Suggestions for $2k budget
If you aren’t a tech fetishistic i would you first recommend to go for a used speaker. New speakers need break-in time which sometimes is very long, from 200 to 500 hours. That means a lot of days, weeks o even months, waiting till you start to listen to something decent. Do no believe to the manufacturer info regarding break-in time, they mostly lie regarding that topic. With a used speaker you bypass this issue. Moreover there is an immense price/quality ratio gap between new and used. In my experience the gap is toughly 10/1 which means you need to spend about 20.000 for a new speaker if you want to match the quality of an 15 years old 2.000 Euro speaker. For 2.000 euro you get many 15 years old reference speakers. A speaker can easily live 30-40 years if well handled. Regarding a more precise advise i can recommend you the Dynaudio Contour 3.3 or the 3.0. You should find the 3.3 starting from 1500 to 2000 Euro. The 3.0 should be cheaper and more suitable for a smaller room. I had the opportunity to share with many people, many of them musicians, and for many months, side by side the new Dynaudio Contour 60 (10.000 Euro) and the old Contour 3.3. The old 3.3 was better under every aspect. Sound stage was unbelievable better, timbre much more natural, overall sound rendering immensely more precise. The Contour 3.3 are incredible speakers. They are power hungry! But keep in mind, the most important thing is, if you don’t want to torture your ears for entire weeks or months avoid buying anything new. Or at least inform yourself very carefully in this forum which are new speakers who 1.000% do not need any break-in time. Probably there are some. Last adivise, try to manage to give them a listening session in your room with our amp before you buy. |
I would suggest a used pair of Maggie 1.7i and a subwoofer, these should be available within your budget. Whatever you do try to get some listening time in with various speakers (maybe difficult at this time) and spend time reading reviews. I listen to mostly rock and can say I am very happy with Maggies. I auditioned many speakers but once I heard the Maggie's I knew they were the ones. Good luck on your journey and happy listening. |
How much reliable power dies your (presumably old) Adcom have into 4ohms? If it has a lot of power/current then would recommend the .7 Maggies for a smaller room and they need space behind them and a fairly closed shaped room to get enough bass without subs. But you can certainly get new .7s for less than $2500 with 2 new Emotiva 8" BassX subs or similar. |
There can be 100 different brands and models to look at. Everybody has an opinion. You should go demo some speakers at hifi stores, or at shows and get a feel for what you like. Each brand has their own sound. If you like a certain brand that you heard that you liked, then ask the group which speakers in this group would best match your system and room size. I wouldn't go out and buy any speaker or audio component without hearing it or its brand 1st |
What type of music do you listen to? If you have a specific budget, I suggest you consider selling your amp and think of it as a “system”. The amp and speaker need to have synergy in order to sound good. There are different routes: 1. Low power tube amp + high efficiency speakers + subwoofers (later) if you want more bass e.g. Decware or Firstwatt F5 or Almarro + Zu Omen Def I Or Spatial Audio M series. 2. High current (power) amp + planar speakers + subwoofer (later) if you want more bass e.g. Your Adcom + Magnepan LRS or 0.7. The LRS got rave reviews considering its price. 3. High current (power) + not so efficient, full range floor speaker, no subwoofer. e.g. Your Adcom + Tekton Design Moab I haven’t heard it, but just read several good reviews. In general I haven’t heard any floor speakers I like so far. Maybe I haven’t heard those super expensive floor speakers driving with super expensive McIntosh monoblocks. I listen to B&W 802D and I didn’t get “wow” considering the price tag. 4. Monitors + subwoofer if you have a small area e.g. Your Adcom + Heresys III or IV. I haven’t heard both, but reviews say IV has better bass. Heresys is also pretty efficient, you can upgrade or move to a lower power amp later. Route #1 may exceed your budget because you need a new amp. |
I recently saw new Martin Logan 60XTi's in that price range. I really liked them in a store demo, but I think a new model is coming. But then I got some used KEF R700's for a bit less. I really like the sound and imaging of these. I believe the ML's played lower better.Both of the above will sound good without a sub. Stand mounts will want a sub, which needs crossover management, which is newer gear... Lots of good choices out there! |
I like the sound of Sonus Faber - Venere 3.0 or and 3 way you can get used. And each person will have an opinion yet inly your ears matter. I’d encourage you to visit a good hi fi shop and see if they have used speakers for sale. And $500 set of speakers today are pretty good. I still miss my Mirage 460s from college. |
Hi Bryce, I suggest you go window shopping for some good JBL or Yamaha vintage speakers at ebay. You listen to rock and electronic and these speakers excel in that medium. I shopped in your budget and found a pair of JBL L100's that I would have pulled the trigger on. It's also fun to window shop. :) |
If you have modest space, that will be a big factor in determining the scale of speaker you put into it. What are your room dimensions? I suggest you buy the best bookshelf/small tower speaker you can afford for the space. An added bonus is that you can move smaller speakers in many more places to exploit the best position for them...there will be fewer positions for larger speakers. That said, I have Salk Songtowers. Pretty much about $2k new and built to your liking. They were at one time the most expensive part of my system but, as I have upgraded of the last few years, they are now the least expensive. I could have better speakers but these things have kept up and I have no need to upgrade at this time. They are medium sized towers but It’s tough to find a bad position for these speakers. I’ve had them in 3 different homes in the last 6 years and they’ve been great in all of them. They sound good right up against wall but soundstage is much better about 1/5 into the room. In the right position they have very natural and deep bass and sound smooth all the way to the top. In a bad position the bass is simply good enough. |
I’m kind of surprised these haven’t been mentioned, but for 2k you can get a pair of Goldenear Triton 5’s. These are stellar speakers with an incredible sound for any type of music. Highly rated and reviewed. These were my first Audiophile level speakers and I truly enjoyed them, only the purchase of my Klipsch Cornwall 4’s replaces them. Check them out! https://www.stereophile.com/content/goldenear-triton-five-loudspeaker |
I have extensive experience with Maggies, Klipsch, Focal, and many others form my lifetime in the industry. Really great speakers today cost more than your budget will buy, especially if your musical taste calls for Electronica and Rock, which are bass dependant and often compressed, which puts more stress on the speaker. Your electronics are adequate for now, IMO. The new Chora 826 is in your sweet spot, and you might be happy with Revel F36s. They both sell for around $2K retail and have plenty of low end. My last thought is if you want something well suited to your music and better quality than what's generally available, do you have any builder skills? If so, Parts Express Solstice kits should be on your radar. |
I see 2 listings on The Music Room website (TMRAudio.com) that is in your budget: 1) VANDERSTEEN 2CE Signature II @ $1799 * 2) TRIANGLE Esprit Gaia EZ @ $2200 I also see 2 listings on AUDIOGON that is in your budget: 1) PSB Platinum T - 8 @ 1800 * 2) REVEL Performa F 206 @ $2200 * The "asterisk" denotes speakers that made the 2019 Absolute Sound "buyers guide." The only above noted speaker that I've heard is the Revel. I demoed it side by side against the Focal Kanta # 2, which costs 3x times more and the Revel more than held its own. Needless to say, I was impressed. The last sentence in the Absolute Sound review is as follows: "A remarkable loudspeaker that exceeds all expectations of performance in its price class and well beyond." I'm very curious about the Triangle speakers; but, there are only dealers (NYC & Cali <LA?>); so, will likely have to demo them at an audio show. |
Not only will you not be disappointed, you will love them! Tannoy XT8F. I had them on Class A tube, Class D and vintage A/B amplifiers with both analog and digital sources. They sounded great on all of them. In my humble opinion, you’d have to spend 8-10k on a set of speakers to top these. Best for rooms sized under 15x20. |
I second Fritz Speakers for a bookshelf. I bought a pair of Fyne F501 from Gene Rubin in CA and I am very happy with them. I switched from Magnepan because I need an overall cohesive speaker from high to low and Fyne definitely do that very well. I also noticed they have 502 special edition that borrow a lot from the 700 series with a lower price tag. Good luck! |
2K is a great budget to start off in hifi with speakers. Like you i listen to mostly rock/electronic. For your smaller/medium space I would go with a smaller floorstanding speaker.
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@bryce_3, have you purchased anything yet? If not, call Fritz up. A new pair of Carbon 6’s will be great for what you are looking for. The SB Acoustics 6” carbon / rohacell driver is awesome and the soft dome tweeter will sound nice with your adcom gear. All of Fritz’s speakers have exceptionally smooth impedance curves and sound fantastic with just about any amplifier. I imagine that he will work out an in home trial with you as well. Fantastic speakers at affordable prices built by a true gentleman passionate about building great sounding speakers! |
