Best Speakers For $2K USD

[thepogue]

I'd also add a word of caution...anyone touting a particular brand of speaker as "The Best" (be it value or sounding) is giving you their opinion..... which has some value but is not to be taken as gospel...as we all know different strokes for different folks...so do yourself a favor and listen to as many types and brands as possible. I've put my ear on quite a few and as far as the "stats vs. box" type speakers each has a strength...when positioned correctly I heard Martin Logans sound as magical as I ever heard any music!! The huge down side was that the sweet spot was so narrow that only one person (maybe two at best) at a time could be in that "magic zone"...but with that said I WILL own a set of stats someday. (But will never have them as my only speakers) OTOH boxy type speakers just "kick" some types of music in a way that I've not heard any stats do...I've spent quite a bit of time listing to Linn's upper line, B&W 802's, and the full Revel line (and of course my Paradigm 100's) and as stated I don't think I'd so without a quality box speaker as I enjoy rock too much too fully move to stats...but I'd love to have a set of ML Prodigy's in the mix!!...woohoo...and to be fair I've not had the pleasure of listening to the upper end of Maggies line which I'd love to do at some point...in fact I would make that happen before I threw down the $$ for the Prodigy's....but I digress....bottom line...nobody here (or elsewhere) know what you prefer.........so get out there and make it happen...listen to all you can and don't forget to have fun while doing so!!


Peace out, Pogue

I was sorely tempted to dip my hat but since my main speakers costs USD7K it was kind of pointless saying that have reference class off-axis dispersion and impulse response , so I had to settle for a darkhorse.

MusicLG There are a variety technologies out there

1. Traditional Box speakers like AN, B&W, Paradigm etc.
2. Panels like Magnepan, Martin Logan and Martin Logan
3. Ribbon Hybrids such Elac, Precide etc.

I will suggest that you listen to the speakers across the technologies because the technologies the differing strengths and weaknesses, for example, the panels tend to the midrange thing very well but have narrower sweet spots and trickier positioning issues, the traditional boxes tend to better do bass and lower midrange dynamics better but rarely match the midrange ability and treble performance of the panels or indeed some hybrids at lower price points. Your choice will ultimately boil down to what compromises you are willing to live with.

[shokhead]

Always a crap shot this "best" or "vs" stuff. What somebody tells your are and what your ears hears will most likly be different,not to mention room setup,shape of room,reciever and all that jazz. Only good way to find best or what will work is to stay with proven brands and a lot of testing with your disks. Like thepogue said, caustion and dont rush it.

[drseid]

Always a crap shot this "best" or "vs" stuff. Only good way to find best or what will work is to stay with proven brands.

This I will have to respectfully disagree with... While I would agree that using a "proven" brand (such as B&W, for example) is a good place to *start*... I would argue that if you stay only with the "big boys" you may miss out on *a lot* of speakers you may prefer.

The brands I personally liked the most at THE Show and CES were not mainstream brands, for the most part (Von Schweikert being a notable exception)... That is not to say some mainstream brands do not offer superb sound (and may be the brand chosen)... It just is to say that you are missing out on *a lot* of stuff by sticking to "proven brands." I say let your ears decide which speakers "prove" themselves, and are worthy of your money (large company or small).

---Dave

[Buzz Roll]

There's one "alternative" design not mentioned that I'm always pushing which are the Ohm Walsh series. I've heard all of the above and feel that they are a nice middle ground between stats and "boxes." Huge, open soundstage, very easy to place, big sweet spot and the abilty to hang with heavy music. I really like the sound of Maggies and Vandersteens, but you really have to sit in a very specific spot to hear what they're capable of.

As RGA has mentioned many times, and something that I discovered with Ohm's in home demo, is the A/B test. It's very difficult to run from store to store and properly evaluate sonic differences. With the speakers in the same room, the differences become very obvious.

[shokhead]

This I will have to respectfully disagree with... While I would agree that using a "proven" brand (such as B&W, for example) is a good place to *start*... I would argue that if you stay only with the "big boys" you may miss out on *a lot* of speakers you may prefer.

The brands I personally liked the most at THE Show and CES were not mainstream brands, for the most part (Von Schweikert being a notable exception)... That is not to say some mainstream brands do not offer superb sound (and may be the brand chosen)... It just is to say that you are missing out on *a lot* of stuff by sticking to "proven brands." I say let your ears decide which speakers "prove" themselves, and are worthy of your money (large company or small).

---Dave

I would say true if you know what your doing and maybe not true if you dont. If i'm getting something and not up on it,i'll stick to the well known brands. If i know what i'm doing,i'll check everything.

[drseid]

I would say true if you know what your doing and maybe not true if you dont. If i'm getting something and not up on it,i'll stick to the well known brands. If i know what i'm doing,i'll check everything.

I would hope each individual would know what sounds good to *them*. To me, that is all the experience required. :-)

---Dave