2. speakers
  3. 189376-181205

Your thoughts on best audiophile speakers in $10,000 neighborhood?

I know the best way to select a speaker is to auditioon them at a dealer or in my own home. However, living in a rather rural area in northern Michigan, there's only one reputable dealer (Sonus Faber) in town so I may end up relying on reviews and your feedback. 

I used to own Vandersteen Model 2Cs in the late 1980s, but finally want to step up my game. I currently have a legacy Nakamichi receiver / amp with 1000wpc, but will probably upgrade that once I select a new pair of speakers. Currently I'm playing mostly LPs on a Technics SL1210G. I now listen mostly with a Mark Levinson 5909 headphone connected to a small Class A pre-amp, so I treasure detail and transparency and don't lean toward "warm" speakers.

Room is good size since it encompasses living room and opens to dining room and kitchen behind it. Cathedral ceiling is about 12 feet high. 

I'm considering the following speakers: Vandersteen Treo CT, Wharfedale Elysian 4 (perhaps too big for my room), Monitor Audio Gold 300 and the Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII. These all fit within my budget. What are your thought about any of these...or do you have others to recommend?

Thanks for whatever guidance you can give me.

 

aphilc

Showing 1 response by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
6,420 posts
 

I have to reproduce part of a post I just made on another thread:

 

‘Speakers come with sound characteristics that are vastly different. Vastly! So, I recommend not considering anything other than sound quality as a first cut. If at all possible go to a city and listen to some of the major categories of speakers to see what kind of sound they have, and what you are drawn to. That kind of money really is best spent after exhaustive listening.

I would listen to Sonus Faber (musical and natural not un-totem like), B&W (huge punch with a bit of sizzle), Magico (really fast accurate and clean), Wilson (highly detailed… holographic), Magniplanar (ribbon, really fast and detailed). Each will be supported better by certain kinds of components. So, you are starting in the right place.”

In general, with high quality speakers typically there is no better only different. 
 

Take a trip to the city. Take your wife out to dinner and prearrange some listening sessions. Worth a weekend trip to at least do a survey to see what flavor you like. While I have heard all of these… I am firmly in the Sonus Faber camp… but those are my tastes.

More to discover