ProAcs and Spendors are great within their capabilities, but they're pretty spendy for a 6-7" 2-driver tower, which in turn is pretty limited dynamically - only so much a single 6" woofer can do, both in the low bass and upper mids. My plug for Monitor Audio Silver 300 7G (2X6" woofers) or 500 (2X8" woofer). Stupendously good speakers, regardless of their price, which is about half either the ProAc or Spendor. Read the reviews from Absolute Sound, Stereophile, etc. If you have the room, then also definitely check out the Magnepan 1.7. Yes, they take lots of power, and no, they wont bowl you over with their bass, but, setup and fed properly, they are simply superb. If they worked in my room, I'd have a pair in a heartbeat. As it is I have a pair of the smallest Maggies I keep around for for fun, even if I can't set them up ideally.
Compact Floor-standing Speaker Recommendations under $4k
Hello All,
I'm continuing to build up my first HiFi system and am in need of some advice for my next speakers. My current system is as follows:
- Belles Aria Integrated Amp
- ClearAudio Concept w/ Satisfy Carbon Tonearm
- Nagaoka MP500 cartridge
- Graham Slee Reflex M phono stage
- B&W 705 stand mount (the original series circa ~2004)
Generally, I'm very happy with my setup, however I do sometimes find it a bit bright & fatiguing after longer listening sessions. I believe the speakers may be the cause so I'm looking for recommendations based on my current system.
I'd like to find a neutral speaker that's non-fatiguing and hopefully a bit more full range. So I've been considering changing to floor-standing speakers to maybe get a bit more bass. However, size and space are of concern so would like something reasonably compact. I listen mainly to jazz, blues, folk and some classic rock. Really love good vocals so would like a smooth midrange.
My budget is $4k max (new or used is okay)
I'm early in my search but so far have been looking at Spendor A7's or Proac D20's.
Unfortunately, where I live I don't have any nearby dealers or places to demo so will have to be purchased without an audition and hopefully have a good result. I know this isn't ideal, but it's unavoidable.
Appreciate any recommendations...thanks!
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Thanks again for all your feedback and advice! So many smaller speaker companies I wasn't familiar with so I'm trying to research all the prosed options. I know it's going to be system and personal preference dependent but you've all given me such great starting points. The Spendor A7's are still high on my list and I've seen used offerings within my price range (several on other sites around $3.5k in what appears to be excellent condition; the MSRP seems high but at the second hand price it might be a much better value proposition). The Salk (which I think now makes the Philharmonic BMR's as well), ATC, Verity, ProAc's and Acoustic Zen are all in contention. The Sonus Faber recommendation also is intriguing, but there seems to be a real love/hate impression on their speakers overall...although I must admit they look beautiful it seems a bit riskier to try them out without demo-ing first.
And as far as the questions as to why floor-standers. I suppose ultimately, that's not critical however I was thinking it may be easier to get better bass depth with the floor stander additionally I believe the stand itself is critical to the performance on bookshelf speakers and from what I've seen the stands alone can easily get into the $500 - $1k range which ultimately reduces my budget for the speaker itself. Now my logic may be slightly flawed so I'm open to bookshelf suggestions, however I was trying to narrow my scope a bit or I open the flood gates to possibilities.
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I am building a database and web site of audiophile speakers, with all the details: (it’s not all inclusive) here is the basic: |
- 50 posts total