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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
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
tigerwoodkhorns
130 posts
 
With the amp and preamp that you have and price range, the B&W N802. About the size of the Signature and the B&W sound.
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
jpaik
42 posts
 
I'm not sure what else you need to be told. The answer is...Yes!
dweller's avatar
dweller
3,781 posts
 
Haven't heard the Thiel 2.4s but used the 1.6s with BAT 300X-SE and was in heaven (bedroom system).
And, no, they are not "bright" sounding.
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