Brown Bottle
UTB
I didn't see a mention of the type music you listen to, except the no Elvis bit. It could help narrow down the choice.
I heard a few new floorstanders last year at this price point and only went with ProAc Response 2.5s I now have in the end as a pair came up at a good saving on the new models i was demoing and I knew their history. I think they are the most balanced speaker I have had, but not the most resolute. They are just a nice speaker to listen to with no hard edges and play well with both valve and solid state.
The reason I mention these is because I also listened to the Graham floorstanders, ls6f and ls5/8 and think they are in a similar ballpark sound wise. I would say they are certainly worth a listen if you like the Proac sound but want a change. They are nicely finished, have only 2 drivers and I found they imaged well with the Naim amps I used to demo them with. The ls6/g occassionaly come up for sale at under £2K, which is a good price 2nd hand. I doubt they would rock out with the best of them, ATC might be better at that. I found the earlier ATC speakers 20 and 35s I had for many years in the past too dry in comparison and nowhere near as absorbing to listen to as these ProAcs and Grahams. Very good loud though.
I also demoed PMC at the same time, I was quite dissapointed and agree, they didn't appear to be good value, quite small for their price and sounded it. Spendor also seemed over priced and under sized.
The ProAc D2 standmounts impressed in the same demo, very nearly went for those. Sound very fresh and exciting with wonderful imaging, a little more so than the Grahams. The front port did make itself known on a few occassions though. The ProAc DT8 floor standers didn't do it for me, they were good, but I thought the Grahams had more about them, they just didn't invite me to listen to them further. I wasn't keen on their design though, they looked a bit tacky IMO, so that could have been part of it.
Kef R7s were OK in a different demo, more of a bass driven sound and not as resolving as all of the above probably. Not as engaging.
Thank you for the detailed reply Halvis. I listen to a wide variety of stuff, 60s and early 70s rock, 80s pop, Indy guitar stuff, Americana, male and female singer songwriters, acid jazz/neo soul and modern jazz probably covers about 90%. I don’t remember mentioning Elvis, but I’m not a big listener.
Cheers BB