New Speaker for Under 5K


I recently posted a discussion called, "New Cart for Under 1K". Throughout the many responses it had been concluded that the real issue with my system is my current speaker setup. Rather than continuing a conversation about speakers in a subject about cartridges, I decided to start a new post to stay on topic.

I've been listening to a bunch of new speakers lately and have given myself a budget of 5K or under. So far, I've listened to Atom, Monitor Audio, Spendor S3/5R2, Dynaduio Focus 260, and the Devore Orangutan 0/93 - being the only one priced above the 5K mark just for comparison measures. Here's what I found:

Atom: Something was missing, they were very forward, had nice highs, but just didn't produce music correctly.

Monitor Audio: Beautiful speaker, a little to accurate for my tastes.

Dynaudio: Did everything very well and nothing perfect. Since I listen to a diverse array of music, these were the best so far. Bass could be a bit improved, but not thin.

Spendor: Amazing with jazz and vocals, boring and dry with rock.

Orangutan: Amazing punchy bass, but very much like the Spendor's where the treble rolls off and lacks excitement with rock.

My focus is to find a speaker manufactured by a speaker company that only makes speakers. Therefore that companies bread and butter where other products cannot pick up the pieces financially should a certain product line not be successful. I'm also staying away from all metal based tweeters since for whatever reason harshness in the highs and sibilance is a major issue with my current Focal 936's (which I'm selling). My original thought was to buy a new cart, but I have come to conclude that I simply do not like my speakers.

The posts under, "Analog", "New Cart for Under 1K" was my original posting which was tremendously informative and helpful. Take a look there to understand the history of this new post.

Any recommendations on top of the speakers mentioned above?

David
davidlillis
The best speaker I heard at the Newport Audio Show was the Prana fifty90. It had the most coherent and compelling sound I've heard. I don't know if it goes low enough for you but if I had $4000 I'd seriously consider getting a pair.

Todd Garfunkel of MA Recordings was sharing a room with the designer, Steven Norber, and I could have stayed all day in there. I never heard of them before but the sound was addicting.

There are two toggles on the back: one brings the midrange forward just a bit and the other takes the natural roll off from 18Khz-20Khz and flattens it instead which seems to add a touch more emphasize that probably helps on some recordings. I preferred the natural roll off.

Of the two CDs I bought from Todd, there was natural decay and ambience that recreated the venue on my system but with the Pranas, it was like being "in" the venue.
I don't know how else to describe it. Both portrayals sounded great and I could easily live with either, but the Pranas are doing something that I can't quite put my finger on.

All the best,
Nonoise
I'd suggest taking a look at the Tekton Pendragons or perhaps a pair of Zu Definition Mk IIIs (if they have any available, you might come close to your 5K budget). The Tekton's are a real full-range speaker, sound great with all types of music, and are not that fussy about placement and other components. I owned a pair for several months and never found them harsh sounding at all. The Zus are similar but take tone and dynamics to an even higher level.