Other speakers you might consider...
- Gershman Acoustics (Toronto, Canada)
- Pro Ac
- Kudos
- Tannoy
I have a pair Gershman Acoustic Sonogram speakers and they are the last pair of speakers i will own. My listening space is 15.5 x 24 ft with another 16 ft of other space behind for a total of 40 ft.
They fill that void with ease and produce an image that envelopes the listener.
They are as detailed and dynamic as the Neat, but without the clinical aspect.
Another model I like is the GA-P - stunning to look at and performs a little better than the Sonograms, but not worth the extra $$$ for me to make the jump.
I've also tried theri Avante Garde - but they sounded no better than the Sonograms.
I think the Pro-Ac and Kudos are both excellent value. The Kudos are better for the smaller listening space and produce an amazing amount of bass for their size.
Pro-Ac are very natural sounding, but like the Sonograms they are very plain to look at.- a big box
Lastly the Tannoy line are something quite different - I'm not one to recommend a speaker that does one thing well, but in Tannoy's case they are the exception.
If you listen to a lot of Jazz Vocal - specifically female vocal, then you'll probably fall for the larger Tannoy models. Any of Prestige line will impress and as a (Tannoy Dealer) Friend says - "They are generally the last speaker people buy from us". The term "In The Room" is frequently used by people listening to these speakers for the first time.
Diana Krall has never sounded so good :-)
The do produce other genres of music very well also, but they excel at vocals and they are extremely easy to drive.
I've listened to several models in his store and in every space from 12 ftt deep to 30ft deep these speakers sound amazing. The just seem to melt away the walls.
I even listened to them at his hi-fi show auditioning suite that was some 25 ft square with just a sofa and the system and everyone (includuing me) that went in there were very impressed.
There are some other more modern looking speakers in the lineup, but for me the Prestige are the best bang for the buck - especially if you can find them on the resale market - but they appear infrequently and when they do they are are not there for long.
Perhaps the only little "detail" with most of the tannoy line that uses the concentric driver - their image is best when they are toe'd in such that their centre line crosses just in front of the listener.
BTW - I have Tannoy Mercury speakers for my AV system
That's about it - hope it helps