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New Speakers for $2000

Hello, new to the forums and wanted to ask your guys' advice for my next step up. My system right now is Lossless Files -> Benchmark DAC1 USB -> Cambridge Audio 650A -> Jamo 707 (Speakers from the early 90s I think).

I have about $2000 maybe up to $2200 MAX to spend on speakers. My sound preferences as you can tell from my set up is fairly neutral.

I went to the local hi-fi shop recent and listened to MartinLogan Electromotion. I found that they both lack bass extension which wouldn't really be a problem but also that they have a really lax midrange (too lazy for metal).

My wants in order of preference are:
-Resolution
-Neurality
-Imaging
-Sound stage width
-Good highs
-Not so slow mids that it'd make listening to heavier music unenjoyable
-A decent amount of bass or even slightly weak on punch is fine

Any recommendations are welcome and thanks in advance.
ninjasquirt

Showing 5 responses by johnnyb53

johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Two value leaders at your price point are Magnepan 1.7s at $2K and the GoldenEar Triton 2's at $2500. I've heard both. The GoldenEars give you flat response, near world class soundstage, and true full range performance as well as excellent transparency and clarity. Since the low bass is handled by built-in amplifiers, your amp situation would work with the GoldenEars better than the Magnepans.

Really, you shouldn't buy until you can hear at least one of these two speakers.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 

01-11-12: Loomisjohnson
respectfully, your 75w/ch amp may not be enough juice for magnepan or revel. in your budget i'd look at the ohms, von schweikert vr2 (huge soundstage and low end) or energy veritas; vanns is also selling mirage omd28 for $1400--they're extremely room-filling.

The Vann's price for the OMD-28 is $1400 each, so that would be $2800 a pair. That's still a bargain given that they retailed at $7500/pair and were very competitive at that price. However, the OMD28's little brother, the OMD-15, is also available at Vanns at $1K/pair down from an original $2.5K/pair. They're plenty competitive at their original price and with a sensitivity of around 91dB, will match well with that Cambridge 650A. I've been living with my OMD-15s for 3-1/2 years in an open architecture cathedral-ceiling living space. They definitely fill the space well.

Also, with the money you save you could pick up one or two decent powered subs and then you would have a true full-range system and you could dial in the bass energy for the program material and your listening space.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 


My wants in order of preference are:
-Resolution
-Neurality
-Imaging
-Sound stage width
-Good highs
-Not so slow mids that it'd make listening to heavier music unenjoyable
-A decent amount of bass or even slightly weak on punch is fine
I should have paid more attention to this set of requirements. Given these plus your narrow listening area, I think Nola Boxers would be the way to go. A mini is going to be easier to place given the narrow room boundaries than a tower. You can use the $500 saved for stands and cables, or toward a powered sub if desired.

I did, however, remember one more $2K speaker worth checking out, the Atlantic Technology AT-1. Available at $2K/pair, it's a tower with an MTM (D'Appolito) array backed by Atlantic's own H-PAS bass loading system that produces meaningful bass down into the 20s. Stereophile's review and measurements indicated an unusually flat response overall. The MTM array helps keep ceiling and floor reflections out of the image that reaches your ears. Review excerpts here, third-party measured response curves here.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Don't buy until you hear the GoldenEars. And don't let them demo them with some mass produced receiver. They shine with quality amplification. You won't find a better combination of refined midrange/treble, bass extension, imaging, and dynamic range at that price.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
01-21-12: Toddnkaya
Not to be sarcastic, but it seems like the OP's wish list encompasses all of the great attributes of a perfect speaker system. Ok so he said he did not need bass slam. I would think that there are many 20,000 speakers that could not meet all of these preferences. I am surprised someone has not said that this is a tall order to fill for two grand. Or maybe , I am off base and there are many or a few that can meet all of these.
Good point, but not quite true: Besides not asking for deep powerful bass, he didn't mention anything about wide dynamic range or the ability to play at live concert levels. There are many stand-mounted speakers that meet all his criteria--$2K will buy many different mini-monitors, any of which will provide that imaging and soundstaging, plus airy highs and a transparent midrange. It's when you try to maintain those characteristics and add in dynamic range and bass extension that it gets expensive. The Nola Boxer sounds like an excellent match at $1500 (or Paradigm Studio Ref), and if he adds this excellent sub from SVS he'd still meet budget and be able to do the metal thing fine as well.
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