Need Recommendations for a pair of Speakers around $1,000

By "looks good" I mean more like not ratty or beat up. They don't necessarily need to look like fine furniture.

Thanks for the input on the V's.

When I listen to music it's Classic Rock, acoustic guitar and vocals, older R&B, Jazz, Classical.... a real mix.

The speakers would be in between two short 2' deep walls that separate the LR from 2 hallways. The stereo area would be 9' wide with about 30" available for speakers on each side of a cabinet.

Thanks for the heads up ! I don't necessarily need vintage speakers. As I mentioned in my first post, I've read that a lot of vintage speakers may be obsolete in comparison to newer speakers because of advancements in technology and engineering.

Thank you for all of the input folks.

Yes, I could assemble and stain cabs. My stereo center was purchased from an unfinished furniture store and the final product came out fine.

How would Goldenear AON 2 or AON3 stack up against the speakers mentioned?

Thanks for the input so far.

I'm not against purchasing new or older speakers but rather considering and relaying what I've read, mostly hear on Audiogon.

Yes, I have a large room to fill which is why I'm considering, among others, a pair of Heresy's.

And yes, the list of suggestions is long but much shorter than starting from scratch and I can take those suggestions, do some research and compare the possibilities.

I always take magazine articles and recommendations from sales associates with a grain of salt. There's typically some bias. Years ago I noticed while shopping musical instruments that if a store didn't carry a specific brand it was because it was $%&*, while another store would say the same about a different product they didn't carry but the product the previous store didn't carry that they did....was the next best thing to sliced bread. LOL 

I appreciate the suggestions here even more because no one has anything to gain by offering an opinion.

Much appreciated !

I didn't think of it during my original post but ....

We have two granddaughters with the oldest being just over 2 years old and something tall and narrow might not be the best choice for a while. We babysat this weekend.

She doesn't touch any of my gear because it's either in or on top of a cabinet but tall, narrow speakers within reach?....Who knows? LOL

I checked and it seems the JBL sale seems like it's over but thank you for the head's up!

I have an inexpensive pair of speakers in the BR that have AMT tweeters. The speakers aren't great but the top end is smooth so.....

Any opinions on the Elac Carina BS243.4 which also have AMT tweeters and, on paper, a pretty good frequency range? Not sure I can listen to a pair locally but I did find a dealer who sells the Goldenear AON 2, and AON 3 speakers also with an AMT tweeter.

I have a few options with distance.

We have hardwood floors and our furniture sits on small pads so they can be easily moved to vacuum. I can slide the small recliner to the center of the LR anywhere from 5' - 15' from the speakers.

Otherwise the recliner built into the sectional couch is about 19' from the speakers.

The manual on the 545 states that it has the "ability to drive very low impedance loads" which isn't very specific but I don't see 4 ohms as an issue and I don't listen to music at ear bleeding levels.

Thanks BrianJM1 but I have grandchildren that come over and can't risk having that type of speaker. Too much is exposed....and kids are curious. LOL

Opinions on DIY kits like GR Research and CSS (Creative Sound Solutions) or others out there???

I've built guitar tube amps from scratch and although I'm not a woodworker I did make custom end caps out of HW flooring when we had our oak floors installed.

There seems to be a bit of controversy over the original Adcom GFA-545 designed by Nelson Pass. Some say they're very good while others, some here (I also got a PM), don't care for it.

How is it that audio engineer like Jim Williams who has worked in pro studios with people like Stevie Wonder can say these are good amps and can be made even better with a few mods while others say it's not a good amp??

Is it Adcom in general or have you listened specifically to the Nelson Pass designed GFA-545 to come to that conclusion?

Then again, could it be as simple as the Klipsch Heresy....some love them, some hate them?

Thank you jjss49.

It may sound strange but your criticism actually aligns with the mods for the 545 MKI. Select parts are upgraded with higher quality and some with new values as well.

Mods to:

Change to higher uf caps in the power supply

Change resistors and transistors in the input circuit to stabilize Offset Voltage

Upgrade the type and value of the Bias cap

Add shunt caps to increase the Low End and correct Phase Shift

Change select resistors and caps in the signal path with better quality components.

I'm not an engineer but I used to be a tech and still have a bench with a scope, load, freq counter, distortion meter, etc. What if any before and after tests would you or others recommend? I've read these mods which cost a few hundred dollars can transform this amp to compete with those costing thousands more. I'd like to see how this turns out.

Thank you for the input!

Yes, I've been reading posts and watching videos by Danny Richie. It is rather amazing that some of these expensive speakers don't have the high quality parts one would expect.

Thank you for all of the input !!

I'm considering Danny's X-LS Encore.