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
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.
Check out the Tempesta's by Selah Audio, one of the best monitor speakers, the drivers are all first class and very well designed. Best of all this speaker is around 3k.
I would suggest the Tempesta's by Selah Audio, an excellent 3-way monitor that has top notch drivers.
Since I don't know what electronics your using or room dimensions I can only suggest 6 of the best all round speakers at approximately $5k or less(of course this is my opinion). All theses speakers are capable of bass 40hz or lower.
ATC-SCM 40
Elac-FS247BE
Focus Audio-FP 70SE
Gershman Acoustics-Sonogram
Magnepan 1.7
Stirling Broadcast LS3/6