All of the above mentioned speakers would pale in light of the Apogee Diva. They have money is no object sound. One thing, they need room and great electronics. |
Vandersteen 3as are well below 5k used...but performance wise...sound like 5k and up speakers...if you have the room and can properly set them up...they can sound very,very good....you can spend more...much more...and still get less... |
I Had Aerial 10t's,[they were really good]and have switched to Reimer. I have the new Wind River GS and side by side with the 10t, it bettered them. Faster, tighter, more air. e mail if you want to talk about these Reimers |
For 5k used, my advice would be VMPS FF1 and then Legacy Focus 20/20.... |
Innersound Eros MKII. Demos an/or used can be had for less than 5k. Best both worlds -- dynamic bass with the mids and highs of stats. |
I auditioned a few yesterday at a local store, none of which were mentioned here, but I will share some of the experiences. I went to listen to the Aerial 10T's, and of course, they are discontinued. There is a new 10T coming out in 6-12 mos, though, supposedly with the 20T's ribbon tweeter. I listed to the 20T's. Awesome. Amazing detail, soundstage, presence, does everything a speaker should do well, and for $20K retail, it should! Wilson Wattpuppy 6: Nice speaker, but other than a more "present" midrange, was not as good in any category as the 20T. B&W 801 and 802. Surprisingly not that great compared to the 20T's. I think some of it had to do with the electronics difference (Mark Levinson v. Krell) and the setup of the speakers (801's were in a huge showroom), but the 801's just did not resolve the soundstage in a clear way, i.e., the instruments did not assume a coherent position on a hypothetical stage, the way the 20T's did. Same with the 802's (which are less than 50% of the 20T's of course). 10K+ is way out of my price range, of course, but fun listening. I wonder what the old 10T's sound like compared to the 20T's? Anyone know? I also listened to the Joseph Audio rm33si, which sounded very nice (for $7500), better than the 802's, I think, but again,the setup was significantly less than ideal. So that's the take so far! |
Merlin VSM-Ms, as mentioned above. Very good recommendation and a good fit for the Plinius gear you have. Would be "overkill" for home theater but won't need to upgrade for a long long time. |
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Dynaudio Confidence 5, bar none. Standard setting details and speed, midrange to die for. Survey the C5 owners, they will all agree. |
You may want to try a new pair of Magnepan 3.6s. The large, immediate and dynamic soundstage very well may give you a new lease on life. The Maggies have their drawbacks but, the large and immediate soundstage, and truth of timbre are not among them.
One of the greatest things about this hobby is that we can change around and try many perspectives in pursuit of audio nirvana. If you have not had dipoles in the past then I would highly recommend them. There are a lot of good ones out there. |
Your dealer may not carry the 10T's any longer. After 10 years of mfg'ing the 10T's, Aerial just stopped making the them in the last few months. The new flagship for Aerial is now the Model 20T. The 20T is about $20k retail. |
I'm in San Diego and I'm going to check out the 10T's, snce there is a local dealer. I have to say, though, that there are a lot of posts in the Speaker Asylum comparing the 10T's to the PSB Goldi! Now, I listened critically to the Goldi against the Josephs, among others and for $1800 or so on the 'net, they are a good deal, but a $5K+ speaker? No way. The Goldi were boomy, rolled off, with sloppy bass and HUGE (very low WAF). Given some of the buzz on the 10T's, I would be very surprised if they were comparable in any way to the 10T's. Anyone know where the Piega's can be auditioned in SoCal? |
I would also highly recommend the Aerial 10T. This is easily one of the best built speakers in the industry and a steal at used prices. |
If you can find a pair---Verity Audio Fidelio! Midrange like you have never heard before, great detail. A very lifelike speaker with no fatigue at all, smooth. Very easy to drive and they look oh so good, very small footprint. Rear firing woofer make them somewhat room dependent, but I have found them to be very, very good speakers--my search has ended! I have seen them for sale every once and awhile for around $5000.00 give or take. Take your time, good luck. |
A speaker I like in that price range is the Proac 3.8. No, I don't own a pair. Great balance from highs to bass. Grainless mid range. Easy load for your power amp to drive. The speaker is forgiving of those recordings that are not audiophile quality. Last, wife acceptance factor very good. They are not large. |
Revel F30 if a nearfield setup. Piegas or Nautilus 803 if farfield. Thiel 2.3 or even 1.6 if you don't need the dynamics. |
I have a pair of Aerial 10T's in the S/R finish with a pair of BAT VK1000's on the bottom and a pair of BAT VK60's on top. It's a nice combo. |
Legacy Audio Focus loudspeakers or (if you are lucky to find) the newer Focus 20/20 model. |
Second the Piega P10 suggestion. Go for the piano black finish. Beautiful, and they sound amazing. I have the P10s with a Plinius SA 102--great combination.
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there have been some great prices on 10T's here from time to time...hard to beat in that range |
Also I would look into the Talon Khorus, there are quite a few used pairs right now under 5000 and they are supposed to be great, good luck |
I've owned a pair of Aerial Acoustic 10T's for several years now and have enjoyed them immensely. These are the Santos Rosewood finish and retail for $8700 with the stands but can be found used for about $4000. Fit'n finish are of excellent quality as are all Aerial models. Bass is very full yet tight (with the right amp), and sonics very good.
I will venture a confident guess that you'd be hard pressed to find a better full range speaker at the $8700 or below price. I would even go so far as to say that, with few exceptions(like perhaps the Vandersteen Model 5's), you'd have to spend perhaps double the $8700 to hear any appreciable differences or sonic improvements.
With the right equipment, this is a very engaging speaker at lower and higher listening levels.
-IMO |
without question..piega p-10s'..there are a number on this site now that the new c-series is coming out. you will not be dissapointed..as long as your plinius gear can handle a 4ohm load they will sound superb. |
