Thank you ALL for your responses! even pointing out brands I was not familiar with; so many possibilities! will look into Tekton Speakers (particularly the double impact SE or the Electron SE), the Vandersteen 2CE Signature II model, Spatial Audiolab, Dali, and the Ohm Walsh. Thanks to Twoleftears for pointing out “The Music Room” website, which I was not familiar with. There are some interesting speakers there as well and they do offer returns which for us is essential. You guys made it harder! Definitely not interested in the subwoofers route, but will try to narrow down the tower speaker options. Thanks again.
Up to $4000US tower speakers for Jazz and Classical Music
Hello All!
My wife and I are musicians who happen to also love listening to music! Last 3 years we have used a pair of Q acoustics Concept 40 tower speakers powered (now) by and Audiolab 6000A integrated. We listen to 90% of our music on CDs (Audiolab CD transport) or vinyls (Audiotechnica turntable). Mostly jazz and classical music in our roughly 53 square meters (550 sq ft) living room. Some other speakers came and went but we have so far liked the Q acoustics more than any other. We like their honesty with a tinge of warmness, but they are also engaging, open sounding, dynamic, airy! We love how chamber music sounds on them: string quartets, piano trios (jazz or classical), voices, big bands, etc... but we do miss a bit of that lower octave the Q acoustics simply don't have. A friend lent me a pair of Elac Adante AS-61 but did no like them much. lots of transient attack (which was good for percussion instruments) but it somehow changed the color/timbre of other instruments. I work also as a mixing engineer and have a pair of Neumann KH310 monitors in my treated room so I can say I'm picky with sound. Of course we don't want the analytical sound of the Neumanns in our living room (completely different beasts) but we want speakers to still be honest, but engaging, open, dynamic, airy. We are looking for a pair of tower speakers around $4000 that will provide us with a more believable orchestral crescendo, pianissimo, fortissimo, and that lower octave of a double bass the Concept 40s can't provide (by the way, we don't want a sub; tried several and simply did not like the overall presentation). We are looking at possibilities in Crutchfield, Music Direct or Amazon in case we need to return them (we live in the countryside and can't audition any speakers nowhere near!). Our list includes: Klipsch Forte III, Definitive Technology Demand D17, Kef R7, JBL HDI-3800, Dali Opticon 8MK2, Revel F206 and B&W 703 S2 or 704 S2. They will have to be efficient as the Audiolab does not have a ton of power! Any suggestions, greatly appreciated!! Thanks!