better sound in a medium sized room.  

Check The Music Room (TMR).  Josh has a pair of Fritz Carrera BE's and a pair of Fritz Rev 7's.  They are outstanding speakers that utilize high end scan speak drivers.  They really are great speakers and Fritz is an awesome guy to deal and interact with.  I have had quite a few pairs of speakers (50+?) and Fritz is my favorite for semi affordable monitor size speakers. 

Not exactly 7”, but how about MoFi SourcePoint 8 or 10? Much deeper bass, great performance - lots of very positive reviews, price reasonable

I am with @bunkertoy  on the following

"Wow the Legacy Calibre looks like a great speaker also. A rare 3-way bookshelf."

I owned a pair of Calibre XDs paired with 2 Legacy Foundation subs (an amazing sub) all tied together with Legacy's Wavelet active crossover & room correction box and to get more you'd have to spend a substantial sum of money more.

Since I just bought them and love them: Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2. Yes I’m a fanboy now, but read the white papers. A Lyngdorf design.