Looking for speakers less than 1500 used or new

Yeah, I flirted with the tube deal, but that stuff gets spendy fast!! I was looking at vintage ARC, Conrad Johnson, but I figure my speakers are the ones that need change next, even though they have much better than stock drivers in them from vifa and scan speak.

Maggies and ARC are great by themselves and they are even greater together. The biggest challenge with both is shipping heavy or large items if you need service - which shouldn't be often and both offer great service, but since you are in their neighborhood you can bypass that issue.

Their new gear is good and their older models can also be very good. They used to be the same company (back in the 70s) and still today their speakers and electronics have great synergy. Maybe you can do better with some combination, but not much better - and if you get the right Maggies with the right ARC electronics in the right room, you won't likely be looking for anything else.

Try the 1.6s or get a used pair of 3.6s and then try the right ARC tube equipment (new or used). I'll bet a pair of 1.6s with a D70MkII and an SP3A-1 or a SP-8MkII would send you into sonic bliss (depends on how loud you need to listen; Maggies can consume some power, and bigger ARC amps will cost more than a tad). There must be some Minnesota audio club where you could hear such a combination.

Good luck.

- One other wild idea for you; find a pair of great condition Dahlquist DQ-10s for about $500-$600; they will provide excellent midrange, decent highs, and decent bass and leave you with about $1k toward the D-70MkII and ARC preamp.

Texsun and Flrnlamb are right; all speakers, especially in the $1500 price range are going to have their limitations; the DQ-10 vintage ARC electronics system will not have the lowest possible octave, but it will go reasonably deep and tight and the rest of the frequency range will be there with great openess/air, detail, and imaging; until you spend a bunch more on a system it's going to be hard to get to the next level - and even then you're not going to get there unless you have a great room. A word of caution: you are pushing not only the 80/20 rule (80% or more $ for a 20% or less improvement in sound), but you are at a level of refinement where the room can easily limit progress if it doesn't have the right size, dimension ratios, and surfaces. You are on the threshold where dollars and time can easily be consumed with minimal progress achieved.

On the upside, the biggest sonic breathrough I see in front of you is a tube-based system.

The detail of the maggies are nice, but then i'm looking at a new subwoofer to go with it, since all the maggies I have heard sound good high and mid, but bass is on a lunch break or something!! also have pets that would wreak havoc on them. I guess I have been looking at some off the wall brands like green mountains and vmps to get a gauge of what others have felt about them. I am tempted at the maggies, since the company is only a 30 min drive from where I'm at, so any work that needs to be done is easy!!! Audio research, Bel Canto, atma sphere and PSE are also within the same distance.

All speakers have compromises, I promise! (6 high end stores worth of working experience, and 15 years plus).
So, sounds like powerful dynamics isn't a priority. Why not then consider Maggie 1.5's? Sounds right up your alley to me. I mean, they're as clear and detailed as you please, right?

The brands listed are the ones that look interesting to me and have a good amount of favorable reviews on them in audioreview.com Anyone have any experience with those?

First of all, you'll probably have to temper your expectations. Any speakers in the $1500 range is going to have some compromises. With that being said, there are a few that I've tried that might fit the bill. Take a look at either the Spendor S5e or the Quad 21L/22L. Also consider a monitor/standmount that might get you more bang for your buck.

I suppose I should also say that the room is about 400 square feet and has vaulted ceilings that go up to 14 feet

I have looked at some brands like Eminent Technology LFT-VIII, Innersound Eros mk1 ,Bohlender Graebener 520 ,Revel F30 ,Avalon Avatar, Meadowlark Kestrel 2 ,Avalon Acoustics NP 2.0 ,Thiel 2.2 etc. These are some that looked interesting to me and had some good ratings on audioreview.

I like detail and warm. Something that makes the speakers disappear and puts out as real of an experience as possible. I listen to anything from enya and the cure to techno.

What kind of music do you listen to? Do you prefer a warmer/lush/rounder sound, or a more analytical/detail/edgy sound? That would help...

If there are any B&W dealers near you, you could try a pair of CM4's. New they would be less than $1500. I had a pair and enjoyed their sound a lot. You could also try to find a pair of B&W CDM 7NT used for about that price. They are fantastic speakers with great detail and a large soundstage.