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Candidates for best speakers in the $2000-5000 market

I’m asking for listeners’ experience in this bracket, buttressed by reviews and/or data; I am not a fan of "whatever sounds good to you." Ultimately, yes, that will be the case. But in getting to that point, I’m looking to benefit from the advantage of a thousand pairs of ears rather than mine alone. Those ears can include the inanimate. Thank you.

My experience has included my own Elac 403, Elac 407, and Dynaudio Special 40. Auditions have included various Sonus Faber, and Magico. All of this is in preparation for justifying the leap for an Electa Amator lll or its equivalent. But that’s for another day, another forum.

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Showing 1 response by dave6617

dave6617
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A couple floor standing options around your budget to consider:

B&W 702 S2 speakers. They were recently replaced with 702 S3s but many retailers still have them new in stock at discounted prices. They offer tight bass and present a detailed midrange/upper frequency sound stage. Discounted price right at $5k/pair ($6k MSRP)

An alternate option are KEF R7s. These are also being discounted by many retailers. They can be had for $3.6k per pair new at Music Direct ($4.5k MSRP). They have a fuller bass presence than the B&W speakers but, don’t match their upper frequency detail.

I really like the Vandersteen Treo CT speakers (about $10k/pair MSRP). Very musical sounding, truly impressive. I saw pair listed here and on other sites recently with a $6.2k asking price. Unfortunately local pick-up only. Alternatively, take a look at the Vandersteen Model 3A signature. MSRP is $6350/pair with stands but should go for around $4k used.

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