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Small and Excellent Speakers

After demoing the new B&W Signature Diamond speakers, I'm convinced that small is not always bad. Their limited edition speakers are a 2-way floor standing loudspeaker with an effortless and sweat sound. Their Dimensions are:
36.6 x 9.1 x 14.8 (H x D x W) in inches. Weight: 55 lbs. Unfortnuately they are $18,000/pair.

I am looking to replace a set of 1991 JBL L7 loudspeakers with a smaller set of floor standing loudspeakers. They will be driven with a McIntosh MC402 solid state power amp (400w) and a McIntosh C2200 tube preamp.

Question for all:
Are there other small-footprint speakers that sound excellent and are less than $5,000?

Thank you.
-Greg
fremonthills

Showing 6 responses by fremonthills

fremonthills OP
15 posts
 
I forgot to mention that my listening taste are a follows:

Jazz: 85%
Pop/Rock: 10%
Classical: 5%

If the speakers can produce frequency responses down to 40hz, I'll be happy. I'm more interested in clean, clear voicings, rather than bass slam.

Thanks again for your feedback.
-Greg
fremonthills OP
15 posts
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I just went through last year's Absolute Sound's Buying Guide.

http://www.avguide.com/features/buyers-guides/2007-tas-editors-choice.php

Some of the speakers suggested here are also mentioned in their list.

What do you folks think about the following speakers:

Thiel CS2.4 - it seems that these are very hard to positon, but when set up properly really sound great($5,000).

PSB Sychrony One - these are fairly new and wouldn't be in last year's reviews, but they seem to have great reviews this year ($4,500).

I've not auditioned them, but they are on my short list.

-Greg
fremonthills OP
15 posts
 
Some may argue with the quality of the Mac sound, but most would agree the MC402 and C2200 are nice equipment. And yes, I should be pairing them with the likes of Wilson Watt/Puppies or B&W 802Ds. But frankly, I really don’t want a huge set of speakers.

Is it possible to get a great sounding set of speakers that match my amp and preamp and are no more than 40 inches (101 cm) tall for under $5,000?

-Greg
fremonthills OP
15 posts
 
When set up as JBL recommends, the L7s are very fine speakers: accurate down to 30 hz, with a good detailed sound stage; they can also blow the roof off my house. Since our move to a smaller home, I'm looking for a smaller speaker.

Thanks to all of you for the fine feedback. I have a lot of stuff to audition.

-Greg
fremonthills OP
15 posts
 
Thanks for the info, Tigerwood. I was not very familiar with the N802 model.

-Greg
fremonthills OP
15 posts
 
Thanks, Tomer. We have a few KEF dealers nearby. I'll give them a listen.

-Greg
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