$6k Efficient Towers

I may be in the market soon for my 'next decade' speakers. I want something fairly efficient, as I love my new Peachtree Nova 150. Medium sized room.. I love pretty much all types of music. I don't need subwoofer-level bass, but fast, accurate and down to 30-ish would be nice.
I'm pretty attracted to either the Monitor Audio Gold 3oo or the Spendor D7. Has anyone heard both? So, I am drawn to attractive speakers. Tritons are out, etc.
Thanks folks!

 

Can you audition any somewhere?

 

PSB T3 or T2?

 

You might take a look at the Salk Song3 series. Reasonably sensitive and you have the option to choose almost any finish or veneer you desire.

The Song3-A or Song3-Encore for example:
Salk Sound
Salk Sound

 

DeVore Gibbon 88

 

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if I was shopping with a 6K budget, I would be looking at one pair that is a little over your budget and one that is way under your budget. The Tetra 606s are $7000 and are admittedly non-traditional looking if you like a box speaker but they have gotten some rave reviews. The Tekton Pendragons might be more your cup of tea, but again, it's hard to get inside someone else's head regarding taste, etc. But they go for $2000 a pair per their website and have very attractive specs if you want efficiency: 8 ohms, 95 db 1W@1M and a 20hz-30khz frequency response. The only downside is that both are mail order only companies, but I believe in both cases you can return them if unhappy.

 

Zu Soul Supremes are under your budget, efficient, and Peachtree picks Zu to demo at shows all the time, so you know the synergy is there. If you high end hearing is shot (like mine) and you don't need a top of the line tweeter, you could even go down to Zu Soul Superfly and save even more cash. I get great bass out of my Superflys.

 

Best current speakers I have heard in that price range are Proac Response D30R (ribbon tweeter). Just good components and cabinet finish. Monitor Audio speaker always sound too bright and unnatural to me likely due to metal cone drivers. I have heard good things about the Spendor.

 

Thanks everyone. Was thinking Monitor 300s might be too bright. Like the reviews I've seen of the Spendors.
Has anyone heard them?

 

I agree. I have listened to the Proac D30R and they sounded great. Definitely worth a listen and quite efficient.

 

Another vote to stretch your budget up to the $7k range.

Pick up a pair of Legacy Audio Signature SE. You get their Air Motion ribbon tweeters, along with tight bass down to 22Hz. Vocals are incredible with these speakers, and efficiency is 92dB. Oh, and you mentioned you like attractive speakers. These in the Black Pearl finish are stunning!

Signature SE | Legacy Audio - Building the World's Finest Audio Systems

 

I wouldn't get locked into any speaker before listening to them. Online reviews are just a baseline to start from. Buying strictly from an online review is a prescription for disaster, especially if you are paying $6k.

 

If you have a dealer near by give a listen to the Focal 948. Might save you some coin and surprise you with the sound.

 

These NMST monitors I have would fit the bill except that they need stands. I know it is a super small shop, but if you've auditioned Sonus Faber and can live with their tweeters, I'd consider trying some. Designer uses acoustic suspension box and a transmission line that measures down to 35 Hz. My in room goes lower than that. Super clarity and speed. On the dry side.

They will give you a 30 trail, but you have to come up with stands. I set them on chairs for a month, but I'd already auditioned everything in driving distance. I knew pretty quickly. 92 dB—4 ohm. I drive them with a 40 watt tube amp with very good iron.

 

Our musical tastes sound similar. I have Pendragons and love them but if I were jumping in today I'd probably give the Double Impact a twirl. That would leave you three grand to spend on music!

 

YES. You MUST listen for yourself, even if it means traveling. And/or be sure there is a liberal return policy.

Klipsch Heritage series are pretty efficient. "Attractive"-depends on your taste and decor. Plain boxes, but one Forumite had a picture where they looked great with his fireplace.

Are you open to DIY?

What kind of music are you playing? And how loud do you want to crank it? Would you ever add a subwoofer? (Which I *think* you could then highpass your mains using your 150s "Loop" connections???)

 

Has anyone here heard the Spendor D7's ?

 

I was prepared to drop $6k on a pair of Spendor D7s, partly because I wanted the British midrange, but also the low frequency extension. My dealer persuaded me to go with a less expensive pair from their Classic line. Allegedly the D7s are brighter than other Brit speakers.

 

I guess I should ask the question. You have no intention of listening to either the Spendor or Monitor speakers, have you? The reason I say this is you keep asking for peoples opinions or mentioning online reviews. You haven't said a word about checking out either of these speakers live. Is that about right?

 

I've heard them, but on the same afternoon I listened to the Vandersteen 5s and Wilson Alexias. The room was pretty large, so I didn’t feel like I got the best impression. It was also not material I was familiar with, so I can't offer a solid comment.

 

No, not right. Sorry you're unhappy with my posts. The whole reason for my thread was to solicit fellow forum member's opinions on speakers worth checking out. I only mentioned one (1) review. Thanks for your contribution though!

BTW, your previous post "I wouldn't get locked into any speaker before listening to them. Online reviews are just a baseline to start from. Buying strictly from an online review is a prescription for disaster, especially if you are paying $6k."
pretty much implies I'm an idiot. Been buying audio gear for 45 years. And not an idiot.

 

Thanks, I'll definitely keep that in mind... don't "need" to spend $6k, and don't want too bright. Thanks.

 

Definitely on my list... have enjoyed a few lower PSB models in the past.

 

I would likely lean more to the S100 but I've always heard great things about the D7 and considered them at one point.

I've become a huge fan of System Audio. I own three pairs of them and love each of them. Shame they don't have more dealers in NA. I don't think I would drop $5k+ on speakers without hearing the Pandion 50.

 

I'm incredibly biased, but you might look at the Aurum Cantus.
They make drivers for lots of manfs, as well. Ribbons.
I use the the V6F (for over a decade; rosewood), beautiful looks and finish, identify every little change in my system, and are ideal for my size audio room, sound fantastic with all my various music selections.
The V7F (~ $5.5k) or V8F may be more suited to you with your budget and room size; I'd get the larger ones in a minute if I had the space. Very dense puppies, too.
If/when I set up a second small audio only system, it will likely be built around the V3M monitors. I had demo'd them at home and liked them so much I ordered the V6M immediately.
You might want to read up on them. Just a suggestion. I lucked out as my local audio dealer was able to get them for me.