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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
 
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
tigerwoodkhorns
130 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,

Please re-read my post. If you are patient you can buy Nautilus 802's ("N802") for your target price. They are the size that you are looking for and have the B&W sound. I had N801's and now Signature 800's (neither of which are diamonds) and have never regretted it. The Nautilus series were just before the Diamonds and not very old. These are outstanding speakers.

Here is a pair that just sold:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1225234336&/B-W-802-Nautilus-Light-natural

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

-Greg
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,182 posts
 
Ohm 100 series 3 or Micro Walsh.

The Walsh style drivers provide a large surface radiating area in a very small footprint and produce a big sound in accordance that is more like much larger speaks but in a smaller package.

Midrange/vocals are fantastic as is low end. These will fill your room with sound in a very unique way and go loud with ease.
tomer_tsin's avatar
tomer_tsin
67 posts
 
Check out KEF Reference 201/2 Loudspeakers.
http://www.kef.com/products/reference06/US/productRange_201/default.aspx
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/kef_2012.htm
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