You have $5000. to buy a pair of speakers.

You have to live with these speakers for the rest of your life. What would you buy?

 

I'd be in Heaven

 

is this a gift or a loan?

 

Vandersteen 3A Signatures

 

Your amplifier, source, musical taste, and room size, please?

 

Would keep my current speakers and spend the 5K improving the rest of my rig.

 

Vandersteen 3A Signature towers

 

I am more interested in what others would buy, but since you asked,
DAC - Schiit Yggdrasil
Integrated Amp - Yamaha A-S2100
Room Size - 12x22x9 medium damped
Mostly Hard Rock and a little Jazz.

 

Spendor Classic 2/3, no question.

 

I've already made that choice.

 

For me, it will be something like some Tannoy Monitor or HPD based in restored condition.

 

I have no idea but I don't imagine the world I live in where I'd spend five grand for speakers. But I'm not into stereo gear the same way some of you are. Now cables, sure, because they make the most difference...

Kidding people, don't stroke out.

 

Bump it up to seven grand and get Martin Logans.

 

Or these RP-26F (mine but powered w/DAC and AptX BT)



And spend the difference on RS

 

I already own the Vandersteen 3A signatures, so with them plus the $5k, I'd go for a pair of Treos>Quatros>Vandy5A's. As a matter fact that is my fallback plan.

M~

 

Are the Vandersteen 3A signatures a speaker you could live with, and not have the urge to upgrade?

 

Joseph Audio Pulsar, secondhand.

 

That the one that’s a ‘spiritual successor’ to the BC-1 or SP-1?
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I’d be satisfied for life with ProAc D20R speakers with the maple finish.

 

I spent almost $5,000 in my B&W 702 S2. No regrets.

 

For myself and my listening? Harbeth SLH 5, which is what I did when I bought a used pair a few years ago. The Vandys are also very nice as are the Harbeth Compact 7s.

 

I'd go with the Vandersteens as well. I've auditioned the previous iteration in the 3. I could live with it. At the time I settle for 1C model and was very happy with them for over a decade.

 

That would be tough, there are so many good ones I'd love to try out, but to live with them forever? Well, I probably don't have that much longer so maybe not a monumental issue, I'd love to live with some Salk full range speakers, I'm kind of addicted to ribbon tweeters these days, so the RAAL tweeters would work for me, and the Accuton ceramic midrange has always been a favorite, just need to find a demo pair to get the price down by about $1000 ...




But in reality, what I would probably do with the money is get a used pair of Monitor Audio Platinum PL200 speakers with ribbon tweeters and sandwich construction midrange and woofers in the ebony finish for around $4000 to $4500, and then dump a few hundred in some exotic copper foil crossover capacitors and non-ceramic resistors to really bring them home.

 

I heard John Darko say on his podcast given $10k, he'd buy 3 pairs of speakers so he'd never get bored. I like this idea, or at least I feel better about owning multiple pairs now...

 

As I am a prospective Vandersteen buyer, have to ask... in your listening, what are the key differences between the 1Cs, the 2CE Sigs, and the 3s?

Is relevant to my interests.
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