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Best speakers in the 5k-ish range

MarkieW said:
Quite possibly, but how do you start? Its not really practical to listen to all available speakers so you need some filtering mechanism. Price is one obvious one, active/passive, then stand mount/floorstander. But that still isnt selective enough. So what next?
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5K is a healthy budget for a pair of speakers and you should just be about able to buy an example of any type, whether standmount, floorstanders, ESLs, 2 way, 3 way, point source, sats and subs, etc, etc.
Horns may be more of a challenge.

As the speakers are very much in the room I would suggest you look at the speakers you like the aesthetics of that you can afford and that will work in your room with the positioning on offer.

Do you like traditional style like BBC type designs like Harbeth or Graham or prefer modern designs like Boenicke or Borresen?
Or perhaps full retro like Tannoys or the new models from Fyne?
Then there's also the materials and finish to consider, would you prefer real wood enclosures, wood veneers or a painted finish?

Only you can answer these questions and compile a shortlist, 99% or forum members will tell you to try or buy what they have.

There's not much point in buying something you hate the appearance of no matter how good the SQ.

It's also perhaps worth considering the company the speakers come from, their reputation for reliability, services, replacement drivers, etc.

Also worth considering what's available locally to have a listen too and if at all possible an extended home demo.

Good luck!
 
For those of you that don't seem to nave noticed that the OP has outed his amps:
https://www.facebook.com/avondaleaudio/posts/4403826792971191/

I've not heard an SE amp but owners rave about them. I would suggest that speakers that could work well with a decent 100 - 300W class A/B using bipolar transistors are the sort of thing that people should be recommending.

E.g what would you put on the end of a NAP300 or a pair of Exposure 5010s?
 
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Darren L said:
5K is a healthy budget for a pair of speakers and you should just be about able to buy an example of any type, whether standmount, floorstanders, ESLs, 2 way, 3 way, point source, sats and subs, etc, etc.
Horns may be more of a challenge.

As the speakers are very much in the room I would suggest you look at the speakers you like the aesthetics of that you can afford and that will work in your room with the positioning on offer.

Do you like traditional style like BBC type designs like Harbeth or Graham or prefer modern designs like Boenicke or Borresen?
Or perhaps full retro like Tannoys or the new models from Fyne?
Then there's also the materials and finish to consider, would you prefer real wood enclosures, wood veneers or a painted finish?

Only you can answer these questions and compile a shortlist, 99% or forum members will tell you to try or buy what they have.

There's not much point in buying something you hate the appearance of no matter how good the SQ.

It's also perhaps worth considering the company the speakers come from, their reputation for reliability, services, replacement drivers, etc.

Also worth considering what's available locally to have a listen too and if at all possible an extended home demo.

Good luck!
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Thx Darren, thoughtful post.

Modern designs definitely for me but not funky, within the bounds of traditional please!
Finish not so important, maybe wood or black, not so fussed, just want them to sound good!
Biwiring not important
 
ryder said:
May I ask which Marten speakers you've tried and what amp was used with the speakers? If the speakers sound analytical or bright in the treble, they would be highlighting the character of the amplifier, in my experience. I own the Marten Duke 2 and they sound very smooth with great clarity and detail. As a matter of fact, they sound smoother with a liquid quality in comparison to all speakers I've owned which include Harbeth SHL5+.
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Oscar, Duo, Parker Duo, Oscar Trio, Duke 2. Almost pulled the trigger on the Duke 2s, they worked well in the previous room I had. But various things stopped me, not floorstanders amongst other things
 
MarkieW said:
Oscar, Duo, Parker Duo, Oscar Trio, Duke 2. Almost pulled the trigger on the Duke 2s, they worked well in the previous room I had. But various things stopped me, not floorstanders amongst other things
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Thanks for the post and apologies for the diversion. Since you've listened to all the stand mounts Oscar Duo, Parker Duo and Duke 2, may I ask how do they compare in areas of sound quality? Apart from the Duke 2s which I own, I only heard the Parker Trio and they put out too much bass in a mid-sized room at my dealers' place despite extensive use of bass traps in all corners of the room.

FWIW when I bought the Duke 2s, I used my existing Naim amps (282/250DR) to drive the speakers and they showed a prominent glare and brightness in the treble especially with piano apart from a slight forward and unrefined quality across the frequency spectrum. Music sounds slightly forced and is not flowing freely as it should be. I then used my backup amp, a Sonneteer Orton and things did improve a little but music still did not sound impressive, sounding dull and laidback . After some research on the internet, I tried a Luxman L-590AXII and this amp brought out the best in the Marten in my room.

Another Duke 2 owner once used a Naim 552/300 to drive the speakers and similarly he found top-notch Class A amps to work better with the Marten. The Marten speakers are ruthlessly revealing so any shortcomings in the amp, equipment or cables will be easily revealed.

Good luck in your speaker search.
 
ryder said:
Thanks for the post and apologies for the diversion. Since you've listened to all the stand mounts Oscar Duo, Parker Duo and Duke 2, may I ask how do they compare in areas of sound quality? Apart from the Duke 2s which I own, I only heard the Parker Trio and they put out too much bass in a mid-sized room at my dealers' place despite extensive use of bass traps in all corners of the room.

FWIW when I bought the Duke 2s, I used my existing Naim amps (282/250DR) to drive the speakers and they showed a prominent glare and brightness in the treble especially with piano apart from a slight forward and unrefined quality across the frequency spectrum. Music sounds slightly forced and is not flowing freely as it should be. I then used my backup amp, a Sonneteer Orton and things did improve a little but music still did not sound impressive, sounding dull and laidback . After some research on the internet, I tried a Luxman L-590AXII and this amp brought out the best in the Marten in my room.

Another Duke 2 owner once used a Naim 552/300 to drive the speakers and similarly he found top-notch Class A amps to work better with the Marten. The Marten speakers are ruthlessly revealing so any shortcomings in the amp, equipment or cables will be easily revealed.

Good luck in your speaker search.
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Oscar Duos ok, but a little tinny and cheap compared to the others. Like you, the Parker Duo and Oscar trio pumped out too much bass for the room. Duke 2 more relaxed sounding compared to the others, which have more of an edge in comparison. However I heard the Trios run off a Supernait 3 in a larger room and they sounded great
 
Big solid state amps and your music tastes, I'd be having a long look at Alchris Audio offerings. AR-10, V200 or even the AR-66 would fit the bill. Having heard the 10s they're a heck of a lot of speaker for the money and look a lot like the big ATCs.
 
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