I haven’t seen anyone mention these two, both in your price range. The Wharfedale Elysium stand mounts is one. They have an AMT & are phenomenal. I really love the Wharfedale sound. Both my older brother & I purchased a set without the other one knowing & we both love them! My other suggestion would be the 805 D4. Looks great, sounds great. I have mine being run with Pathos Classic amps. I like them in their walnut or white finish. A runner up would be Martin Logan speakers, they too use AMT for the top end. Good luck!!!

Thanks @premcjss, I desperately wish to have a pair of the MBLs some day

@premcjss 

 

Definitely if she doesn’t like Maggie’s… she’ll go for MBL! Excellent recommendation! She will be so sorry she complained about the Maggie’s. this could be an excellent precedence.

Hi, a couple of suggestions 

1) sexy look, and Amazing sound, but may be slightly past your budget:

MBL 126 Radialstrahler, about $16.3k with stands

 

2) Great sound, modest looks, budget friendly:

Bryston Mini T  $5k this is not so small but not big. Put it on a stand and position it correctly, and enjoy!!

 

Happy Listening!

And OP...both Devore and Audio Note have many different beautiful finishes for WAF. IF the wife can stand the looks of exposed drivers.

The Audio Note Type K or Devore Fidelity O-Baby might be great with your electronics and small space. Both offer near-field listening under 10K with great detail and natural sound.

My advice is to not listen to anyone in a forum and try to audition speakers with your ears . With that said , my rabbit hole ended with Harbeth 40.3XDs . 

This thread reminds me of how lucky I am. I married a gem.

With that budget, I'd consider building the SEAS Thor kit from Madisound.  Actually, within that budget, Madisound could hook you up with a cabinet maker and have them delivered to your doorstep fully built and looking good.  The SEAS Thor is comparable to the Joseph Audio Perspective 2 at 1/4 the price.

I wanted Maggies badly but my wife hated their look. So instead, I bought Spatial Sapphire Open Baffles and she likes their look quite a bit. She thought they made our living room look better actually. I'm happy too. The soundstage is wide and the sound clean and neutral. I think my wife would like the look of Monitor Gold and Harbeth as well. Good luck!

Who / What has pleased or displeased you more in the last five years?

 

Interesting predicament!  Fortunately, you have some great options.  Here are recommendations from speakers I’ve experienced:

Wolf Von Langa Serendipity+: I recently heard these at Gestalt Audio and they are phenomenal speakers.  Definitely worth checking out.

Acora Acoustics: outstanding speakers, I’ve been repeatedly impressed by Acoras and they look terrific. 

Morel Sopran: These good looking narrow floor standers blew me away at a show last year.  Superb speakers at an exceptional price   

Joseph Audio: I’ve heard numerous Joseph speakers and have always been impressed.  A safe bet if you can find a great used pair.

PS Audio FR5: I’ve heard the bigger FR models at a friends and they were terrific, better than I expected.  

Salk Sound BePure 1: an absolute giant killer with the terrific SB beryllium tweeter and the incomparable Purifi woofer.  Unfortunately, Salk Sound is no longer in business.

Boressen X1 or X3: I haven’t heard the X1 but I loved the X3 when I heard it at a show.  Coming off Maggie’s, you may like their unique ribbon tweeter.  However, they can be a bit sterile and fussy.

Alta Alyssa: Mike Levy makes great speakers with gorgeous cabinetry.  Definitely worth considering.  

MBL 126: a very special and unique speaker that generates a holographic stage unlike almost any other speaker.  Unfortunately, MBL is in bankruptcy and their fate is in question.  
 

Good luck in your journey!  

A classic problem asking for advice on equipment, especially speakers. You get a hundred replies and 75 are different and you end up more perplexed than you began. And I contributed to the chaos.

Do you really love your Maggies? Are they black? Maybe it's not the shape your missus takes exception to but the color? Perhaps a lighter color would be acceptable? I went with the cream color for my Acoustat 1+1s and while they're still imposing, they're not as "present" as if they were covered in the black fabric. So far neither wife has had strenuous objections... 

Happy listening.

No question, Vandersteen Treo CTs. Many Magnapan dealers are also Vandersteen dealers; it is not a coincidence.

Whatever you narrow your decision to, listen to them carefully, hopefully with similar amplification. I am in similar situation where I plan to move to a new house next year, and will finally have a dedicated listening room. I have owned Martin-Logan electrostatic speakers for over 25 years and those will stay in the main room tv/audio system. But as I am considering a second system for the new music room, I have listened to about 6 dynamic only speakers in a high-end music salon, priced between $1,800 (Sonus Faber) and $20,000 (Fyne, SF, etc.). I left feeling underwhelmed. I spoke with a friend on mine that has an awesome audio system with Sound Lab A1's and Jeff Rowland amplification. I mentioned the quandary to him and he reiterated my feelings: that no matter how expensive (he has a buddy with $130,000 speakers and a 7-figure system), he feels he still hears it as coming out of a box, not out of the air. Maybe our hearing is spoiled, or at least tuned, to hearing true dipole panels, which your Maggies would be. Accordingly, I will now be looking closely at new Martin-Logans for my new room. I find them much more visibly attractive than Maggies, so maybe your wife will as well. My wife absolutely love the M-Ls. Take her shopping with you.

Sonus Faber will likely have the best wife approval quotient.  Or if she likes a modern look…KEF Reference 1 Meta or R11 Meta

Not easy to find in the U.S., but I have owned both Maggies and Harbeth, and am delighted with my (German) Fink Team Kim speakers. I have owned them for ~7 years now, and have no desire to make a change. I sit about 8 feet from them.

They utilize AMT tweeters, are more dynamic than Harbeths, and supply greater bass impact than the smaller ones, yet they also produce superb mid-range sound.

My partner and I consider them to be very attractive, as well.

Here is a link to a comprehensive review by Martin Colloms:

Hi-Fi Critic review

 

Having a dedicated listening room eliminates any problems or issues with a spouse, as I always made sure my gal was happy.....until she wasn’t, or I wasn’t. 

Op check the site Above , you and your wife might be very happy on thi Rhaido monitor speakers with nice looking stand, it’s 5k plus price.

https://tmraudio.com/fresh-arrivals/raidho-acoustics-c1-1-bookshelf-speakers-burl-walnut-pair-w-stands/

Contact a divorce attorney...

If you want a quick divorce, get a pair of tektons.

I got a pair of rel t7x because of my small/medium size room, very easy to integrate. If you are going to put these speakers in your living room where your tv is, I would highly suggest looking at the Kef ls60’s. At a minimum, you would have 1 power cable to each speaker and an Ethernet patch cable to connect both speakers. The internal amps are matched to the speakers and if you want to hookup your rels, there’s a dsp built in to the Kef app on your iPhone for seamless integration. I took my wife to look and listen to them and we will be getting a pair for our living room, replacing much more expensive gear. Another plus is the earc integration so you can hook your tv to them.

I heard the $40k integrated focals at a show and the Kef’s blew them away, both in sound and in build quality, felt finish for a $40k speaker?

Check out the Salk Sound BePure 1.

The PS Audio speakers look intriguing but not sure they’re a good fit for your amp given Stereophile’s measurements, just fyi…
 

PS Audio specifies the Aspen FR5's voltage sensitivity as 83.5dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was slightly lower, at 82.6dB(B)/2.83V/m, the same as my Rogers LS3/5a. The Aspen FR5's nominal impedance is specified as 6 ohms, with a minimum value of 5.6 ohms. The impedance magnitude (fig.1, solid trace) was higher than 6 ohms over almost the entire audioband; the minimum impedance was 5.89 ohms at 144Hz. This suggests that the FR5 will be an easy load for the partnering amplifier. However, the electrical phase angle (fig.1, dotted trace) is high in several frequency regions; as a result, the effective resistance, or EPDR (footnote 1), drops below 4 ohms from 39Hz to 46Hz, from 78Hz to 139Hz, and from 2.78kHz to 3.75kHz. The minimum EPDR values are 3.5 ohms at 43Hz, 2.6 ohms at 96Hz, and 2.78 ohms at 2.8kHz. The Aspen FR5 needs to be partnered with an amplifier that doesn't have a problem driving low impedances, and this will be exacerbated by the speaker's low sensitivity.

Revival audio’s Atalante series offer some nice options. I have the standmount 3s in an almost nearfield config with sugden amplification and they are extremely satisfying top to bottom. Read some reviews they have an interesting pedigree and technology.

Order a pair of Tektons, the largest you can afford, and get it over with.

Well no worries ther speaker is going to sound as magical as magnepans when they are setup correctly. So your question is interesting in that you’ll be going towards a completely different sound. I think if you love the sound of magnepans, then keep them somehow. If you can’t then very good  conventional speakers should be fine. I own Magnepans along with conventional speakers along with monitors and I have Electrostats as well. I own also the speaker you mentioned, the LS3/5a.  I think this speaker only really shines and works best as near field in a midsize to small room. Also, I have a tight suggestion on this speaker. I have owned many versions throughout the yrs and the internal crossover parts and drivers are different depending on the serial numbers. Only serial numbers 4,000 to 11,000 on the Rogers LS3/5a would I recommend using a tube amplifier. Outside those serial numbers I prefer a Solid State amp.  Aside from the LS3/5a speaker, a friend of mine just upgraded his QLN monitor speaker to the $25,000 monitor version. His previous QLN prestige monitor retailed for somewhere between $9,000 to $12,000.  His Prestige is available for purchase if interested. I think he asking around $5,000 and it’s a really nice sounding speaker. 

@rbstehno On stereo Rels, and @whitestix  on growing a pair (so to speak)

l have a pair of Rel T9i’s in my system. I also have a “better half” who has no interest in hi-fi. We both have a house and shared interests but not hitched, or joined at the hips.

During covid we decided to decamp in one property to live within the regulations. We talked it through and l set up a CD based system at hers to stop me from going mad without my music. I respected the fact it was her home and bought speakers that would not need a sub. I left my records and decks at my place. Compromise.

The Rels were a bridge too far and leaving the LPs and a turntable behind was a great solution. Everyone happy. We still live between our two properties, hers in Summer (big garden) mine in winter (by the sea). Some of our friends say it is the perfect scenario.

l can not say for sure l would be still in this relationship if she had said no to me invading her space, but compromising is key to understanding everyone’s needs.

The stereo Rels l knew would have always been a deal breaker. LOL

 

The upside of the story is respect and tolerance proven by the fact the extra hi-fi is still at hers and no issue….. the music l play however is…. Ha Ha!

Live and let live but know where the boundaries are. Never settle for less than 50/50 

PS Audio: Aspen FR5 Loudspeaker save some money for the subs…

If you want to keep your existing equipment and want a stand mount speaker for a small room, check out the new ps audio fr5. Killer speaker.

Another direction would be to get rid of all your equipment except for a streamer/server and look at the Kef LS60’s. Slim nice looking speakers that would take up the same floor space as a stand mount, pick your color, blue looked great. The big plus is this speaker has multiple small drivers that will sound much larger, give you good bass, and they use the famous uni-q mid/tweeter driver.

I moved to a new house recently and my dedicated audio room was 27x16x15’ tall ceilings and my large speakers were too big for my new 16x12x9 room. I went looking for a stand mount speaker but what I found was that a smaller tower with multiple drivers sounded the best. I added a couple of rel subwoofers and it sounds very good. The rel’s have the smaller 8” driver with a 10” passive.which blend in with the speakers 6.5 woofers.

Efficient speakers 90db or higher nominal 6 or 8ohms that remain above 4-6ohms for most of the frequency range. Your Primaluna will perform best. JBL 4367, Klipsch Forte or Klipsch Cornwall worth considering. 

For that size of space and from what I can infer regarding your listening habits I would seriously consider the Harbeth P3 (their smallest speaker). I suspect the tubes will keep up with the current demand with no problem at reasonable listening levels. Very natural sounding and easy to place, with their best feature what I would consider a very cultured midrange. Not to say the midrange is colored, but that it is very articulately presented and comes across as clean and natural.

May want a sub, but they are fine without one.

I would second the Devore recommendation.  Although the 093 are not stand mounts, I think they would be a good match for your amps and musical preferences.  Beautiful speakers too.

I also second the Triangle Duettos 40th anniversary monitor recommendation. There are many reviews that will give you an idea on what they are about. 

Devore Fidelity. 
Handmade in Brooklyn NY, gorgeously finished and love tubes (particularly within the Orangutan series). There are at least a couple of options in the 10k$ and under range.

Pretty simple concept that a long term relationship with anyone requires some compromise from both sides. My wife of 49 years knows my quirks and I know hers. We both have some good stories about the other and what each has to put up with.  I'm very happy we've both figured out what works for us. 

My partner of 40 years occasionally likes to tease me about all the money I have spent on audio equipment. On the other hand she has recognized how I have worked 60 to 80 hours a week for decades and is happy to see me enjoy some of what I have worked for. We have a partnership where we try and encourage each other to achieve, but to also enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Women, no matter how liberated believe the decor of a home is a direct reflection of them. So, they must be somewhat self-aware to recognize you live there as well. I think this is a necessary quality for someone I would be in for a long term relationship. 

This issue of WAF comes up all the time on this forum and amongst my audio friends.  I bought a $5K system for a friend and after a year, he had to get rid of it... because his wife objected to the speaker cables on the floor.  Man up and buy what you want.  The emasculation of adult males is off the charts, so assert your wishes and buy whatever speakers you choose.  Jezz, man up, my friend.   

@theophile 

Compliance, or non compliance……

Interesting comparison with the seal (audiophile) trainer (spouse) scenario.

The seal illustrated has made the choice?

@mrdecibel 

my “listening sound room”…”a necessity in my life”

Suggesting a real life call?

 

OP… “What should l consider?”

In this sensitive case, only the OP can make his call/choice on this one.

 

Assuming you like the Maggie presentation, what about the stand mount from Eminent Technology?

+ on the Alta Alyssa. 
I love the sound and finish of my tiny Dali Minuet SEs in my small office set up. Their larger high end standmounts may be worth looking into. Epicon 2s for example. 

Op onother speakers I could recommend is the new model apeakers Technics , they look very nice in white. And they are well designed, their cabinet are so solid , piano finish. And they sound incredible. I love KEf LS 50 but I prefer their monitor. So I bought it.

I own the Studio Electric M4 , it's a great speaker.     So good that zi was thinking about their M5

https://pt.audio/2025/03/01/studio-electric-m5-loudspeakers-review/

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/studio-electric-m-5?highlight=virtual%2Bimage

^^^^^ lighten up francis.

 

When I hear the term "Happy Wife Happy Life". I see a man who has been either transformed into or chose to become a performing seal. Ready to jump through however many hoops which are held-out. Every time a hoop is held out. Don’t question it. Don’t push back. Do as you are commanded by the one holding the hoop(and cracking the whip).

With the unsaid dark insinuation that the holder of the hoop will make the performing seal’s life hell if they don’t unquestioningly comply.

"Comply with The Wife: Happy Life. Failure to comply: A Life Of Misery".

The performing seals all think this is normal.

Anyone can prove my theory. If there is an equal status in the relationship, the seal can order the hoop holder to jump through a hoop. Every seal knows that will never happen. The tables cannot be turned. The relationship is actually a one way street. The hoop holder calls the shots and as long as the seal is well behaved and compliant; Happy Wife Happy Life.

Which did you have first, rhe Maggie's or the wife? 

For amazing musical and accurate speakers, I highly recommend Audio Concepts Inc,  ACI. They can only be found on the used market, but their performance is way above their price range!  I can't think of any other brands I would replace ours with!