Floorstanding speaker experiences/recommendations in the $12-25k range

I’ll second Vuch. I have the Magico A3 and love them, and they have ample bass for me w/o sub(s). Not sure how they sound with low power. I’m pushing with 300 w Hegel 590.

I don’t normally agree with ANY dealers but audiotroy gives good advice here and so does soix . I have heard Legacy and Devore speakers and they are tremendous. For vocals and jazz, the Devore speaker is a beautiful speaker.

Must be nice to be able to afford to spend 25k on a speaker. 

Another vote for Magico, in particular if you are sub averse and trying to improve bass. A3’s are an absolute bargain used. Good luck OP.

@soix fyi - Verity Audio has ceased operations, that’s why the pair is priced as it is 

I gravitate towards speaker companies that innovate with R&D, KEF, Vivid, Yamaha. I used to have Revel in this group but had tweeter issues a few times, so I skip them now. Take a look at the Yamaha NS5000 ($10k-$15k) which is packed with uber technology. It is what I have now.

Yamaha NS-5000PNST 3-Way Bookshelf Speakers with Stands | Hi-Fi Heaven (hifiheaven.net)

Verity Audio has ceased operations, that’s why the pair is priced as it is

@metaldetektor  I can’t find any info on this on their website or anywhere else. Where did you see it?

Looking at high priced suggestions, and the budget, perhaps my recommendation of JSE Model 2's seems out of place. I always post for both OP and any others following along.

I stand by my recommendation, today I would have my Woodworker clad them with a select wood, that would perk their appearance quite a bit.

In any case, I put this on the site to clarify their remarkable uniqueness

Joseph Audio Perspective Graphene if you can find used (they go quickly), just double check power requirements. I happen to love Fyne Audio speakers, but they can get pricey pretty quickly……91 to 95 db depends on model

You are certainly in a very popular price category with a lot of choices.  I was there last year and went with the Sabrina X's.  in my system, they do everything right.  (I also have a REL s/510 in the system). You are likely to be underpowered for them though . . .  I drove them with a PrimaLuna Dialogue HP amp while my Pass 250.8 was being serviced and the PrimaLuna worked well, but not in the same league as the 250.8, which has as much power as you could need.  The Perspectives are also a great choice, but also not a very sensitive speaker.

The Perspectives are also a great choice, but also not a very sensitive speaker.

@moto_man  While it’s true the Perspectives are not high in sensitivity, if you read John Atkinson’s measurements they don’t drop below 6 Ohms and have very benign phase angles so can still effectively work with tubes.  Still a good point to raise though.

https://linkwitz.store/product/lx521/

@axeis1 I heard the same thing from the dealer I got my Confidence 30's from. The Octave amps don't have enough grunt to run them , so we traded and he took his 20's back I have the 30's paired with my Sugden Mono blocks. plenty of grunt to drive them.

Around 2015 I embarked on a similar journey. I lost a bit of money learning how much room, placement, and components affect speakers sound. 

 I decided to follow used speaker value and limited the speakers I would try to speakers I could reasonably resell for my initial outlay and with that model I was able to bring about a half a dozen speakers in the same range you're shopping.  By listening to what each brand/model excelled at I was able to figure out what I really liked and I was able to take my time doing it. I learned quite a bit tbh and the closer the speakers came to being tonally correct the longer it took me to hear their shortcomings. Sometimes the best designed speakers disagree with the room or components driving them and I didn't realize initially my speaker budget would have to include different components also, and then how do I deal with that issue?

I quit calling 1 speaker better than another because it doesn't work that way. Put in the time! Half the fun is in the hunt anyhow.

Hello,

I don’t know the specs of the Octave V80SE as I’ve never listened to it before, but it looks like a really great amp especially with the Super Black Box.
I would love to test it with Magnepan speakers.

For example, the MG20.7 will give you the deeper bass you’re looking for and you’ll be moved in the midrange by the sound and physical presence of any saxophone (e.g. Grover Washington Jr.’s version of "É preciso perdoar” in the LP “All my tomorrows”).

I would definitely recommend auditioning them with your amp.

Good luck on your quest!

I guess few of you had the chance to listen to Gryphon EOS2.

I’ve heard it and I think for under $25k there is no better floorstanders. I’ve heard it driven both by Jadis I70 and Diablo 300. It sounded really good with the Jadis and more muffled with the Diablo, so I think it will sound good with the Octave. 

I wanted to recommend Tad Evolution 2 as well, then i remembered the bass is kind of lacking for those but do consider them if you don’t mind a sub. 
 

@elliottbnewcombjr saw these last night while surfing around after the SB 

bgross

They look in great shape.

Very easy to change the cloth, simply staples on the back of the grille's wood frame which simply pulls off push-on retainers. I used white Irish Linen.

The old way of testing speaker cloth was to see how easy it was to blow cigarette smoke thru. (In a corner, it could stain the fabric as well as your lungs).

I would have the dealer confirm the 12" woofers are the original dual coil ones.

As I said, a new select veneer would improve their appearance quite a bit, in which case the appearance/condition of the original veneer is unimportant.

If the tweeters are blown, if it keeps the price down, that’s a good thing, put JS recommended SEAS ones in! These already have the SEAS tweeters.

I agree with @audiotroy  I run my Legacy Focus SEs in a room that's 16'x28'x8'.  Loads of bass to fill the room.  Sadly, I was not able to audition Magico A5s when they had just been released due to Covid and all of the audio stores were shut down.  Would love to hear those but they're 2x as much as the Focus SEs!

I was buzzing through the the RMAF years ago listening to a bunch of setups.  After the show I kept thinking the most impressive system I heard was and Octave Dynaudio Tower setup.  Dont even remember the models but of all the gear I heard that was the setup I remembered the most. 

Consider Wolf Von Langa SON speakers. THey are a two-way design with an 11' field coil woofer that specs at 25 hz and a Mundorf AMD tweeter. The field coil allows superb control of the driver. There is a pair on Audiogon now at the low end of your price range. Several awards and positive reviews. THey look small but sound big!

It kind of depends on the flavor of sound you are looking for.  There are those more on the analytical side and others that are not.  Also, are you looking to stay with a box type of speaker or open baffle design.  I listened to about 12 different speakers before I decided to buy the Vienna Accoutics Liszt model (including some of the manufactures mentioned).  I don't need a sub since the speaker goes down to 28 hz.  I listened to older Magicos, Wilson, B&W, Rockport, Vandersteen etc.  My room size is very similar to yours and they are worth a listen.

Daedalus Audio line may be of interest. I've read only great reviews about them, however I haven't heard them. There used to be a buzz in the forums about their speakers.

You have a cool system, and the Octave has more guts than most tube amps, particularly with the black box.  I know one dealer who has paired it with Wilson Sabrinas and really likes the combo.  Re speakers, I heard some Rethm Trishnas at Capital Audio Fest - only $10k! - and they were shockingly good.  For your size room, you’d probably want to go up to at least to the Maargas, which are still only $13k!  Bear in mind that I find myself increasingly drawn to single driver style speakers, or variants thereto, as they seem to capture the intimacy of recordings better than inefficient designs (to my ears of course). And with tubes and vinyl? oh my!

You should listen to used Vandersteen Quatro wood CT’s , or for slightly larger speakers the 5 CT’s. The 5 s were just replaced by the Kintos. So their price on the used 5s have gone down.  I have the quatros and they are great. 

Another vote for the Joseph Audio Perspectives Graphene. They are a good match to your Rega and more importantly, I have found them to be both revealing and "non-tiring" over long listening sessions. 

Used Focal Scala Utopia EVOs are in that range or just above it.  

I always suggest to guys that if they like the brand they have to stick with it and just go up the food chain. That said, Dali has some nice sounding speakers ans the epicure line is so old deals shouldn't be to difficult.