Standmount speakers. I have $5000.

"Check these out:"

rja: checking, thanks

"...musical tastes?"

yogiboy - in order of listening hours descending: classical, electronic/IDM, old & new rock, alternative.

...nice pair of Joseph Audio Pulsars..."

soix: checking these too, thank  you.

atl4love: thanks for the guidance, esp. as fellow Nola fan. I'm listening to the v1 Boxers right now and reminded of the surprising delight, detail and honesty in these small-ish but brilliant boxes.

jwh2 you speaking my dialect (Micromega et français aussi). By your and all other accounts the B&W 803D3 is the real deal. But sadly their form//look rules them out, as I must maintain visual feng shue in main LR listening area for mi esposa (my wife).

ojack - sigh ... given my venture here I suppose I must consider Dynaudio. But I already got their Stand 4, which should suit the many options discussed here (incl the Special 40?).

birdfan - yes got subs - two of them: the underrated if not unfairly maligned Syzygy SLF870. Your listening genres intrigue me for the Strada's: I do large orchestral from time to time but if the Strada's finesse the rest as well that isn't a deal-breaker. Will look.

you will not be satisfied unless the speakers are tuned to your ears. $5k is too much for standmounts. You wont even get fullrange sound

kenjit: I’ve been reasonably ’satisfied’ with untuned Nola Boxer 2-ways paired with two ’room-corrected’ Syzygy subs. Due to housemates (cats) I’m constrained to standmounts (to get speakers out of reach of cat hands and a$$es. They don’t bother the subs).

Why is $5K too much, and how will the right standmount not deliver or approach fullrange sound? See Salk SS 7M’s as an example: http://www.salksound.com/model.php?model=SS%207M

...new Harbeth 30.1 listed here for $5495

yogi: thanks . I do wonder if that Harbeth model would end up anemic with the electronic/IDM and rock sections of my listening repertoire.  I did find the Super HL5 Plus on a'gon.com - new at $4500 which seems dramatically under-priced ... and ships from Spain  : |   https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9ga6h-harbeth-super-hl5-plus-monitors

Used B&w 805D3 and a sub ...

Mayor: thanks. Already have dual Syzygy SLF 870 subs to pair with. Will read up on the B&W 805D3.

...have a look at the Rosso Fiorentino...

thanks jm, will check those out for sure.  are you current/former Boxer owner?

I’m about to list my Selah Tempestas.

db: attractive - in part because they're 3-way (like the Salk SS 7M).  Will look.

new Dynaudio Contour line is really good

thanks mofo.  Dynaudio is kinda obligatory if one looking at standmounts.  I do wonder about P/V ratio though (price/value), given "the Name" one pays for.

drhelzer - thank you, Focal wasn't on my radar. Sopra #1 stretches my budget but will look into.

b_limo - yes my head is spinning. Joseph Audio Pulsars are on my short list. Your Nola affinity persuades - I'll add Dynaudio Special 40. I guess I should add Fritz Carrera Be too. From your listening does any one of those deliver a more complete Universe-experience than the others?

duke - thanks for the thoughtful reply. Just me in my seat, mostly on-axis, with ears about 7-8 feet from front plane of standmounts. On occasion I do jump up and dance/throw-body-about regardless of anyone watching ; )

2le: that’s +3 for Fritz. Are you an owner?

Studying Carerra 7 Be now - very attractive build, spec and reviews. Dude has been designing & building speakers since 1973! I like the assured yet modest voice that comes through in all the descriptions on the web site.

b_limo: yes vox populis is persuasive (+3 for Dynaudio, +2 for Pulsars). Thanks for pointing to the simple truth in the numbers.

tweak: ah yes, thanks, will check Emerald Physics. It was a supporter (and dealer) of theirs who put me onto Syzygy subs.

crozbo: cast iron is weird but why not? thanks, looking at JERN14.

keoliphant: KEF Reference 1 suggestion is intriguing. That pre-own pair at tmraudio is rosewood finish (big plus for my decor) but they look well-loved (dings all over) and I already have excellent stands (Dynaudio Stand 4). Appreciate the regardless-guidance on larger boxed monitor/bookshelf.

jsautter: another JERN vote ... thanks, looking.

bajaed: yes thanks for reminder, will add Legacy again. Saw them when looking a few years ago.

ISoP: ok will check Vapor, Golden Ear too.  Gershman looks interesting, even a bit exotic - and probly beyond my budget.

jmolsberg 09-09-2019 5:42pm EST
 ^ believe OP said he had curious cats

jm is right: floor-standers are out, mostly due to maladjusted cat members of family.  There's also some feng shue pressure from spouse.

Separately there seems to be the occasional weird Audiogon forum admin deletes of posts in this thread (like jm's, above).  I've seen it before in other threads and I called the admins out on it.  Their explanations fell short.

b_limo: I noticed that too. I’ve had mixed experience with tmr - the single positive outcome was a purchase where I think I did quite well. I subsequently found that tmr was actually the 1st (and only) owner of the component. I think I got lucky. The rest of my encounters have left a bad taste - including a ridiculous lo-ball offer from them for a REL R328 sub, followed by usurious pricing on other pre-owned R328’s.

Thanks again for all the helpful replies - some outliers aside this is a great group of insightful, conscientious people.

A few notes on my spec:

- bigger-box is ok (see Salk SS 7M). Spouse feng shue constraints are mostly around form/appearance, hence the need to swing to more traditional ’box’ in wood veneer.
- I’ve latched onto belief that bigger box with larger woofer, if not 3 drivers instead of 2, will "SPL" and fill my room dimensions better than smaller box. I’m open to being smacked down on that.
- for new I’m leaning towards internet-direct. For pre-own will consider both ’name’ and lo-name. I’m in no hurry.

Finally, I'm very keen on what orders-of-magnitude improvement I can reasonably expect over my current Nola Boxers v1.  I know this is somewhat complex question to answer/guess at, fraught with subjective impressions, room & genre specifics etc.

As a Nola Boxer v1 owner I suppose I should add the 'new' Nola Boxer S3 to the short list. 

At $3500 and with what looks like incremental rather than dramatic upgrades over the v1, I do wonder if they'd be much different.  Anyone heard them?

http://www.nolaspeakers.com/products/boxer_b.php

Appreciate everyone who has weighed in with helpful feedback.  Here's the list I'm working from, in vague (and temporary) order of favorability given my spec:

Legacy Audio Calibre
Fritz Carerra Be
Tekton Impact <= outsized price/performance ratio

Salk SS 7M
Joseph Audio Pulsar ˆ
KEF Reference 1 ˆ
Focal Sopra No.1 ˆ

Verdant Bambusa MG1
ATC SCM19 v2
Dynaudio Special 40
Dynaudio Confidence C1 Signature ˆ
Devore Fidelity Gibbon 3XL
Focal Electra 1008 Be
Nola Boxer S3


^ : budget dictates pre-own

...fullrange or will they be highpassed?

mtc: thanks for the reply.  Standmounts will be full-range and I'm looking for a larger-box-monitor format.

Legacy Calibre has joined the short-list.

wtf was I thinking? My room size was embarrassingly wrong, by an order of magnitude : |

I got 2500 cu ft (not ~5000 cu ft), with 10’4" opening to another 1240 cu ft room. Ceilings are 11 - 14’ vaulted.

With that ’revelation’, I also found the Reference 3A MM de Capo BE.

Ryan S610 ... Bryston Mini-T

vero: thanks, I've added Ryan s610 to my list - spec and build are attractive for my setup.

I do appreciate a larger-box monitor, esp. 3-way.  I already have dual subs so value of the larger drivers might be lost for my application.

wrt sealed 2-way box I just finished auditioning the ATC SCM19 v2 at local dealer.  Power was via Naim's NAP 500 DR ($34,995!) ... which dealer rep thought was only 90w/channel but I've since discovered is 140W/channel, 8Ω.

The ATC's sounded very good across all my genres - a significant step up from my Nola Boxer v1.  Given the SCM19's power-liking reputation I do wonder how well they'd perform with my Micromega M-100 at 100W/channel, 8Ω.

I went with Salk Silk Monitors

Thanks racarlson, that helps - a lot.  Salk Silk and Silk AT are recent additions to my list (I passed on the SS 7M).  Pre-own JA Pulsars were briefly on the list but dropped (and stayed) off.  I too am real interested to hear why you went with Salk Silk over Pulsar.

A somewhat-surprise-addition to my list is the Triangle Magellan Duetto (also pre-own).

"...in the same search mode and owning the original Boxers myself."

r-man: still researching.  List narrowed to Fritz, Salk and the odd pre-own 'bigger-name'.  I was way wrong on room dimensions in the OP: actually ˜2500cf w/ high ceilings so that opens the field a bit, so to speak.  I too really like the Boxers v1's - they'll be moved to master bedroom and paired with single REL R-328 sub.

A question I keep coming back to: within my spec will whatever replaces the Boxer be significantly 'better'?  It's a rhetorical question.

"...Osborn Eos Reference Elite"

jtgof: these are intriguing.  If price on their website is AUD it works out to under $2800 USD.  Of course, availability anbd/or ship-to in USA is a question as is warranty service should anything go wrong.  <= probly low likelihood.