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Help with new speakers

I own a pair of the paradigm tributes, first pair actually (serial numbers 1&2), but am thinking about going much higher end. I have listened to almost all of the b&w 800's and though i like the 802D's i'm not in love with them. Same thing with the mcintosh xr100's and dynaudio chorus 2. Any other suggestions in the $10-20k range that i can power with rotel 500 watt mono's..

Also, opinion on what i can get for my tributes? I've had them for about a year and they are factory perfect. they are in a dedicated 2 channel setup, not home theater so they probably have a hundred hours or less on them. The cool thing is that they're the first pair. It was totally by luck that i got them but i think they'd be worth more because of the exclusivity, thoughts?
gary324
sidssp
1,077 posts
 
Have you listened to anything from Vandersteen? Choosing speaker is 100% subjective and personal. All I can say is Vandersteen sound very different from B&W and I like the Vandy better (I own a pair of Vandy 5). You might want to give them an audition and see how you like or dislike them.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
If you want something to fall in love with, try Sonus Faber in your price range, or Magnepan plus (optionally) quality subwoofers to extend the bass and pressurize bigger rooms. I have a modest pair of Maggie 1.7 and a pair of small subs to augment them and I'm really happy with the results.

Sonus Fabers have a seductive quality about them. They manage to have a low noise floor, high resolution, excellent power response, and yet always sound musical and never sterile or clinical. I heard a pair of $10K Cremona Ms powered by a $999 Marantz PM8004 integrated amp to great effect, so your Rotel MBs should sound fine with them.
zydo's avatar
zydo
242 posts
 
ProAc has always been my favorite. Based only on the brands I've actually heard. Many others I would go out of my way to demo if I were spending that much.
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,273 posts
 
Just curious, what don't you like about the tributes?
gary324 OP
5 posts
 
Ive heard great things about vandersteens but have no local AD. And i was able to goto CEDIA this past year and heard sonos fabre on mcintosh 600 watt monos and melted. What an amazing combination but at $30k its a little out of my price range. To add to the dilamne i sold my monos the other day at a profit so the budget is now higher but must include amps. Thought about doing the sonos fabre whatever they call the $10k ones with a mcintosh 200 watt integrated.... Ah the dilemna of high end audio...

And i love the tributes, they are truly a great value. Its just time for something a little higher end and exclusive.

Maybe i shoukd list my tributes and see what i get. No one has chimed in on what they're worth. To the die hard paradigm fan its as exclusive as you can get. The first pair is pretty cool especially because they've never done an anniversary speaker before. May be once in a lifetime purchase for the right person.
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