Picking Speakers 20k-30k

@tablejockey since I’m sitting in the room I thought I’d actually measure because my prior comment was a guess from memory.  Speakers are actually about 6 ft from the side walls and about 20” from rear.  I had them further out previously but couldn’t perceive any improvement so ultimately placed them as far back as i could w/o issue (for aesthetics).

@vthokie83 Thanks, I’ll have a look!

@larryi current speakers (Persona 3f) are about 4 feet from side walls and 2 feet from back wall.  Seating is about 10 feet in front.  Generally listening from the seating position so that’s the priority but I wouldn’t turn down options that fill the room with great sound if it’s not at the expense of the seated experience. We’d prefer to maintain the current room orientation (it faces the windows with the best view) so size restriction is only that the speakers fit between the windows).  I’ve auditioned the Martin Logan ESL 15a and 11a and didn’t really connect with the sound despite being very resolving.  The 15a was immediately followed by the KEF Blade 2 Meta which was much more up my alley.  “Loud” is a tough one to answer.  I think I play them pretty loud but one man’s “loud” is another’s “quiet”. 200 watt amp played between -35 to -30 db on 92 db speakers if that gives you some sense. 

@johnk thanks for the suggestion.  I’ll take a look at DIY but my gut tells me that i don’t actually know how to engineer something that fits my listening taste, room etc…. and I’d likely end up building something random rather than geared to my desires.  I’m sure with enough time, one could engineer something awesome that hits above its weight class but I’d be concerned with ending up with a 20K wood pile. 

@grislybutter @hilde45 @rsf507  thanks for the list (and additions).  I’m only familiar with about 1/2 of the speakers on there so i have a little homework!

One follow-up: there’s at least a couple bookshelf speakers on the list (Harbeth and the Borresen are the two I’m familiar with that have stellar reviews), but I’ve never spent any time considering or listening to bookshelf options.  Are people generally running those with separate subs and happy with the results or more often used by those who either don’t desire or listen to music with much bass?  

@grislybutter is the list provided all speakers that you know of (or at least have data on) in that price range or is it all speakers you would consider purchasing in that price range?  If it’s the former, which would go on your Mt. Rushmore of Roughly 30k Speakers?  Thanks again!

@larryi thanks for all those suggestions!  There’s a number on your list I’ve not heard (or even heard of) so my rabbit hole just got deeper!

@james633 I love my Personas/Sub combo and most well-recorded music sounds great.  If i put on the Black Keys recording of Crawling Kingsnake I feel like I’m in the studio with them or jamming with friends in the basement of my college house twenty years ago.  That’s pretty perfect.  But it’s a super-resolving system and lesser recordings have their warts on full display.  Maybe I’m chasing a dragon but hopefully i can keep the great instrument separation and soundstage that I have but with a presentation that’s a touch more….forgiving?? Musical?? (Not sure what word I’m searching for here.) with run-of-the-mill recordings.  If i only ever wanted to listen to Steely Dan or Pink Floyd or [fill-in-the-blank-masterfully-engineered-recording] then my search would be over.  Alas, not every great band has equally great recording/engineering.

Sonus Faber is on my shortlist from a previous audition of the Olympica Nova 3.  Chose the Paradigm specifically for it’s more resolving presentation but the SF was more “musical” so I’m hoping further up the line (Amati?) may provide the best of both worlds.  Others on my shortlist were Raidho and Borresen because of their stellar reviews and association (either past or present) with Aavik Acoustics makes good synergy likely.  Kef Blade 2 Meta was a recent audition that was pretty great as well. 

I’m not in a rush for change but I’m not realistically going to audition twenty or thirty speakers so hoping the group’s collective wisdom can help pare things down for me.  Then if I have to drive or fly somewhere once or twice, it’s a doable task. 

@gregdude very attractive speakers.  I’ll read up on them since I know my wife wont shoot them down on looks alone. Thanks!  

Btw that’s why Magicos aren’t on my shortlist.  

@grislybutter fun topic, thanks for the link!  And, yes, I’ve learned that i may as well show her a picture early in the process because it can save me from reading every review/comment/smoke signal accessible only to find that it’s too ugly to go in the great room. 

@nitrobob Legacy were on my shortlist when I was first speaker shopping a year or two ago.  I have a local dealer that carries them but the showroom was essentially 300 (literally) boxes of crappy Klipsch speakers- not a comment on Klipsch, they just had a crazy amount of their lowest end speakers- and they had one bookshelf Legacy that i could audition.  Didn’t do a lot for me (the listening conditions were comically bad) and i sort of disregarded them as an option but I’ve always been curious about Legacy speakers.  Plus they’re damn attractive so i know the wife wouldn’t shoot them down.  Maybe i need to stop back at that dealer.

@kokakolia my current room was set up with input from a dealer coupled with a room analysis from GIK when I added treatments. I believe the room is in decent shape. 

@headphonedreams I listen to a wide variety of music. Looking at my qobuz, the last few listening sessions are Sigur Ros, the National, Johnny Cash, Charles Mingus, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Hindi Zahra, and Blur. That's pretty normal. Soundwise, I'm hoping for a big soundstage, instrument separation and clarity (probably like everyone here) but a little less clinical and a little more musical than I'm currently achieving. My current system is my first hifi and I was blown away at being able to hear Gilmour's guitar in ways that made me realize there were sections I'd been misplaying for twenty years. I hope to not lose that kind of clarity

Thanks all who have suggested speakers. I’ve given at least cursory looks at every suggestion posted and have just begun a process of elimination (although still open to additions). A few will need to be aesthetics-driven, a few will be based on lack of availability and the fact that i can’t travel to 20+ hifi shops nationally in the hopes of hearing them all.

@pennfootball71 I stopped at a local dealer yesterday in the hopes of hearing the YG Summit and he claimed that they aren’t shipping yet (or something about a HiFi store in Colorado was the only one who’d actually gotten their hands on a pair). I’m not sure if you heard them at an Expo or if the dealer was just making excuses for not having a pair. I was able to listen to a set of YG Tor bookshelf speakers and was impressed.

@creditingkarma Sounds like you’re on the same journey, anything on your shortlist for speakers?

@creditingkarma thanks for the suggestions.  I’m in Wisconsin