5000$ to spend on speakers. Advice?

Emotiva!

Active Member
Ive been all over the net.. B&W, focal, paradigm, psb, mcintosh, klipsch
, ... What would you choose if you could just go buy a pair. I listen to everything but rap. Im running 50 wpc tube el34. Can go bigger.
 
I see that you have an ERC-2. What are you thoughts on it? But to answer your question I would look at The new Bryston's line of speakers.
 
In that range, I'd look for a pair of used or demo JBL 1400 Arrays. Depending on how loud you listen, they might need more power but a decent 50 wpc tube could be enough.
 
I've never heard them but the Tyler Acoustics Pro Dynamics line looks interesting to me, considering relatively high sensitivity for tube gear.
 
I would be looking into Harbeth loudspeakers, though that may be pushing the budget a bit. I have listened to several models and wow, I like.
 
Find some Sony SS M9ed's and call it good.
Those ADS motostereo mentioned are nice.
Some Infinity QLS1's, RS 1B's, a pair of Betas would be fun. If ya got's the room.
Heck, 5K will buy you a lot of speaker.
 
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Do a total restoration on a set of Wharfedale W90s with no amp changeout or a set of Concert Grands and a change of the amp. The first will allow you to put the money remaining on either a nice turntable and cartridge or a decent sized record library while the second not.so much spare change.
 
Well im looking primarily to own a brand new pair of shiny goodness. I've owned an incredibly huge amount of speakers in my day including kappa's, ads, McIntosh, JBl, Yamaha's, polk SRS 1.2's, KEF, and a huge multitude of others. I want new, shiny, not boxy, high WAF and as it seems high HAF at this point. I spent some time today at a high end store selling mainly McIntosh gear and B&W speakers. I started with the 104 diamonds and moved to the 102 diamonds quickly. I was not impressed at all. they sounded well... muddy. i dont know what the problem was with an oppo source and all top end mc gear. i tried everything to find the sweet spot even kneeling on the floor in the showroom. it was like a towel put over the drivers. 10k$ sonys also. klipsch palladium sounded pretty fair. definitive tech... awful. small mcintosh bookshelves, nothing there. i tried to pop my ears like in a plane, nothing. I left and came home and fired up the beryllium yammies, heaven again. So it wasnt my hearing at altitude. The mids are horrible on the gear i listened to. i heard absolutely no sparkly sprinkled highs floating in the air created by ultra expensive diamonds. just hard ticks and clicks. I heard volume and substance but nothing else. Not sure what happened in that store but i was really stunned and left with a full wallet and a very confused train of thought. can someone tell me what went wrong? And where do i go from here?
 
Well im looking primarily to own a brand new pair of shiny goodness. I've owned an incredibly huge amount of speakers in my day including kappa's, ads, McIntosh, JBl, Yamaha's, polk SRS 1.2's, KEF, and a huge multitude of others. I want new, shiny, not boxy, high WAF and as it seems high HAF at this point. I spent some time today at a high end store selling mainly McIntosh gear and B&W speakers. I started with the 104 diamonds and moved to the 102 diamonds quickly. I was not impressed at all. they sounded well... muddy. i dont know what the problem was with an oppo source and all top end mc gear. i tried everything to find the sweet spot even kneeling on the floor in the showroom. it was like a towel put over the drivers.
...

I don't see planars or horns on your list....

Maybe take the Klipschorns to Alaska, and use the Wayne Piquet restored, might-as-well-be-new Quads in Texas? They're not boxy, and could be made very shiny. You could chrome the grills even!

Or try Maggies. The 3.7i if you want to spend all $5K, or the .7's and a lot of other stuff. Or restored Bose 901's, stacked floor-to-ceiling? :D

Tell me these aren't shiny, and non-boxy. Show your wife...:yes:

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Think outside the box.

:scratch2:
 
Great suggestions so far - as far as my limited experience of actually getting to hear any of them. If you're looking for new at that price the Golden Ear Triton 1's are an excellent sounding speaker as well - at least that is one I can say I've actually heard & can vouch for.
 
If you intend to stay with your current amplification, these would be a very good option.
 

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I am helping a guy remodel/redecorate a very high end home.

He is looking at the Golden Ear Triton or the top end Yamaha (don't recall the model numbers). The Yamaha in part because the finish is an exact match to the Yamaha piano in the same room.
 
Joseph Audio Pulsar is one of the best sounding speakers I've heard in that "range". They actually retail for about $2500 more than your stated budget, but I've seen some demo's advertised for right around $5K. These were in two rooms at the RMAF last October, and they sounded great in both. The Jeff Rowland room that had the Pulsar's was a contender for best in show.
 
Aerial Acoustic 6T's ... or a lightly used pair of 7T's.

If you ever get a chance to listen to them you'll understand.
 
You can not go wrong with a set of Klipsch Cornwalls, any version. Look up Bob Crites and call him about the Cornwalls and talk to him about the Kornscalas. Bob knows his stuff and does not look to retiring off the sale of a single set of speakers.
 
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