Floorstanders for $3500

If you can stretch your budget just a bit, consider the used pair of Reference 3A Grand Veenas here on Audiogon. Absoultely wonderful speakers that do justice to any type of music.

Shakey

I don't like to add speakers to a list already posted, but I really think the Ascent Acoustic Sierra Tower is head and shoulders above anything below $4.5k in floorstanders, especially with the RAAL ribbon tweeter option. The unlimited help from the cozy forum is the cherry on top.

It all depends on what you are driving them with...

What type of amplifier would you be using? The Sonus Faber Venere 3.0 would be my first choice regardless of my current amp. Was very impressed with its balanced and neutral sound. The 3.0 was being driving by a modest Integra(125w/ch)home theater amp but I could here the potential in this speaker. You would be hard pressed to find a NEW speaker at $3495 that's a better all rounder and capable of surviving multiple amp/source upgrades. Another plus is having the SF pride of ownership that comes with solid resale value. I would stretch my budget another $500 and get the beautiful wood finish!

I think you will find that each of those speakers has its own character, and so it would be helpful to hear what your priorities are in a speaker. Want it to go down close to 20-30Hz? Then the Reference 3A might not work for you, despite its other great qualities. Want a forward or laid back sound? What type of music do you listen to? And what aspects of the music are most important to you?

And then there is the issue of your room. Matching speaker to room is also key. Again, using the Reference 3A as an example, the review of it I just glanced at suggested that it needs a bigish room. Other floorstanders may not. And then there are placement issues. An advantage of the Von Schweikert VR-33s is that they are designed to be placed close to a wall. Other speakers will need to be farther out in the room (especially rear-ported designs).

Provide some of these parameters and you will get recs of a speaker that may work best for you (though some will recommend a speaker they love, regardless of how well it matches what you are looking for). Most important if at all possible is to listen for yourself.

Oh, and you are very likely going to get much more speaker for your buck if you buy used.

Agree with Roscoe. Totally depends on what's important to you in terms of sound reproduction.

Driven by Manley tube KT90 monoblocks. Room is 18 X 20 X
8 ft ceiling. Priority is NATURAL TONALITY & TIMBRE. Live, unamplified acoustic instruments & voice are my standard. Jazz, classical, folk, world & rock, I enjoy it all.

Manley Retro 100 monoblocks. 100 watts/channel with KT90 power tubes.

Well now that we know the size of your room, amplification, musical preferences, I stick by my Grand Veena recommendation.

Shakey

You listed some great speakers. Not sure how tube friendly some of them are, but I'll throw in the Reference 3A Grand Veenas and Joseph Audio RM25XLs, both of which are for sale here now. I think their outstanding imaging and naturally neutral sound would excel at live, unamplified music while doing everything else very well too. They are both relatively tube friendly as well. Best of luck.

There is a pair of Coincident Super Eclipse 3's for sale right now at 2500.00. Totally tube amp friendly and a good size for your room. They look perfect in the photos. That's my recommendation for today.

BTW, your original list didn't include anything that would be considered tube friendly except maybe the Acoustic Zen. Remember, the amp/speaker marriage is extremely important.

I had the Super Eclipse IIs a few years ago. It literally went this way:

Received and set them up on a Tuesday.

Listed them for sale on a Wednesday.

Sold them on a Thursday.

Couldn't have been happier that was over.....

Shakey

Shakey, perhaps that is why there is a version 3. I have not heard either version. My suggestion was based on the tube friendly drive and generally favorable comments received by Coincident speakers and amps from reviewers and consumers. As they say, your mileage may vary.

Rhljazz, is your statement about my list of speakers not being tube friendly based solely on their efficiency ratings (sensitivity in db)? If so, 90-100 watts/channel is more than many tube amps & I thought sufficient.

Well the last pair of Infinity IRS Beta's on the 'Gon sold for about $4900, so if you up your budget just a bit, you could get a pair of speakers which would spank all the speakers mentioned so far.

I believe it's also important to look at impedance perhaps even more so than sensitivity given your amp's relatively generous power rating for a tube amp. For example, the Revels drop below 4 Ohms at two different parts of the frequency spectrum (NRC measurements) despite having a stated nominal impedance of 8 Ohms. I'm no audio engineer by any stretch, but I'd think that could potentially be a bit of a tough load for a tube amp or even many solid state designs. I'm sure your amp could drive them, but it might not let you get the Revels to fully open up or perform at their best. That's one reason I recommended the Joseph Audios above as I don't think they drop below 6 Ohms. Anyway, maybe just something to consider.

47ghibli, it's not only efficiency but also an impedance that does not vary all over the place. Tube amps for the most part will have an easier time driving a load above 8 ohms with a 6 ohm minimum. That's not to say a 4 ohm speaker won't perform well if using the 4 ohm tap from the amp but you still don't want a dip to 2 ohms in the power regions.

Ralph from Atmashere posts all the time about this. His website has some valuable info you should read.

I have the PSB Imagine T2, they are a great all around speaker that can be purchased for under $2K for a used pair. The bass is surprising for a small speaker and they are regularly included on the Stereophile list of recommended components.

I use them with a tubed amp (Rogue Cronus Magnum), from the 4 ohm taps with no issues.

Add me to the Venere 3.0 recommendations. I heard the 2.5s extensively and their ability to draw you into the music--any music--is compelling. The 3.0s are that much better with increased linearity, dynamics, and frequency extension. Their nominal impedance is 6 ohms.

I just read Manley's info on the Retro Monoblocks, and the output taps are optimized for 5 ohms. You couldn't really ask for a better match.

I don't know if WAF is a factor here, but the Venere floorstanders are drop-dead gorgeous as well.

Venere 3.0 Reviews:

o Tone Publications
o 6Moons
o Dagogo
o SoundstateUltra
o Soundstage UltraAudio Q&A (the reviewer bought the review pair)
o Home Theater High Fidelity
o Soundstage HiFi
.
.

Von Schweikert VR33's are a screaming bargain.

Salk supercharged SongTowers or used HT2-TL's will pretty much make your day!

A well burned in pair of adagios...are they perfect?
they do sound great

Please take a listen to Rega.

You might want to throw Golden Ear Triton 2's into the mix.Depending on the sound you're looking for,you may be very impressed.Imho at least worth a listen. You can also include Vandersteen 2's and 3's.I own 3A Signatures.
Den

i was hearing alot of good things and revies about the tekton pendragons

http://www.tektondesign.com/pendragon.html