Shopping for new speakers

Well i have auditioned dynaudio c1, sonus faber venere 2.5 and 3.0 , revel and b&w803 andal though they are all fine products i am going to have to drive a little further to check out the legacys  if any one has the sig or focus i would like your thoughts

I have a pair of Nola contenders, If you are interested.

You mentioned you dont want to listen to 'boxes' and 'wife acceptance' was important, speakers that 'disappear' (I assume imaging-wise and not visually). Audition some Martin Logans. I have the Electro Motion ESLs and really like them. Small footprint, big soundstage, detail, plenty of bass for me and interesting visually. 

You are in a similar position as I am.

I built my current speakers, single driver Mark Audio A12P cabinets. They are a bit shout-y and I have out-grown them. It was time to step into the big leagues.

I am auditioning the Vandersteen 1Ci and Spatial M4 Turbo S. Roughly the same price (the Vandersteens are 400 cheaper new - with stands). I'll let you know how it turns out - will be posting on my original thread.

The open baffle approach is logical and minimal. My approach to audio is analog, minimal, and as pure as possible.

In my listening room I run only Vinyl with (currently) a SET Phono Pre and SET Amp (with gain control) and no pre-amp. Transparency is incredible.

What type of room is this going in? What are the dimensions?

Further support for the Spatial Holograms, M3 or M4.  Of course we are all picking our favorite speakers which we own, why not?  You can audition lots of different speakers but most of them will done in the shop's listening room, not with your equipment or your room.  Clayton will allow you 60 days return on the Holograms so you can break them in fully and then audition them in your own home with your equipment.  Just make sure you break them for ca 100hrs before making a final decision.  If you don't like them you will have to pay return shipping but my guess is that you won't be returning them.  Give him a call at Spatial Audio.  

If you would like to drive a little further you are more than welcome to come to listen to my Legacy Audio's. I'm sure you would find the trip to be very rewarding. The Legacy's will compete very well against speakers that cost 3 to 4 times what they cost.  I know that it's bit of a drive to get here, but heck, I drove clear to NY to pick up my Legacy Focus SE's. I find that it was worth every minute of the drive.

SO many good choices out there, and also will be relatively dependent upon source material, cables, power treatment (or lack thereof), ambient and other noise, room etc. 

Personally I have a few setups going on in my house, with the main system being some Sonus Olympica 2's driven with some Odyssey monos... they sound great. Listening room is some B&W CM's driven with some AR tubes and Mcintosh Pre. Again, it's about balance and driving the speakers with something to make things neutral. 

Some hate B&W's. I don't prefer them driven with a bright solid-state high-powered amp, but with tubes, they're somewhat different. Cables change things as well. 

What sort of music and source form factor do you prefer?

Auditioning is super critical, as you're aware. Let your ears be your guide. See if you can do some in-home auditioning. Your listening environment is likely nothing like that of an audio parlour... 

Vienna Acoustics were one of my faves, and I just recently rotated a pair out of my main system. Worth a listen-to for sure. 

Found a dealer here in memphis that deals in revel and have an apt to audition today thanks. I will let you know what i think

Have you considered the Vandersteen VLR?  An under the radar option that would pair well with dual subs and truly excels at imaging.

Put Revel 206's on your list. Trust an older audiophile that these greatly exceed their price class in refinement of sound coupled with great build and looks. 

I own the Joseph Audio Prisms and they are fantastic speakers. I prefer them to more expensive monitors I have owned in the past such as Harbeth 30.1s, and Peak Consult Princess monitors which are both excellent speakers, but the Prisms combination of dynamics, detail, soundstage and imaging provide a VERY musical and enjoyable  presentation. Jeff Joseph is one of the best speaker designers and he often doesn't get enough credit.

Obviously, you’re getting a lot of advice from members, most of them are recommending their favorite speakers which may or may not work for you. I have SF Electa Amators, driven by Classe 15, and have used them exclusively since early 1990’s. They are a perfect match for me, including the all-important WAF. Whether they will float your boat remains to be seen, but, FWIW, I believe you are on the right track with Sonus Faber. I recommend buying used, as most SF buyers seem to take good care of their speakers.

+1  Some of the Revelators have odd stuff going on 10 kHz+ that would probably require some advanced modeling to deal with....  Kudos on the project, though.  I have been wanting to try my hand at a DIY but have to convince myself that it will be about the journey and not necessarily about ending up with a great set of speakers.  :)

That's interesting on you diy speakers. you do have some fantastic drivers. maybe member eric squires will come on and help or some of the other speaker builders will. 
I think you could call Madisound  and give them your driver's and cabinet size and they could help with your crossover. 

I'm going to be listing a pair of Dynaudio C1 signatures, and I am in Nashville.

They are on the Dynaudio stands.  A little higher than your budget, but if you can stretch they would be perfect with your equipment and have a very high wife factor.  6152180294.

I had the Venere 2.5s in my system on an extended audition , and although they are pretty good speakers I'd much more highly recommend Joseph Audio or ProAc given what you're looking for.  Both have outstanding imaging/soundstaging and disappear extremely well as a sound source, and both should help with WAF as well.  Best of luck in your search. 

I am using 2 different speakers . The first is a homemade set that i have worked on for 2 yrs  they are .75 cu ft sealed enclosures with scanspeak revelator tweeter and 7 inch revelator 4 ohm midbass  i have worked on crossovers for 2 yrs and cant coax the tweeter to open up. My other set is old energy c6 that are 20 yrs old. I am looking For a speaker with good imaging and to be able to place instruments and vocals as if i was listening to live peformance insted of listening to two boxes

Second the Spatials... very much a Maggie sound with better dynamics / bass.  The others I would suggest, which sound every bit as good, or better... would not pass the WAF (WaveTouch Audio Monitors).  

What speakers are you using now and what would you like to improve upon?  What aspects of sound reproduction and speaker characteristics are most important to you other than WAF and being compatible with your current equipment?  When you say you want speakers to disappear do you mean looks wise or as a sound source or both?  Any additional info would be most helpful in making better recommendations. 

I dont have a dealer here in memphis that deals sonus faber so i am going to drive to nashville to audition them this weekend. I am really looking for a speaker that that does well with my equipment but is wife friendly as well.

Wise move making the trip to audition.  I hope they meet your expectations.  Nothing beats actually hearing them vs. other brands they may have that meet your budget and the all important WAF.  So don't forget to bring music that you are very familiar with along with her.

The one good thing is that you don't need to worry about your Classe amp during the auditions,  It can most likely drive anything you are probably going to listen to this weekend.  Good luck and let us know how the auditions go.

If you want to always like to upgrade your equipment don't buy Aerial Acoustic. 
Your days of Sears Wish Book Catalog will be over. 

Those old enough know what I am talking about. 

Thank you Michael Kelly. 

mb1
Try despise

They are certainly very different speakers...nothing alike at all.

" If you like B&W, you would probably like Vandersteen's, and your amps would certainly be able to drive a pair of 3a sigs which are well below $3K used."

How did you come up with that? After owning multiple pairs of speakers from both companies, I can state without hesitation, that Vandersteen is my favorite speaker,  while B&W is a speaker I've come to hate. (If anyone can think of a stronger word than hate, let me know and I'll change my post.)

Yes , I have heard the 3A sigs and they fill the bill on sound quality but are quite large. I could Probably go for a larger stand mount speaker as i do have 2 rel subs. I am looking for a speaker that will disapear

I own the Vandersteen 3A Sigs and think they are screaming bargain even at their new retail price.  That said, I came from B&Ws and don't think they have a similar sound. Before buying, I listened to a number of the newer B&Ws that have the Kevlar midrange (CM series) and didn't care for them at all; that Kevlar cone is doing something awful to voices; I can't believe that that Kevlar cone is behaving a remotely pistonic fashion.  I think you need to go up to the 800 series to avoid that midrange, at which point you're in a whole new price range.  

Unfortunately, I don't think the Vandersteen 3A Sig excels at integrating with decor.  As others have said, it is kind of a big ol' monolith.  But boy does it sound fantastic!!!

If you like B&W, you would probably like Vandersteen's, and your amps would certainly be able to drive a pair of 3a sigs which are well below $3K used.

I dont have a dealer here in memphis that deals sonus faber so i am going to drive to nashville to audition them this weekend. I am really looking for a speaker that that does well with my equipment but is wife friendly as well. I was told that the B&W match very well with classe equipment but a little outside my budget

The SF Venere 2.5's are certainly a good match as far as your amps being able to drive them are concerned.  You would have no problems.

Whether they are a good match for your ears is another matter.  So have you heard them and like them?  If you haven't, I agree with Nonoise.  Your going to get a lot of suggestions and and make every effort to audition to find the right speaker for you.

One that comes to mind are the Spatial Audio M3 or M4. From what I remember with my very short time with both, they have more of a natural warmth than a manufactured warmth. The detail, soundstage, and dynamics are better with the Spatials.

Another, if you'd like to look at monitors, is the Clearwave Duet 6. It has a seamless crossover and speaks like a point source, single driver with outstanding bass reach.

You're going to get a lot of recommendations but in the end, try your best to audition.

All the best,
Nonoise