Curious what people think is the best "value" high end speaker (~5K to 15K)
I am on a long search for speakers and just curious what people think is the best value both new or used in speakers ranging from around $5000 to $15000? I have a set of Paradigm S8's (V1) and love them but looking for another set for another set in a different listening area (25 x 20?, maybe larger). I love the full sound of JBL's and looking for something in that range (it also helps that JBL's seem to hold their value better than most, which will be a consideration). The only drawback to JBL is footprint. I prefer a smaller footprint which is why after reading I hope to listen to several B&W 800 series but open to suggestions across the board. used Watt Puppies? Revels? I am curious about peoples experience with McIntosh XR100's.
Depending on what folks like and are used to hearing or are told what to hear, there are tons of great value speakers. if you are going up to 15k, I went with Vandersteen Quatrro's.. I personally feel they are the sweet spot in his line. The carbon fiber tweeter is from the 62k model 7 mk2 I believe. It has a built in powered sub with an 11 band EQ. I had bass issues in my room and that flattened things out nicely.
What I found out is that Ricard voices his speakers in his own room as well as others. This way he tries to make them sound great in real listening environments.
I agree with most on reviews. Fun to read, but if even a reviewer says something tips towards bright, I personally run away, lol. I have heard the Paradigm 9's and 5's plenty of times in dealers show rooms enough times to know how bright they are for MY EARS.....some have been told that is what live music sounds like so I'm glad there is a speaker for them. Many manufacturers purposely tip their speakers up a db or more so that they stand out in the showroom. Kind of like walking into Best Buy stores and the TV's are all on the brightest settings, lol...Try watching that tv at home at that setting for longer than 30 minutes, lol.... not for me thanks.
Agreed @alanr123 regarding Focal. I recently picked up a pair of the Kanta 3's (reference in the Kanta line) and they retail at $12K, but I got them for $9600. They are amazing with tube gear (Primaluna preamp and HP amp.) They are dynamic, one of the most open sounding pair of speakers I've ever heard regarding soundstage (huge!) fast, detailed, and DEEP bass response. I've never heard a pair of speakers that reproduced drums to the point of sounding scary good. Easy to drive yet take gobs of power. Beautiful midrange, detailed yet a bit less "in your face" than previous series. And no, they are NOT bright with the Berillium tweeters. The latest series has plenty of air and extension without being too bright. They've only been in the U.S. about six weeks, I'm still waiting for the reviews from major publications, but I didn't need to wait for those to know what I like.
@steve59 yes you have to carefully read between the lines for implied criticism. It might prove to be beyond your tolerance.
No such thing as a perfect review, you never see one. Besides this month’s flavours of the month will soon become also-rans as far as reviews go, or never mentioned again.
Since stereophile reviewers recommend everything they review I try and pay attention to the specifics they mention about a specific product that makes it stand out, in the case of the 5f the reviewer make considerable mention of brightness enough that if I had a room that was reflective at all I would disregard them. My room with carpet and heavy padding along with acoustic ceiling tiles in an 17x26 room they would probably sound great, wood floors and many windows probably not so much.
FYI, Stereophile recently reviewed the Paradigm 5F towers. The reviewer compared them to his B&W 802D3s. He really liked the 5F, but had to adjust their toe-in to keep the highs from being a bit bright. Once that was done, he just raved about how they sounded. Very tight and well defined. Also very dynamic. Perhaps not the speaker for one who likes highs a bit rolled off or an overly warm presentation.
The best value is not spending any less on what you like. That is a personal thing just look around. Anyway I think one of the best values are Thiel’s, any model that look’s good to you. They will be used and for what they do it is hard to beat. But that is just my opinion and should not bear much on yours.
I bought a used pair of KEF Reference 3's and absolutely adore them. My favorite speakers ever (with apologies to the Thiels I own, and B&Ws I've owned in the past).
If the Magico A3's are not at or near the top of the list in this price range, I am hanging up my audiophile cables after 45+ years in this obsession. 5-10 years from now it will go down as one of the greatest bargains in audio history.
It looks like after an extensive search (although I have several more to audition) that the Paradigm's are leading the pack in terms of value for me at this point. I will say that the Tekton DI's are very (tempting for the price especially) and may end up getting a set just because I can get those (for a different room) and another set for reference and comparison.
I would try the Manapan 3.7's but even though it is a decent sized room I cannot have them far enough into the room to make them sound their best. I have an old set of MG1's that I hung on the wall to use as surround speakers in another room. I am curious, has anyone done this? Decent enough sound and super space saving ....lol
Congrats on the sopra 2, I hope they fit your taste right out of the box. For me I think i'll be keeping my salon2's as long as i can. crazy thing about swapping speakers around is I chanced on a new placement that just overwhelmed me with the playback. more audio nirvana, for free!
Don't be afraid of the tweeter height on the Salon 2. I just got a pair and I am astounded at the dispersion of this speaker. You can lay on the floor in front of them and the sound barely changes. That could not be said of the JBL 250 they are replacing.
The Salon 2 is an exceptional speaker that was designed to - and does - compete with far more costly designs.
If if not Vandersteen Quatro CT then Treos, Magnepan 3.7 or 20.0. Also I have heard the Legacy Aeros and if that could be chosen at used price, that would might work very well.
I know eveyone and every room is different, however if you can dedicate a space to the speakers, and provide proper amplification I dont understand how you could go wrong with magnepans. The secret to making maggies work is placing them litterally in the middle of the room with ample distance from the sidewalls. This requires a decent sized room that is dedicated only to the equipment and speakers but you should be rewarded with unboxed amazing imaging and neutral sound. Now obviously you would also want a pretty great muscle amp to drive them at 4ohms. They may not be the best for speed metal and rap but just about everything else is amazing. Maybe make sure you dont have cats either. That could be bad. I think 3.7 maggies backed by like krell fpb amps is just amazing! Even big ice amps like wyred4's are great with Maggie's. Just 2 cents worth of dribble.
@steve59 Yes, at current used prices, Salon 2s are sure tempting, but dang, those are really tall speakers with the tweeters at the top, which puts them way up in the air, well above my seated ear level. I can only sit about 10 feet away.
I snapped up a pair of Vienna Acoustics Strauss locally the other day and considering the line came out in2002 I'm pleasantly surprised. I swap out the salon2's and am treated to a warmer less detailed sound, good for rock not something I would have thought a va speaker would be good for previously.
I'm considering the kanta 3 as my next, last speaker though my retailer thinks I should give the persona line a shot. Still nothing wrong with the salon2's except they're freaking huge.
Yes, I traded in the Bob Carver ALS for the Focal Supra 2’s. There was just something about the Carvers that I just couldn’t live with. Specifically, a upper midrange/ lower treble glare that I just couldn’t adjust out. And surprisingly, the speakers had a very low sensitivity that the Carver specs did not agree.
After the new (used) Focal’s sat in the cold for about a week due to trucking screw ups, I finally received them today.
The Focal Sopra 2’s speakers at first listen sound really good with surprising good bass. I am also quite surprised at the dynamics and sensitivity of these speakers. I now have the volume on my preamp set at half the amount that the Carvers required for the same sound level. I am still using the Carvers Raven 350 mono block amps.
I also purchased the IsoAcoutics GAIA 1 footers/carpet spikes and I will install them in the next few days.
what i'm noticing about the Salon2's is how neutral they are. I have a pair of VA Beethovens I would consider great bang for the buck, warm side of neutral, but very good sounding. The Revels can change their presentation if I move them 6"! At Axpona few large speakers sounded good in the hotel rooms, the Carver LSA, Maggies, and Raidho's otherwise it was small 2 way's stealing the show. The exhibits on the main floor with wide open spaces sounded exceptional and tho I think Wilson is over rated I gave them best sound at the show, the big VSR even YG sounded pretty common when I was in the rooms
I understand the Gold Note XT-7 speakers are supposed to be excellent from the reviews I have read. I have never heard them but I did own a Gold Note phono cartridge and loved the sound. I believe there was an ad for them here by parts xconnection or something like that for 10K off, they retail for 17.5K
I own Maggie’s driven by Mac 501s with a Mac C220 tube pre amp. I went through a ton of equipment before I arrived here and have been content for a long time.
Maggies are very sensitive to room treatment and placement, but worth the journey IMHO. I have 3.6s bought new. I also use a sub for recordings like DSOM, etc. But the detail when listening to Takr Five by Brubeck makes you feel like you are in the room.
Just one guy’s experience, there are many great choices in this realm. One last thought from my PhD Economist wife, marginal cost versus marginal gain, $$$ do matter at some point in both directions. I found the sweet spot for my situation.
The Super Nines have incredible bass extension for their size, but when driven at high volume--as they were at CAF--individual instruments and musical lines tend to get lost in the overall wall of sound.
The Devore Super Nines at 8.5"X13.75", seem like a small footprint to me and they are not as "rich" sounding as the 0 series speakers, or so I have heard.
The Devore Super Nines at 8.5"X13.75", seem like a small footprint to me and they are not as "rich" sounding as the 0 series speakers, or so I have heard.
I have listened to the Sopra 3's and was greatly impressed. But, I purchased the Sopra 2 because I already own 4 JL Audio F-113 subs and I like the more streamline look of the 2's. I should get them next week.
Not all Devore's look like they have a large footprint. The Gibbon series seem to be compact and slim but have heard great things about the Super Nine's.
Those Focal's do look nice (especially when you can pick up a used pair for $8k) and they get great reviews but not sure where I can listen to any near me. Definitely on the list.
Devore looks a little to bulky (footprint issues) , I don't have the "room" for magnetic ribbon drive speakers based on my furniture layout and other logistical issues. Plus I like to sometimes push speakers to their absolute limits which is not something I would do with Maggies or the like. I did hear the Sabrina briefly in a demonstration and plan to go back and listen in comparison with the Van Quattro CT's but would rather not go to $15K unless I just absolutely am in love. I didn't really get a good listen to the Sabrina's but could see myself really liking them.
@gene3x, the ET LFT-8b features a pair of push-pull magnetic-planar drivers that operate from 180Hz to 10kHz, with no cross-over! Then a ribbon tweeter for 10k up and an 8" dynamic woofer for 180Hz down, via 1st-order filters. An outrageous bargain at $2499/pr, they need to be a minimum of 3' from the wall behind them, but at least 5' for the best results (true for all dipoles, whether planars or OB's such as the Linkwitz). They sound much different than dynamic speakers, not for everyone.
Check out the Devore speakers...such as the O/93's ($8500) and the O/96's ($1250.00). Each has that "full tactile" sound, plus they have a small footprint and are very efficient and easy to drive. For something a bit more "linear" sounding, the Devore Super Nines at just a hair under $10k would also be a good option and they have a very small footprint to boot.
Wow, that Eminent technology lft-8b looks awesome! Especially for the price. I am leaning towards the Persona 7f's at this point but did hear a Watt Puppy 6 that was MUCH better than the reviews might indicate.
Tonian Labs M-1 MKII's are an exceptionally well engineered and built semi open baffle design, featuring 12" PHY KM-30 drivers and air motion ribbon tweeters. They have been described as more of a musical instrument than a speaker because of their sonic characteristics. I concur and they have a relatively small footprint as well.
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