I know every person who responds to this thread will have a compelling reason why you should buy thier favorite speaker but I would like to make a suggestion.
Consider the Sony SS-M7e. I know no one thinks of Sony as a quality speaker maker, but they accidentally made four fantastic models recently.
If you click on the "my threads" under my name you can access the review I did of them. They can be had cheaply and they are one of the best kept secrets in HiFi. |
Soliloquy 5.0 bookshelf speakers, not a lot of bass like most bookshelves, but very good. |
Matt,
Try the Wharfedale Pacific Evolution line. An astonishly good speaker at a reasonable price in your range. Less if used or demo.
Richard Bischoff |
Well, you are going to get several(good)opinions on this one.
The Thiel CS 1.5 is getting near that price on the used market, and is a very good choice.
Best of success, Jim |
For about $800, you can get a used pair of Vandersteen 2Ce's. If they are not on your "audition" list, do yourself a favor and include them. There are many, many threads about here on A-gon about the 2Ce's, so you might want to do a little research in the A-gon archives. |
There's actually a pair of Vandy 2ceSigs at your price for sale right now on this site. Hard to go wrong for that price. |
Check out Ascend CBM170's with a HSU VTF-2 sub should come in right around $800. There is a review of these in the present issue of The $ensible Sound. Yes, I'm very happy with mine. |
Quad 11L Brit speaker of the year...and Product of the year... |
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Try the PSB Bronze. Forgiving of bad old recordings. Has bass. A floorstander. Efficient. Plays louder and rocks better than my Vandy 3's.
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I just got a pair of PSB Image 5T's for a friend who wanted floorstanding speakers for rock and jazz with more bass than a monitor. The PSB's were only $450 used and sound very good in her system and small room. She has a small Cambridge Audio A300 integrated and a Marantz 67SE CD player. The 5T's are very attractive speakers too. For your larger budget, you could get the Image 7T's, which have their own amplifier built in for the woofers. |
Do yourself a big favor and do what I did. Go to Home Depot or Lowes. Buy 6 awg multi strand wire (I bought the pink and white jackets). Run them in opposite directions for negative and positive. Twist them together loosely. Install in your system. I just finished auditioning the Audience AU24 and new Shunyata speaker cables, and these were preferred to them. Very natural sounding, dynamic and tonal balance. At $.28 per foot, you tell me if you hear a difference. |
I am creating a nice list to audition thanks to you guys. I do appreciate it!
Matt |
cdc and nrchy wouldn't steer you wrong, so look closley there, but you might also want to look at a used pair of Totem Model 1 Sig's. |
THe dynaudio 50/52s you listed are absurdly good for the money...their hand-made drivers are found in more pricey speakers such as the Totem one...and their danish build quality is legendary...at around 5-600$ used...these are a steal... |
You might also consider the Von Schweikert VR-3. Little brother to the much-acclaimed VR-4, it's a fantastic full range speaker. Incredible bass, and very musical. There is a good review on this site. Used, it should fall right around your price range. |
Paradigm Studio Reference 60. Amazing little speaker, easy to find, and very easy to enjoy. You should be more confused after posting your question than you were before but anyway.... Good luck! Arthur |
I'm with Arthur, Paradigm Reference are great speakers for the money. I've got a pair of AAD bookshelf speakers...they are designed by Phil Jones of AE1 and Platinum Solo fame...might want to give them a look. |
Also...Von Schweikert have a new monitor..the VR-1...which is about 1k..havent heard it...but this is a highly respected brand....worth a listen...chances are u will not have to upgrade any time soon.... |
