2. speakers
  3. 133430-107338

Looking for speaker recommendations that I can purchase on Amazon.com

Budget: under US$5000 and would prefer a price point of less than $3000/pair. The most expensive speakers I have owned so far are Polk RTi A7's, so this will be a big jump for me.

Purpose: music

Room: I tend to move every few years, so I don't want speakers that will work best only with very specific room conditions. Currently, I will be using these in a medium size room of about 22 feet x 18 feet. The room has carpet and window treatments.

Music sources: CD's, lossless music files stored on computer and MP3's when that's all I have available. I don't ahve any SACD's yet, but I plan on purchasing more high quality music once I have this system set up.

Music styles: acoustic, Indian classical (sitar, srangi, flute), alternative rock (Portugal. The Man, Sleeping with Sirens, etc.), older rock (e.g., Rush).

The speakers should sound good playing the Tanpura (aka Tambura). It is a classical Indian accompaniment instrument in the "drone" category. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanpura) Example of sound here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7tlqXix_eo
With bad equipment that sound is fatiguing to me. Live it is beautiful and relaxing. Hopefully I can find speakers that will do it justice.

Personal Preferences: I am looking for non-fatiguing, warm, musical qualities. In another discussion topic here on this forum, @mtrot and I agreed about "smooth, sweet, soft, silky treble" and "shimmery, airy cymbals" as goals.

Amplifier: Yamaha P5000S

DAC: to be determined, but probably something like the Teac NT-503

Finally, the speakers of choice must be sold on Amazon.com, Bestbuy.com (or possibly some other similar retail website). I have personal reasons for this limitation. It isn't always true that I will need to buy all my speakers or audio gear from one of these sites, but for the moment, it is a requirement. Please don't recommend anything that isn't available on one of these sites. Thanks.

lowoverdrive
soix
8,751 posts
 
"Personal Preferences: I am looking for non-fatiguing, warm, musical qualities. In another discussion topic here on this forum, @mtrot and I agreed about "smooth, sweet, soft, silky treble" and "shimmery, airy cymbals" as goals."

Sorry, but I don't think there are too many people here who'd read this and then recommend a "professional" grade amp.  Pro amps are generally made for durability, affordability, and overall power delivery capabilities -- not refinement.  Almost the polar opposite of what you're looking for.  The reason the 5000 was priced similarly to the 3500 is probably that the 3500 uses a transformer-based power supply and the 5000/7000 use a switching power supply -- probably for cost, efficiency, and weight savings, not sound quality.  I think you may be fighting an uphill battle reaching your goals with this amp.  I'd dump it and move on to a more synergistic amp/speaker pairing for your specific tastes and goals.  Sorry to be the bearer of negative news, and best of luck. 

helomech
1,521 posts
 
From your list, the KEF R700s or R900s would be my choice, no question. IME, the standard LS50s spank many $3K speakers in midrange ^ performance. 
caroleg
6 posts
 
Have you looked at Emotiva speakers? Their Airmotiv T2 tower speakers are fantastic and fit your budget with room to buy much more. If you don’t know the company, don’t let the price fool you into thinking they are not high end quality. They sound amazing, especially with their XPA amps. Emotiva sells only online (no brick and mortar store in the middle which is part of their ability to keep prices low.) They do sell some through Amazon though I only see their T1 on there now. (I believe they have sold through Best Buy in the past but haven’t looked now.) I suspect they could still arrange for you to buy through Amazon whether you see what you want there or not. Just call them. Look at their DC1 DAC too. I LOVE mine. 
https://emotiva.com/product/airmotiv-t2/
lowoverdrive OP
169 posts
 
@twoleftears Thanks for the info about the Elac af-61 Adante speakers. Looks like they just came out about 2-3 months ago. The reviews are indeed very positive. These seem like fantastic speakers. I will add them to my list. Maybe they will show up on Amazon (or BestBuy) soon. Being so new, maybe it will just take a little longer?

In the mean time I could order the KEF R900 and try them for 30 days... with free shipping both ways if I decide to send them back.
lowoverdrive OP
169 posts
 
@caroleg RE: "Airmotiv T2 tower speakers"

Most of the speakers recommended here are fairly expensive (up to $10,000/pair). The Airmotiv T2 tower speakers, at $999 for a pair, may be the least expensive speakers mentioned so far.

If they are capable of matching a $5000/pair speaker like the KEF R900, or a $6000 pair like the Magnepan 3.7i, I'll certainly consider them. Why wouldn't I?

Do you have any links to audiophile reviews on these speakers that you think are authoritative? Thanks
More to discover