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

Also the newer Paradigm Monitor SE speakers are surprisingly good. I have the 3000f out in my garage system and they are really nice. Pushing with an older 30 wpc Luxman receiver and its plenty of power. They sounded too close for comfort to my Focal 836w ($4,500 speaker 10 years ago) when I tried them in the house.

Way too nice for the garage but long story short I only have $25 into them and 5 bucks in to the Luxman :-)

Pair of Dynaudio Focus 160s on the gon for $1250. Could make an offer. Had the 140s and they were good and I hear the 160s are a pretty good step up. Good looking little speakers to boot. 

Although over your budget even in kit form I can highly recommend the CSS Criton 1TDX as a high value leader. They immediately reminded me of the several Dyn C1 demos I've had. The Dyns would bottom out at high volumes on bass heavy music when things got fairly loud. With the Critons my ears give up and I have not found their limits. Not sure what these would go for on the used market but they are damn good. 

These PSB towers do it all- massive no sub required bass, near horn like sensitivity and dynamics, coherent imaging and sound stage. I have not heard or owned a better audio value than these.

These should fit the bill! 60 day return policy always helps!

Paradigm Monitor new,  Aerial Acoustic used spendor used.  I would go floor stand. 

I’d look at a pair of Tekton Design Lore Reference speakers. I’ve had mine for over a year and love them. 96 db sensitivity. 

Let us know what you end up getting and what your thoughts are on them. 

Thanks.

A Pair of used ADS Speakers 

I would recommend picking and purchasing your preamp first but please check local auctions near you for speakers. Depending on where you live there might be a nice set of speakers from a audiophile collector wanting a local sale because he or she is reluctant to ship.

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

He is like a baptist minister for speakers.
I’m out.

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

make sure you set money aside for his upgrade kit... 😂😁

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

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 !!

Yeah Danny Richie actually debunks myths even with higher end speakers companies like Paradigm. He takes apart the cabinets and exposes the drivers, parts (capacitor brand/quality) and examines bracing build quality. Often it is surprising what you get when you pay $5k, $6k and $9k for a brand you THINK is putting together the best parts......Danny often finds those are cheaper parts that cost a very small fraction of what you paid. Sometimes less than $100.

I tend to think that is why chinese brands and particularly amps/preamps/integrated amps are finding their way into America audiophile living spaces. They are often giving you the same quality or better and charging LESS money. Often the price of a well made tube integrated amp with a $200 shipping charge from China is less expensive than an ARC amp or McIntosh here in the USA. I am not really commenting on whether it's right or wrong, just the situation I have seen.

Laughing at myself for wanting the Wilson Audio clones, but the ability to get more for your money with kits is real, not laughing at that!  Good day

...to clarify or build on a couple points above:. Let me not apologize for substantially sized speaker cabinets.  In a big room you will appreciate some big speakers.

Next, I just watched a video from Danny Richey (GR Research).  He told the story of the $500/pr speakers at Best Buy that have to double in price TWICE before they get to you, so that the money spent on the actual woofers and tweeters in there is about $20!!!  There are a lot of different ways to argue this issue, but the facts are facts.  It could be the commercial speaker looks better, is easier to Re-Sell later, is supported by positive online reviews, etc.  But there is always the dream (psychosis?) of building Wilson Audio clones for $2500, hahaha!!!  

I have extensive listening experience with Klipsch Forte II.

If you like rock music they are AMAZING.  They would fill a large room with NO problem.  I have them setup in my father's barn (about the size of a 4 car garage with peaked roof and open area above having exposed roof trusses) and the place sounds like a nightclub!  The high efficiency gives them an aura of effortless power and dynamics.

They also sound good at low volume too, and have plenty of detail.

Some picky reviewers say they don't like the sound of horn loaded drivers, but these are definitely worth a listen before you cross them off your list. What they can do is awesome.  They would be an end-game choice for many folks.

You would have to consider the large cabinet size maybe being a negative.

I also like KIT speakers.  You can easily get TWICE the parts quality for the same money as retail finished speaker.  Helios I have just ordered from Meniscus Audio, is higher than the specified budget here, but just to the support the argument that YES I love kit speakers.  

I agree with the many commenters here that you will get your very best bang for the buck used.

that said, if I had a bit over a grand burning a hole in my pocket and was looking new I would be sorely tempted to get the BMR Philharmonitors.

If only the Zu Audio Dirty Weekends were still being sold!  I love mine and had a similar situation (wife, size…)

My 2 cents, can't go wrong with a Forte II or KLF 20 or 30 from used market in good condition. Then do basic cross over upgrades and call it done. 

My three year old Klipsch Heresy III's sound great with my Ayon XS tube amp.

Also in the system is a Denafrips Ares II & a Denafrips Iris, all streaming from my Surface Pro 7.

I have some Tekton Perfect Set 210's on order and the estimated  delivery date is June 1. I'll try them out and if I like them, I'll sell the Heresy's for an asking price of $1500/pr.

Used pair of PMC Tb2 is around that money mark.

Audio Advisor is currently clearing out the last generation of Monitor Audio's Silver Series. There's a couple options at or near your budget. I owned the previous generation and auditioned this gen when purchasing from the Gold Line in an A/B setting last year. Monitor Audio's are just some of the best speakers for rock I've ever heard. Bold sound, great detail, forgiving of bad recordings without coming off as dull. I havent heard anything in the 1k-2k range that i like half as much as the MA Silvers. 

Used Magnepan .7's, life changing experience.

Tekton Lore is the best I have heard by far at around $1000. They replaced the Lii Audio 15 inch open baffles and for me it was a big upgrade. 

Klipsch 600v2’s for $600!

If you’re close to Los Angeles, I have a clean pair of Mirage M1s I’d sell you. They would definitely fill your room. You could use some small angle and affix them to the floor to keep them from being pushed over. 
 

I recommend taking your $1000 budget and splitting it up between room treatments, speaker wire, and stands if needed. I think if you have a well treated listening space (wife friendly of course) good cables and stands that the speakers you choose will sound their best. As far as speaker choices I would look at the bass extension first, then the finish so it looks pleasing for your wife, finally the sound staging. 

@Brianjm1.....I have the Lii Audio F-15's with the extra Thick Wood two tone baffles for $900 pr. for sale . dennis@mbmi.biz 

Monitor audio has a nice balance of form and function.  I'd find a pair of their "8" model from any of their various Silver lines.  

Polk Reserve R200.

Can’t go wrong with Dali speakers. Check out the Oberon 5’s. I have owned the Helicon 400’s for years just bought the Oberon 7’s for a second location.. For serious music listening and attractive design and first rate construction..Dali cannot be beat! .Oberon 5’s are highly regarded and in your price range. Suitable for a large space as well.

Listen to logic ,in truth ,most speakers as a rule roughly 25% actually goes into the speaker including packaging ,the rest overhead and markup.

Walter  at Underwood  Wally bought LSA Loudspeakers and electronics and has had his engineers do some major upgrading ,you cut out the middle man and these speakers sing , even great stands for $250 delivered if you needed them 

give him a call he has a great pr with AMT drivers coming out ,and for just over $1k

speakers at a retail dealer would be $3k no BS  ,to be using tweeter that cost him over $30 each is a lot Waay better then anything at $2 k ,I have been modding speakers for years , these new LSA speakers , and Electronic line is the real deal 

well worth your time to check it out the info is more on the bottom half of the page .

knowledgeable well informed diy always saves money relative to buying high grade branded gear ....and can bring other pleasures too (i.e. sense of personal accomplishment in improving a piece of gear) - there are risks too obviously

best of luck

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!

over time i have had the 535 545 (i and ii) 555 - it was years ago of course

yes papa nelson pass designed them when he was a pup - but one needs to separate design and execution...

the adcoms were designed and spec’d to a specific (quite modest) price point, even for back in the day, so there were numerous execution tradeoffs in parts spec and quality, mechanical and electrical isolation... result is a nice sweet sounding product at fairly modest volumes but a glare, grain and glassiness that comes through once there are some demands placed on the amp and its power supply, especially into more reactive speaker loads

no free lunch here... take a nice resolving pair of speakers, like maggies, vandersteens, harbeths, revels, focals, get a clean source, run one of the old adcoms and then a modern day pass amp... there is a substantial, immediately audible difference

even leaving aside the capacitor aging issue, if a 30 year old 545 worth $400 could deliver for a discriminating audio lover what high-level modern ss amps can, we would all have them, and hegel, ayre, pass labs, belles, naim, exposure would all be out of business

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?

Magnepan LRS+ and never look back.

while agree these are terrific, high value speakers, op said this:

The new speakers will be in the living room connected to the Adcom and also a signal fed from the TV but I don’t want a multi-speaker system. Stereo is fine and if they sound good to me with music the wife will be happy with the TV sound. She just wants them to look good and not have a lot of wires hanging around.

there will be issues with the grainy adcom driving them, but more serious issue may be w-a-f...

Check out Jay Iyagi’s (YouTube) build and review of the CSS. He says it compares favorably with his Sonus Faber Lumina II speakers but are probably flatter in that they don’t have the slight midbass bump that the Sonus do.

But I’m still confused. You have a very large room and are planning on sitting 19 FEET away from the speakers. Can ANY small bookshelf speakers really do such a large room justice, or vice versa? Good luck with whatever you get.

Jay ended up paying someone to veneer his CSS, but you could probably do them yourself and save $$$. He later bought the "upgrade" and was even happier.

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.

Magnepan LRS+ and never look back. 

Go through the closets basement garage whatever  and find some unused stuff and sell it. Raise your budget to 2 grand and pay cash!🤔

she will only see the 1k come out of the bank. Haha just kiddin ……. But serious. 

I’m shaking my head at the small speakers others are recommending. To buy small new speakers for that large room, because you ’read’ new is better, is to shoot yourself in the foot. Restored Vintage, done by others, or you do it, will give you much more appropriate choices for that large room.

..............................

Case in point, to make my point:

the photos of those JSE Infinite Slope Model 2’s were horrible, perhaps this will give a better idea of what they are

meanwhile, the black ones with the lousy photos are exactly the same except:

high gloss black laminate

thouroughtly upgraded with the help of the original designer/manufacturer

all 4 woofers re-done by Audio Classics, the people who overhaul McIntosh equipment among others.

original design benefits from two unique patents awarded to Richard Modafferi, of McIntosh tuner fame.

1. infinite slope crossover 100 or 120 db/octave, amazing clarity

2. phase shift controlling the 12" and 10" ’progressively’ to provide amazing lows and smooth use of them together within balance of the upper mid/mid/tweet.

Those patents were originally licensed by JSE and now licensed by Joseph Audio

Someone has to need them who lives close enough. If I had room for them, I would have my woodworker sand the laminate and add a select, perhaps exoctic wood veneer.

Oh, yeah, change them to 3 wheels, put corner blocks just above the floor, no touch unless they start to tip during relocation, i.e. alternate positions/toe-ins.

here’s a review to their baby brother Model 1’s which also sound amazing, in a smaller space

talks about the two unique patents

http://www.hifi-classic.net/review/jse-infinity-slope-model-1-486.html

I widh I had another room, or my son had already bought his new house

It depends on what you listen to in picking speakers out. At your price range I would recommend Thiel or Magnepan. 

Lil Audio Open Baffle speaker grandkid issue can be fixe for under $20.

https://www.uneeksupply.com/15-INCH-SUBWOOFER-SPEAKER-COVERS-WAFFLE-MESH-GRILL-GRILLE-PROTECT-GUARD-2-Pair_p_43238.html

Looks issue ???  A completely different problem

Here's a review by someone who listens to a lot of speakers

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