I'm surprised that nobody has recommended the Reference 3A MM DeCapo yet! It generally comes up in this type of post. Yes, its list price is $2500, but an excellent used pair can be had for as little as $1000-1500.
I have owned a lot of different speakers and for me, the DeCapo has gotten me off of the "want to upgrade" train.
FWIW, the DeCapo is a mirror imaged monitor with an 8" proprietary carbon fibre weave woofer and a silk dome tweeter. It provides outstanding bass from such a small speaker and the highs are not bright like so many speakers I've owned. Additionally, a great feature of this speaker is that it is a very easy to drive 92db eff. speaker with basically no crossover (except a single capacitor on the tweeter). It can be powered by almost any amp, including low powered SET tube amps (I'm currently using 3.5 watts/ch). So, you have nearly limitless amp possibilities, but there would be no need for anything over 100 w/ch (saving you money on amps).
At the used price, the Reference 3A MM DeCapo (or new DeCapo(i)) is a bargain. Read the reviews. These are great speakers!
Enjoy,
TIC (a happy DeCapo owner)
I have owned a lot of different speakers and for me, the DeCapo has gotten me off of the "want to upgrade" train.
FWIW, the DeCapo is a mirror imaged monitor with an 8" proprietary carbon fibre weave woofer and a silk dome tweeter. It provides outstanding bass from such a small speaker and the highs are not bright like so many speakers I've owned. Additionally, a great feature of this speaker is that it is a very easy to drive 92db eff. speaker with basically no crossover (except a single capacitor on the tweeter). It can be powered by almost any amp, including low powered SET tube amps (I'm currently using 3.5 watts/ch). So, you have nearly limitless amp possibilities, but there would be no need for anything over 100 w/ch (saving you money on amps).
At the used price, the Reference 3A MM DeCapo (or new DeCapo(i)) is a bargain. Read the reviews. These are great speakers!
Enjoy,
TIC (a happy DeCapo owner)