What speakers would you buy with a $3-4,000 budget

there's a pair of KEF Reference 201/2's with stands on audiogon for 4500, shoot him a 4k offer and see if he takes it.. if he does i can't see you don't much better for 4k.


http://app.audiogon.com/listings/kef...an-dynaudio-c1

then id buy an emotiva XDA (199) or USP01 (449), and a XPA-2 (799).. emotiva also sells factory renewed products that carry a full 5 year warranty for a significant discount.. there might be a better pre amp option truthfully i havnt really looked for one recently but i very happy with all my emotiva products and those kef's need a decent amp and the xpa series amps make big power for not much money.

I would look at the Snell D7 on Audiogon - real good deal.
They will put out some bass.
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/sne...2-way-speakers

There are just to many options for any kind of consensus in this price range. Even though your room is small, you are still going to want something that can "rock", with punchy bass and clean treble.

http://www.onecall.com/product/JBL/S...ker/_/R-113543

Designed by the same guy who did JBL's $60k Everest speakers, Greg Timbers. This is the trickle down effect.

Any hi fi shops near you? I think that it would be good to hear some speakers before spending that much money. If no hi fi shops are near you, check out this site. They have nice stuff.
http://www.hideflifestyle.com/

I'm looking into PSB Imagine series and it comes in at $3000 heres a review on it

http://www.hometheater.com/content/p...speaker-system

fwiw,
there are a pair of reference 3a grand veena's for sale on audiogon $4000 i'm sure you can get for better price. i own the mm de capo i's (their larger bookshelf) which i got used for great price. i listen mostly to classic rock and these speakers rock without a sub.their designs don't use crossovers so every thing coming from amp go directly to driver instead of to crossover then to driver making for better sound less distortion. i've never heard the grand veenas but i would imagine they would have somethig over the top of their bookshelves. just my 2 cents

With a smaller room and more nearfield listening, I would stick with monitors on good quality stands. Revel Ultima Gem with good, powerful integrated would sound amazing. Just keep in mind that many times less expensive speakers with a little more spent on amp and source will offer a better balance

IA + DAC: I would just get a nice AVR like the Denon AVR-3311CI.

The Denon's DAC will be every bit as great as any DAC you will buy.

And the sound quality of the Denon AVR will sound as great as any Integrated amp you will buy.

Speakers: I would get a pair of NHT Absolute Zero. Add a 10" or 12" sub as your office space will allow.

NHT Measurements.

"The Absolute Zero's listening-window response (a five-point average of axial and +/-15-degree horizontal and vertical responses) measures +0.94/-0.82 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz."

Can't beat that accuracy.

You can get a pair of KEF Reference 201/2 brand new for $4K/pair.

There are many excellent ID speakers in your price range.
Salk Songtower, or supercharged ST, HT1, HT1-TL.
Selah Tempesta
Ascend Sierra Tower
Vapor Breeze or Cirrus

Really? Where? They generally retail for $6000 a pair at least.


Excellent recommendations! I'd like to add the Philharmonitors and SoundField Audio Monitor 1's.

Yep, the Revel Gem2, or its close cousin, JBL PT800. And if you can find a pair of matching JBL PS1400 subs, you then have a full range speaker system that can not be bettered for even $6k. imho.

Revel Gem2.....JBL PT800...

Oh yeah, Soundfield Audio monitors would actually be perfect for the small office because it has a built-in active powered subwoofer!

I was going to also mention the Philharmonic bookshelf, but got lazy since they are not on the website yet.

But the built-in powered subs of the Soundfield bookshelf would be perfect if the OP cannot use subwoofers.

The one thing I hate about the Gem2 is that you have to also buy the $1,000 speaker stands.

Why can't Revel just make a bookshelf speaker that looks like a small Studio2 so people can use their own stands?

I suggest that you consider the Musical Fidelity M3i integrated amplifier ($1500) and the Dynaudio Excite X12 speakers ($1200). Those should be perfect for a small room/office; great sound quality. The Rythmic FV12 would be a good subwoofer, if you need/want one.

Dynaudio is the Rolls-Royce of speakers; most of the others can't touch them.

The Musical Fidelity V-DAC for $349 is good, but there are a lot of different DACs for different applications, so not sure which you need.

In all honesty, sometimes I just read these threads to see what Baghdad Bob has posted. I can't help myself.

Ideally you should listen before you buy. I recently bought a used set of Triads Gold LCR and can say it's the best purchase I've ever made! I never heard Triads before purchasing - just went off some great reviews off of some folks who's opinion I respect. Everyone has different preference in sound and these more than impress me in every way. I notice theres a set on audiogon now that falls within your budget. Good luck!

fwiw,
the mark&daniel maximus monitor+ with amt driver $3500

LOL! Me too!!!

Don't the Gem2 speakers retail for $10K. Unless we are talking used or the price has come down since they were made, I think those would be way out of the OP's budget. Even used I would still think they would come in over $4k, unless they have cosmetic damage or some other defect.

I'm not sure what the price of the Gem2 are, forget.
But the PT800s can be found for way under their $1700/ea msrp. Even when they were still being made.
I've auditioned the Gem2 and I own the PT800...I would not want to live off the difference!

If I had 5k and I was going to build a 2 channel rig and needed a DAC , pair of speakers and a integrated amp , this is what I would look at.

Dynaudio Contour series , I would look used and older like the 1.8mkII which are incredible rock speaker that can play anything you want if you taste changes.

To drive them I would check out Krell , Mark Levinson #383 which is stupid crazy nice , or maybe go new with a Cambridge Audio Azur 851. All others I would go used to get max out of my money.

DAC Cambridge Audio Dac Magic is a Gem and for the money it's awesome. I'd stop looking there.

I feel if you find the right deals , you can stick to your 5k budget and build a seriously nice rig. Used is the way to go . 2 channel doesn't not get outdated IMO.

As you notice everyone has a different opion.Their are so many good speakers and amps these days that many will provide killer sound.Best is to drive to a major city with a highend shop and hear your selve.All ears of different

Haven't heard the NAD, but the 3A's were a very good choice. Hard to go wrong with what you like in any account, but Vandersteen makes great speakers in all of their price ranges.

Nice decision.

I'm sure the M3 is a great amp, but I would go with HK 990 instead along with it's matching HD990 CD player that, as I understand it, has the same DACs as the top line Cambridge Audio player along with the capability to serve as a DAC for other componets. The HK integrated has HK's most recent, top shelf room correction (although for 2.2 channels), a jitter free connection to it's matching CD player, and HT pass-thru for the both the main front left/right and dual sub channels. Full disclosure - I have this very setup myself, but I wouldn't trade it for anything out there anywhere even close to the price.

I recently ordered a full 5.2 set myself of the PT800s - four of them with their matching subs and center speaker.