Requesting Advice on Speaker Upgrade

I'm a big Vandersteen lover. I don't know why more people aren't. But that can be good since you can buy 2C's between $400 - 650, depending on condition, and where you are in the country (local market). I can tell you that I have owned the 2C's and now the 3A. When I got my 2C's, I was in a 10x10 room with wood floors and slanted roof. Easy to dial in and easily the best speakers I have owned up to that time. I kicked out some JBL Jubals (L65), Dahlquist DQ-8, and a few others. Vandersteens are fairly efficient, and are designed to be forgiving towards the source power. Case in point, my brother in law just picked up some 2C's for $400 in 8.5/10 condition and running with a Pioneer SX-850 ... they sound great. His mind is blown.

I loved mine so much, I jumped on a mint set of 3A's from the original owner. I was in a 15x20' room, but now in a 9x10. I have them positioned so they still sound great. Of course, I can tell they would bloom more with more space, but that will be next year in the new place. But I'll tell you that if you do buy Vandersteen, make sure you get some good quad cable (Canare) and bi-wire. I know the idea doesn't seem to make sense, but I've done testing in my own system, and found it does make a slight difference. Enough to be worth it.

If you like mid century modern look and want something off the ground, I would take a serious look at ADS. They have butyl rubber surrounds on the woofers, and I have never seen a bad one. Some models are better than others, and some have metal grills, and walnut veneer. 

Dahlquist makes some good shelf speakers like the M-905 and M-907. Build quality is good, they use good drivers, and they are under most people's radar, so you can usually find a good price.

As you can see, I'm not a big fan of new speakers, for your price range. You can buy so much more speaker for that kind of money, that are built like furniture, and hold their value better. Just buy smart.

I have tried to like Wharfedale Diamonds in a few models, but couldn't. I personally wouldn't buy anything I couldn't hear, unless I knew I could get a full refund or could sell and get my money out. I will say that the best smaller speakers I have enjoyed were Quad 12L's, not the powered version. Nice looking speaker that I felt had a nice range and some punch to it. I compared with a B&W 685 S2 and thought the upper range had too edgy of sound from the metal dome tweeter, and they frankly weren't exciting for me. There was something about the Quad's I liked better. Maybe a little more musical with jazz, acoustic, and the reason I bought the Quad's was I wanted something that would sound good playing Muse. In the end, they left as well, because my Vandersteen 2C's were more convincing. Just be careful to not assume that most modern speakers are better than the best of yesteryear. I agree there are many vintage speakers that aren't that great. But ones that were cutting edge and actually sounded great, are worth considering. There is also better resale value if you buy right, that won't necessarily be the case with new stuff. I may sound biased, but I don't have thousands to spend on gear so for me, I have found quality vintage is the way to go for now.

Hi bomd, it's been about 4 years since I heard the Diamond's and it took me about 30 seconds to know they weren't for me. There was nothing interesting about them. Granted, most of my experience is with vintage speakers. But I have heard modern speakers I liked better.

The Wharfedale's also seemed one dimensional and somewhat lifeless. A few days before listening to the Wharfedales, I auditioned some the Epos Epic 1 speakers. The Epos had a more natural, crisp presentation, that was nice with simple acoustic material, but as soon as it needed some guts for rock, or anything with solid bass, forget it. Right after listening to the Wharfedale's, I went into a different audition room and heard the Harbeth's they had. Don't remember the model, but boy, those were amazing! I didn't ask how much, because I knew I couldn't afford them. They brought the Quad's in to the room and it took me about 10 seconds to know they were for me. I brought Muse "Second Law" (CD) with me because of a few songs I think really test a speaker. The songs are "Madness", "Survival", and "Panic Station". I'm sure you have music you know well that will help you find the right speaker, if you decide to only buy what you can audition first.

I owned the Quad's for awhile, but I also had the Vandersteen 2C's and JBL L65 Jubal's ... I listen to a lot of rock, and some jazz, and blues. While the Quad's were really nice, I had to sell something, and they couldn't compete with the Vandersteen's on most material, and I knew at the time I would be selling the L65's.

I think the Quad's are the kind of speaker you can easily sell and get your money back out. They are more exciting in what they can do for the price, and their size. I know there are powered versions, but there is something about that I don't like ... I assume they are de

I should add that I really liked the KEF LS50's I heard with a tube amp and jazz. Can't imagine I would love with rock, but for it's size, I thought it was a good buy ... and I say that because at the time, I had found someone selling a pair for a grand. I wouldn't pay retail.