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Speakers in the 5-6K$ region & their components

Hi all,

This is my 1st post here.
I'm a long time audio enthusiast and even worked in high-end audio sales for a few years a while back, but I've been out of the loop for a few years now. I'm looking now for a new pair of speakers in the 5-6K$ range to replace my current Merlin TSM. The type I'm looking for is a 2 way 6-6.5'' speaker, preferably a floorstander. I know many brands and models and went through a lot of speakers in the past, so my question is a technical one:

I'm looking only for speakers in this range which use high end componenets. which ones are there?

I've already done some research, so here are a few examples of what I mean:

Proac in its response range is using Scanspeak D2604 tweeter (48$/unit).
PMC in its "i" series - Seas 27TFFC (45$/unit).
Spendor, "A" series - Seas 29TFF/W (52$/unit).

I can go on and also bring examples of the woofers used and more speaker brands, but I think the picture is clear. These are all quality units of well acclaimed manufacturers, but are by no means high-end units. Which are?
My research brought me this far to the following (All in my price range):

Kudos audio Super 10/Super20: Seas T29CF-002 tweeter (330$/unit) + a version of Seas W18NX (196$/unit)

Marten Form Floor: Accuton C173-6-095 woofer (over 300$/unit) + a ribbon tweeter I was unable to recognize (anyone?)

Merlin VSM (as second hand only): Dynaudio D330/A tweeter (over 400$ per unit) + Scanspeak 18W/8545-01 (173$/unit).

BTW, my current Merlin TSM is using Morel MDT30 tweeter (80$/unit) + Morel MW166 woofer (124$/unit) and sounds wonderful to my taste, despite a considerable lack of bass (being a sealed- box design). 

So, given all that, does anyone have any more ideas for speakers I should consider?
roylindenfeld
roylindenfeld OP
11 posts
 
To those who are sure I'm making a great mistake etc., I’ve said it before and I’ll say it one last time: I’m not in this since yesterday. I’ve owned myself over 20 pairs of speakers, worked in hi-fi sales for several years and am well acquainted with driver & speaker manufacturers.
According to my experience, a speaker is nothing like a painting, a musical instrument or a work of art. It’s like any other technical device, same as an amp or a car. And no design, ingenious as it may be, can surpass the inherent limits of sub-par components. Take a look back at my kick drum example. there are things that a basic driver simply can’t do.
Your experience may be different, and that’s fine. But that wasn’t my question, and I WILL NOT put my money on expensive speakers made from cheap parts UNLESS I have first ruled out those who offer a much better parts/retail ratio.
roylindenfeld OP
11 posts
 
@Rippet: I’ve owned a pair of Adagios for about a year, and had mixed feelings about them. There were some things they did great but also some serious problems. The part (pun intended) that I couldn’t live with eventually was the tweeter. I have no idea which tweeter it was, but for my ears it was muffled and too "dark". I don’t know if it was the voicing the manufacturer intended from the start or an attempt to mask some tweeter’s limits by narrowing some of its bandwith in the cross, but something there wasn’t to my liking. On the other hand, it had very good, uncolored mids and exceptional bass. The heavy, very well designed transmission line cabinet has no doubt a substantial part in it. I do recommend it to people asking for my advice, but I was unable to live with it eventually.
listeningear's avatar
listeningear
2 posts
 
Best thing to do is go out and audition loudspeakers you feel fit your needs as your needs will be quite different to others just like my needs are different to yours. My only word of caution which if you say you have knowledge of driver manufacturers you will be very aware of; expensive drivers can often mean either custom made or limited run models so any repair/replacement needs further down the line will leave you with nothing more than silent boxes!
listeningear's avatar
listeningear
2 posts
 
BTW I have just restored and modified a pair of Swedish concrete speakers with the E J Jordan Eikona full range drive units, stunning drive unit and I would recommend anyone to try to listen to these.
tubesrule's avatar
tubesrule
100 posts
 
Anybody want to comment on the original Joachim Gerhard designed audio physic speakers? I believe they fall into camp of (I wouldn't say dirt cheap), but relatively inexpensive drivers (no diamond or berriliuyn tweeters here), and always achieved amazing sound outright, let alone for the price. Perhaps a good example of the whole being FAR MORE than the sum of the parts?
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