Seeking Speaker Recommendations


Greetings,

I've been away from the hobby for quite a while, but am now ready to slowly edge my way back in.  Many moons ago I sold my Altec Model 19's, and have never been able to find a replacement for them.  Their dynamics, their liveliness, their punch, the way they recreated the music on a grand scale.  Even at lower volumes their dynamic swings were amazing.  They sounded so lifelike.  I'm sure their measured performance was likely abysmal, but the sound they generated, to my ears, was like sitting at a performance.

Having been to the CES/Comdex show many, many times years ago, I had seen and listened to hundreds of speakers by hundreds of manufacturers.  What I liked was significantly out of my price range.  I've personally owned systems by Thiel, Von Schweikert, Martin Logan, Magnepan, Legacy, Focal, and the list goes on.  I even went to great expense and custom built a pair of Altec 604 based speakers.  All have left me wanting my old Altec 19's back.

I know they can be had today, and you can even build a "new" pair with the cabinets and drivers available, but I can no longer house a pair of speakers larger than a washer/dryer!  What I'm looking for is a small to medium sized floor-standing speaker, preferably under $3,000/pair, that will recreate that Altec Model 19 magic.  I assume it would have to be high efficiency and horn based.

Can anyone kindly recommend a system that might come close to what I'm seeking?

Thanks!!
seadweller
Consider   used Merlin VSM's, probably the most recent version you can afford.  I can't compare them to horns but they very good.
LOL @roberjerman. I was just about to ask if vintage was a consideration, in which case I would suggest a pair of Dahlquist DQ10s. But the DCMs are a *great*suggestion.
kalali ....
Dynaudio C1 Platinum with stand 6 .... 170 watt / 4 Ohm
Plinius SA 103 Class A power amp , 220 watt / 4 Ohm ... bridge mono 730 watt / 4 Ohm.....
Conrad Johnson ET 5 preamp ( used tube telefunken 6922 )
Wadia 781 i CD /SACD player ( used Synergistic black fuse )
Apple Mac Mini for lossless music used wadia DAC 
Wireworld Platinum Starlight 7 USB cable 
2 sets of Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 7 RCA Interconnect ( conrad johnson only used RCA no XLR )
Nordost Valhalla 1 speaker cables 3.5 M long
Nordost QB8 power strip
All Cardas Clear Beyond power cord 
bass deep , tight , punchy ... esotar2 treble wonderful , no need subwoofer whatsoever !!!! ( instantly killed my previous system as B&W 803 d2 , Mcintosh MC 501 monoblock ... they are suck , bass so dark no deep , tight and  punchy etc ... and treble make you fatigue and headache ! ) ... Dynaudio C4 platinum is my dream ! cant afford !!!!
Harbeth c7es3  great for all music.  Fantastic at low volume too!   Read some reviews.  Great detail!