I know this does not respond directly to your query, but: Excellent stand mounts around $2k; Dual REL (or equivalent) subs at $1200 (T5x). Also -- add bass traps / sound absorption panels. This has been my go-to response for small rooms; it is what I did in my own.
If I were you, I wouldn't buy anything until you can get a quality audition of the new Sonus Faber Lumina V towers, which retail for $2800. These are gorgeous small towers that have leather on the sides and top. And they include Sonus Faber's DAD(Damped Apex Dome) tweeter from their higher lines. The drivers are basically the same as those of their Sonetto line. The three-way floor standing loudspeaker Lumina V | Sonus faber Here is my report that I wrote over on avs forum after hearing the Lumina V and the more than twice as expensive Sonetto VIII at Scott Walker Audio in the Dallas area: So, today I got to audition a set of Sonetto VIII and the new Lumina V towers in the same room, same system at a dealer in Dallas. I was able to play a variety of musical genres. All I can say is, the mid range is to die for with both of them. Vocals, strings, percussion, horns -- all great. This is the room and the Lumina V that I heard. I challenge you to find a more beautiful looking set of towers for $2800. Also, regarding bass, I don't know how they get the amount and quality of bass they do out of the Lumina V. For such a small tower, the bass is very deep, but also well articulated. Vocals seemed a bit more "airy" on the Lumina than the Sonetto, but who's to say which is more accurate? I didn't really notice the bass going much deeper with the Sonetto than the Lumina, but the Sonetto seemed to have more of it and maybe more controlled bass. Of course, deep bass is room dependent, so your results may vary. So, in what way was the Sonetto better than the Lumina? Scale. The Sonetto produced a larger sound stage and a "bigger" sound, especially when I played my favorite recording of Mahler's 5th symphony. The big crescendos seemed a bit more coherent and controlled with the Sonetto. On one of the loud crescendos, there is a triangle playing and it was more apparent and natural sounding with the Sonetto. As to B&W, I was able to audition the 702S2 on Saturday at a Best Buy. Of course, this was in an untreated room with a bunch of speakers lined up and being played through a switching device, so that you could instantly change which speaker you are listening to(see pic). I just wasn't all that impressed with the 702S2 and I thought I might actually prefer the cheaper 703S2 next to it. The best I can describe it, the B&W do make plenty of sound and fury, but the Sonus Faber make music.
I did an "audition" at best buy one time and the 19 year old looking guy helping me started to connect his iphone to a receiver to use as a source for the audition. I said thanks and left. Sonus Fabers are hot. I love the Guaneri. Sexy as hell. Haven't seen a pair used for under 7k sadly. I'm a sucker for a 7" woofer.
I recommend Klipsch Heresy IV in that price range. You can stand mount them or keep them on their factory mounts on the floor. Many people like to stand mount them to get them up off the floor though. I've got a pair of Cornwall IVs, incredible speakers. Their ability to image is incredible. One of the best center images I've ever heard. I'm listening to Sketches of Spain right now, Miles' trumpet is coming from the middle. It's a weird thing to be able to look at each speaker and you can't hear the trumpet coming from either one, it's literally coming from in-between them!
I see your Sketches of Spain and raise you one Miles Smiles. Heresy won't work bass wise and probably isn't a great match for my 250 watt parasound amp . Cornwalls would work but I don't have room for them. I like what you are saying image wise though.
The JA Prisms are right at the price point you’re looking for. In fact, I ordered a pair yesterday and traded-in my current speakers which got the price way down. Definitely gonna run them with a sub though. I wouldn’t worry too much about resale values right now. If you take good care of your gear and keep the packaging you’ll be able to recoup >80-90% without much effort.
The D7s do become available- last week there was a white pair asking $4K. While they do have excellent imaging and deep bass their flat response makes them sound thin and forward on occasion compared to many speakers that have a slight midbass bump. They come off as un-natural with many recordings which is why I sold mine. To my ears the SHL5+ is the better sounding speaker.
The A series are voiced slightly warmer than the D-series with the A7 having a nice midbass bump that the D7s lack. If the D7s would have had this I probably might have kept them. Spendor A7 loudspeaker Measurements
Yeaaaah you're probably right. The specs list the Heresy IV at 48-20Khz +/-4db. The Cornwalls are actually more sensitive than the Heresy lol. Even with my 50wpc audiolab 6000a I can hear hiss from the tweeter if I stick my ear up to it. Thankfully I don't listen with my ear up to the tweeter haha. I listen in a 17x11 ft room and I sit on the 17ft axis. But the room opens into another similarly sized room and I sit directly under the 10ft wide door frame that opens into it. I used to sit on the 11ft axis but I wanted to get the Cornwalls further apart. So I changed the whole room around and I'm glad I did. I advise you to stretch your budget and get a pair of Forte IVs. I ordered my Cornwall IVs from Amazon with 12-month interest free financing. Which means I'm basically paying a car note on my speakers every month but that's better than dropping $6500 at once, at least for me. I believe the Forte IV will do everything you want and that A21 won't be too much for them. Sure you'll hear hiss if you stick your head up to the tweeter but why would you be doing that anyway? I know guys who pair the A21 with Klipsch Heritage speakers. You won't be disappointed. Klipsch/Parasound is a very popular combo on the Klipsch forums.
I'm still around. I don't get to check in as often at times, but still here. I purchased JA Profiles from Taylor at GoldPrint. First let me say I have been dealing with Taylor for many years now (7 or 8 easily) and he always gives you a great deal for exceptional equipment. Buy from him with confidence. Anyway, I got the Profiles which are JA towers. I wrote a review of them and it can be found easily by search for JA Profiles. These speakers are end game. I have not had that upgrade bug gnaw at me since I got them. And let me say if they can work in my room, they will sound good in any room. I have a small office (10 x 15) and yet these towers BLOW me away in every aspect of what a speaker should do to you. I am listening to them right now and smiling as I write this. Anyway, not sure if the OP purchased something already but you cannot go wrong with JA or Taylor at GoldPrint. Edit -just saw Bananas mention 3D imaging as a requirement. I would stress JA speakers even more after seeing that comment. Read my reviews of the Profiles. Not sure if you are stuck on bookshelves or not and I know those Pulsars have a great rep but I think I would ask Taylor about the Profiles since your room is bigger than mine and may be a stellar match.
Hey Mike, Happy Holidays, it's been a while! The Profiles, that's the one, I could have searched but was lazy - but I know you liked the JA's you got. End game says it all.... you make a compelling case. Hey, 10x15 is a mausoleum in countries like Japan where they get LaScalas in rooms your size! That's plenty big for enjoyment of a speaker like the Profile. Good to hear you still are enjoying them as much.
Pete's been quiet for a few days, and there's a post above saying he might swing through Vegas... Hey, what happens there....
hey Mike! Good to see you again. Thanks for coming by. I'm not particularly stuck on monitors but I do think in generally they image better and since that is what is missing at the moment it's what I've been looking into. I think the Spendor A series seems like a monitor in a floor stander body. 2 way is probably a more seemless integration. I hadn't looked at the JA profiles. What's the list price on those?
I did win an auction on eBay for a pair of Triangle Magellan. My buddy Russ talked me into trying the brand. I'm not big on auditioning speakers at dealers because I think the sound is just so different at home in my system than a listening room. I also feel guilty for taking a dealer's time as I'm pretty much always going to buy used because I can save so much money. I was comfortable trying the Triangles because they seem to fit every requirement I have, they look gorgeous and what little I could find about them online was incredibly positive. Since I got a good deal if they aren't for me I will just re-list them and sell them. This does not mean my search is over. It means I made a decision to give a speaker a try at home for a month or longer if I love them. I'm driving up to Vegas to pick them up and should be home to try them out on Wednesday. HiFi Bookshelf Speaker Duetto Magellan - TRIANGLE Hifi
