Looking to buy floor standing speakers in $1000 per speaker range.

Silverline Preludes…D'Appolito array with somewhat unique magnesium/aluminum drivers. 3.75" woofers and screened tweeters to avoid poking the damn things (talk to Magico dealers about this…poked tweeters are annoying). Sublime with subs. Something about the very slim cabinets works well as they are VERY coherent (single wired is best according to the designer) and seemingly accurate with a clear relatively flat response to my ears. Great with tubes.

.
Try the Infinity Primus P363 for around $400 on Amazon.

The Absolute Sound gave them a great review.
See the review in the link below:

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/infinity-primus-p363-loudspeaker/
.

MMGs ( I own) or Super MMG system. But I also have Vandersteen 2CE’s and they are very good.

I have had a pair of Mag 1.7s for three years and enjoy them at least as much as when I got'em. A pair of Mag .7s plus a DWM bass panel would come in at $2200, not too far off the OP’s budget. I just love how my Maggies deliver the musical essence with a minimum of artifacts (and no boxy resonances--amazing how that keeps me engaged with the music without distraction) regardless of music types I throw at them--rock, combo jazz, choral, big band, chamber music, solo instruments or voices, large-scale orchestra, opera, cantata, legendary vocalists (Sinatra, Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Hartman, etc.), Beatles, Beach Boys, Steely Dan The Cars, Police, Rod Stewart, Los Lobos, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, etc. All good.

Interesting, rlawry. Why not just but a couple f guitar amps and hook 'em directly to a preamp? I'm not being sarcastic.

A few years ago I changed from expensive multi-way speakers to single-driver speakers in inexpensive cabinets and am amazed at how long it took me to find these things.  I bought a pair of 8" alnico drivers on commonsenseaudio.com (Audio Nirvana) and had one of the cabinet makers listed make a pair of 2.8L laminated MDF cabinets for about $1500/pair, then went to 12" alnico drivers with a 5.6L cabinet, also under $2K.  I seriously doubt I will go back to multi-way drivers as I found how multiple drivers and electronic crossovers mutate the sound, and they are really easy to drive to boot.  Something to consider if you feel adventurous.  I for one have no plans to return to multi-way speakers.

MMGs ( I own) or Super MMG system. But I also have Vandersteen 2CE's and they are very good.

I have the Pendragon in my living room. Carpeted floor, 2 couches, normal living room furniture. My room is quite large though it measure 23x32 with a vaulted ceiling. I have to say I love the sound they have. I also upgraded the capacitor to the Mundorf Silver-Oil Capacitor. I mostly listen to rock and jazz with a little pop thrown in once and a while. 

witchdoctor1, which Tektons do you have? What's your room like? I was lusting for the Pendragon SEAS for my large, untreated basement.

The Tekton Lore Reference, Open Baffle or Pendragon. All of them fit your budget and which model depends on your room. Check their ads here on Agon.

What two genres of music do you listen to most? I personally do 40%Rock--40%Electronica--20%Symphonic/Acoustic.

It can go a long way towards steering you to a suitable speaker. Many speakers are designed to recreate one particular genre better than others.

For example, if you mainly do rock and electronica, I would not recommend Vienna Acoustics , though they sound fantastic for acoustics instruments.

ELAC UF5, $1000/pair, big soundstage, great snap in the bass, nice weight, excellent speed and detail, competes with speakers 4X more

I started with the micro talls, and up graded to the 1000's.  It cost me about $90.00 to ship the micros back.  I really didn't care because I was so impressed by the ohms performance. I hope you like them. Happy hunting!!

there are dozens of good choices, enjoy the search

Thank you all for your advice and counsel. I am continuing my listening as I can and making some calls. I like that I can test drive the Ohms and the Zu's in my house with my stuff. Probably start there. 

I wonder if the OP is tired of us yet?

Go for a good pair of used Vandie 2C!

Way more bang for your buck than any new speaker I can think of.

I just heard back from NHT. THEY WERE ONLY CLOSED FOR A SHORT TIME IN 2009. I pray I have done them no damage!

jonathan@nhthifi.com12:30 PM (56 minutes ago)

Hi James,

NHT shut down temporarily in 2009 but Chris who has since retired bought it back shortly after. So, in short, yes, we're still here and still ship speakers direct.


---

Jonathan Sun NHT Audio, LLC. (707) 747-0122 x721

You owe it to yourself to check out the Spatial Audio M3 Turbos. I spent a full year auditioning speakers, and listened to pretty much everything in your price range -- Teckton, Zu, B&W, NHT, Magnepan, Def Tek, KEF, and many more. For me it came down to the Spatials and the Goldenear Triton 2s. I went with the Spatials to replace my Klipschorns and haven't had a single regret. They are a marvelous speaker -- great sound, detail, and an amazing sound stage. These speakers are hard to beat. 

No other Canton fans?
Tekton Lore are $1,100 delivered. Lore 2.0 are $900, and Lore Reference are $850.
I may have told a fib on NHT. Their site is still up. I sent them an e-mail to see if they are actually delivering.

Pendragons are $2K.

Not one mention of The Polk line of speakers.   Amazing!

Look for Spatial Audio, Tekton Design, Magnepan, Omega Speaker, Tyler Acoustics, Silverline Audio, Eminent Technology, Acuhorn.

Listen to a pair of broken in KEF Q500. Excellent overall sound in a system with reasonable good electronics

Depends on what music you listen to, but I can vouch for Tekton. I was looking for a setup to run without a sub and the Pendragon go down to 20Hz. The Pendragon are big but to me they sound amazing on old school rock, and not to shabby on jazz. They have several different lines, smaller and bigger.

I would give odds that if you spend $1,000 on new speakers, you will be upgrading from the NAD pretty soon. There are a lot of great speakers out there that would sound good with the 7225 PE, but it does limit your choices. I think you could get a nice receiver and speaker combo for that money or just a bit more. 

That being said, I have a pair of Boston Acoustic T-830s that I had connected to a 7250 PE that sounded very good. I wanted to try something with a more power after never having owned anything over 55 W in my life. Found a 100 W Rotel on fleabay, offered $225 which was accepted, and auctioned the 7250 for $260. It was a great improvement. A few months later I scored a pair of Canton Ergo 1002 DCs for $800 and a saxophone! Huge improvement!!! The 7250 probably could have driven them. Although they are rated at "6-8 Ohms" and lower sensitivity than the Bostons, they actually play louder than the Bostons at the same volume setting. Go figure!

While I was shopping for speakers, the other models I liked for under $1,000 were the SVS Prime towers. They sounded much more controlled i the bass than the Golden Ears or the SVS Ultras, to me. They have some chip/scratch models on sale as low as $300 each on their website under "Outlet" But they only come in black.

Another brand I was really interested in was Tekton. I just didn't have the courage to buy them unheard, despite the wonderful reviews. ELAC also gets a lot of good press. Vandersteens, of course, have a devoted following but NHT went out of business a few months ago. Unless someone has bought them. Last of the acoustic suspension manufactures, I believe. Sad.

B&W Matrix Series II 803's are awfully good for very close to $1000 on eBay. 

+5 for Vandersteen 1C.  Heard Doug Mcleod through them at Audio Connection.  He was right there in the room giving us our own personal performance.  I am a long term Vandersteen owner but never owned model 1s.  The 1C is a true musically satisfying audiophile speaker.  Tremendous value!

ELAC UF5, excellent performers, $1000 pair

+4 for Vandersteen 1C and may also want to take a look at NHTs

Go with Goldenear you will be very pleased. And you will not have buyer's remorse.

Got some Vienna acoustics Bach Grands for sale actually. Would be worth checking out possibly?
Super great little floor-stander, that sounds MUCH more amazing than its price or footprint would suggest.
Very easy to listen to and non fatiguing (not harsh), with amazing bottom end extension, amazing sound staging, imaging and detail for the price.
I've listened to a LOT, and owned many many pairs of speakers and assorted set-ups, and for the under $2k bracket, these have been some of my faves.

Omen's are made by ZU. $1800 the pair.

Just looked at Omen Mark II. Anybody have thoughts about them? They seem very efficient. Interesting approach with tweeter below driver. I appreciate all the input!

For less than $1000, if conventional box speakers along the line of Harbeth or Spendor might float your boat, ask John Strohbeen at OHM about a pair of refurbed OHM H speakers. These are available refurbed and updated with modern technology for same price as when they ruled in late 1970’s, about $900, and will kick butt with the right modern amp and source set up right.

Or possibly even a pair of similar model C2 ($700) or L ($500) if available.

You will need to place them on stands. I’d look at Isoacoustics brand stands on Amazon for a model large enough. Cost should be a mere $100 or so.

+3 for Vandersteen.
You should also check out Zu Audio. Used, you can find a nice pair for around $1K. I own the Union and the Omen Bookshelf, and am very pleased with the sound quality. (Though I would avoid some of the models with Ribbon Tweeter, they didn't last very long in production).
I agree with paraneer, you should go around to as many dealers and just listen. Once you find your 'sound', you will know where you want to go.
Oh yeah, the Zu's are super efficient and your NAD would have no problem powering them.

I heard a pair of Klipsch RP 280Fs yesterday that blew me away and at 98 db, you can run them with anything. They were used for $675, but saw on the Klipsch website you can get them for $479/ea with free shipping and 30 day return.

Try to get a listen to or audition a pair of Silverline Prelude Pluses.

Thanks to all for your counsel. Opening doors to new ideas. Onward.

While its a great little receiver, I would suggest you properly match your NAD receivers capability to whatever speakers you are interested in.  Its only 25 wpc into 8 ohms continuously and hardly a powerhouse.  I know - I had one years ago.

And while many of the speakers mentioned above are great suggestions, your NAD will struggle with several of them, especially the models with nominal impedance below 8 ohms.

I would only be looking at speakers with an impedance of 8 ohms and sensentivity ratings in the 90's.  Unless your planning on upgrading you NAD too.

And one last thing....go out and audition the speakers that will meet your budget and amps capabilities.  Speakers are the most subjective component of all and what sounds great to one person, may not to another. Your trying to find the best speaker for you and your needs.

+2 Vandersteen !!

Make sure you hear the Vandersteen 1CIs
They are both phased and time correct box less design,easy to drive extend to 38 HZ Made in USA, faithful to live music
  Best JohnnyR
 Audio Connection

Here ya go: http://http//forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/golden-ear-triton-7-speakers-only-2-months-old.581649/
Though it might help if we knew where you were located. 

Vienna Bach and Mozart Grand, Quad 21L and 22L, and don't overlook the Infinity Primus 363 which would be a great match with your NAD

I've had a pair of the Ohm 1000's for a while now and couldn't be happier.  I started out with the micro talls and was so impressed I upgraded to the 1000's. As I've stated in previous posts, the Ohms are the best chance I ever took.  They're $ 1000 each, or you can call John Strobeen and see what he can do for you.  In the meantime, check out the Ohm thread "Micro Talls, who's heard them".  It will give you a great overview of various Ohm speakers and how people like them.  Good luck with your search!