Looking for suggestions on best small footprint speaker under $4K


Greetings
i’m a long time 2 channel system guy that rekindled his  interest in music and Is looking to upgrade speakers.    I just currently upgraded from a small  tube amp to a 150 W Krell amp and have really enjoyed the improved response from my  7 year old KEF LS50’s.     My favorite Brands of speakers over the years have been Maggie’s and B&W.   I have also downsized  homes and size of speaker is an issue.     Looking for the best sounding speaker for jazz and lite rock.    Attractive cabinets are important to me so I don’t like the looks of golden ear speakers..   25 years ago I loved Vandersteen speakers but they were just not attractive.

As I begin my search what would yoou suggest.   I have started looking at Monitor Audio and Salk but have not heard any.  My budget is $4K.

i appreciate your feedback.


miamiangler

Showing 2 responses by julie_priest

@miamiangler hope this is not a bother, resurrecting an old thread. I am in the same boat: trying to seek as best a pair as possible for a small place. Music source will be Tidal on Mac Mini (and occasionally phone), amp most likely Hegel H90 or Cambridge Audio CXA81. I've short listed my options down to:

1. Dynaudio Special 40  
2. KEF R3  (I can get a sub later...am not a bass hound)
3. JBL L100 

The Salk Song3 is interesting, but being a full floorstanding, might be overkill for me. I'm not very familiar with Salk, and in Toronto it may be hard to find a pair to listen to. 

So, question: could you share why you decided to go with the floorstanding -- was it only the ability to get rid of the sub, or was the sound also better? 
@bdp24 in what way is Eminent Tech better than Maggies 1.7? These esoteric American brands are a little hard to find, to listen to, to get servicing for...outside of the US. So one has to be extra cautious. Any detailed review comparing it with Maggies?