Speaker Recommenadations for Cary SLI-80


My system consists of Cary SLI-80, Cary CD-303 with Silver Audio Hyacinth interconnects and Symphony 32 speaker cable. Looking to upgrade my current speakers.Room size is 14 X 18. My budget is $5,000.00. Floorstanding and monitors are being considered. Thanks for your insights and opinions.
shanej
Hey, congratulations, nice stup. I've had an sli80 for about 8 months, but just finally got a 303 5days ago! Very nice combo huh. Anyway, I wound up getting a pair of Meadowlark Shearwater Hot Rods (~3K new)which Im extremely happy with. They sound SO NATURAL - I listen to acoustic instruments, mostly small ensemble jazz & chamber classical, & lots of solo piano lately. The Shearwaters are dynamic, effortless, natural, best imaging I've heard, can't say enough good things about them. Great drivers, design, crossover, cabinet, wire etc...
If you look around you might find there are a few of us here who have the sli80 & 303. I'm on St Thomas, but I'm in touch with a guy in Louisiana & a guy in Texas communicating about tube substitutions, wires etc. PS, I saw a pair of used(Meadowlark) Herons for sale here for 1600. stay in touch , Jay
PS< I just noticed your room size, the Herons would be too much for that room IMO, not sure about the Shearwaters, but there are several other brands that would work wonderfully in that space.
I have the new Heron I's from Meadowlark. The are amazing speakers, made for tubes, although I am using them with a Rowland Concentra II. They are warm, dynamic and completely disapppear. They are fine in a room your size. My room is 13x18, and I have them setup for medium sized rooms. There is a tuning method for small, medium or large rooms. If you are interested, email for the name of a dealer who will give a good deal.
Kitch29. No, the tuning method is specific to the Heron i. It is not even on the original Heron. There are three possible speaker hookup choices, depending on room size.
You should also consider thr Roman Audio speakers. They are very tube friendly with a smooth impedance and high sensitivity. They have the patented DiAurel circuit that is the latest thinking in x-over design.
I have the same combo driving Silverline SR15's in my home office system (the room is 12X16). The Silverlines are great with tubes and very easy to drive. The cabinetwork is exemplary. You should check out their floorstanders as well.