Speakers !! Best bang for the buck at the $2k price level ?
- Thread starter Ohighway
- Start date
Ohighway
Wannabe Minimalist
Please refer to posts #1, #17, and #20.
Pair of Polk LSiM707 and don't look back.
Periodically Polk runs special offers on "factory refurbished" on eBay which cannot be told from new.
These offers sell out very quickly. It is a superb speaker.
Ohighway
Wannabe Minimalist
Sheesh this is like herding cats.......
Don't worry about my wife. Don't worry about what size room. Don't worry about whether I love death metal or classical or pan flute music.... Don't worry about new or used.
Just recommend speakers in the $2k range that you think represent a good value
It's not just you. I've been known to go from Mancini to Metallica, or Bartok to Bill Evans, in one sitting. And I have to do it all on one main system.
The old LSi series was favorably reviewed in The Absolute Sound (by Anthony Cordesman) many years ago--I would expect no less from the LSiM series. Anyone thinking these are mid-fi are grossly mistaken. The ring radiator tweeter by itself can cost more than many entire speaker systems.
I've thought of getting a set of LSi15s just to see what they are like. They've certainly dropped in price on the used market, but the Polk outlet had those, as you say, at bargain prices when they were closing them out.
KevinJS
Lunatic Member
Nothing that Sandy Gross has had a hand in should be ignored. I had a pair of DefTech SM55s. Always regretted selling them.
Polk Audio do a half price sale once a year on new (not refurb) speakers. That would be a good time to snag a pair of 707s.
If you can drive the subwoofer section of DefTech and GoldenEar speakers, they are worth looking at. Haven't checked, but the GoldenEar Triton 7 might fit into the budget, although I'd consider stretching it a tad and looking at the Triton 1. They are beasts.
I know Vandersteen gets some hate in these parts, but the 2CE Signature (or newer Signature II if you're lucky) would be in the target price range. The model 2 has been made since the 70s, and represent a pretty good value. They do take some power to drive them properly, though. Disclaimer--I do own a pair of 2CEs that I bought dirt cheap (seller was moving, needed them gone ASAP). It's certainly not my end game speaker, but it does cover sub-30Hz bass and sounds more natural throughout the spectrum than earlier speakers I've had. The time/phase alignment of the drivers makes a difference. And that bass....I can't live with any lesser speaker in my main system. If it can't at least cover the lowest note on an electric bass guitar (29Hz), it has no business being in my system.
I'm more a planar speaker type, so I really can't recommend much of anything else that I've had experience with personally.
whoaru99
Epic Member
I was going to mention Thiel CS3.6. It is not unusual to see a pair for around $1000. I got my black Ash pair for less than that. A fabulous bang for the buck, IMO.
Bear in mind though, impedance does run on the lowish side, around 2.7 ohms for most of the audio spectrum. That said, it's a relatively benign 2.7 ohms, not having nasty reactance stuff going on as some speakers do.
squirrelnest
Lunatic Member
Ohighway
Wannabe Minimalist
In your opinion would a used but not abused pair of speakers identical to these be worthy of a $2k investment?
https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=mug&m=215985
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Altec model 19
Electro-Voice Sentry III
Electro-Voice Sentry III
Yeah, the 10T's benefit from a stout amp, but they aren't amp killers (or at least that perception is way overblown). Lot's of 200W+ amps out there that can run a 3 ohm load all day. I'm using Aragon with mine, but they sounded great with the Adcom, Yamaha, and Crown XLS amps I have tried with them also.
Wait, what!
Audio Fan
YT Channel - https://tinyurl.com/29zytwu9
Since we are talking hypothetical, specifically focusing on used, there are a LOT of possibilities. For this exercise, I will stick with some recommendations on what I think may be great values for exceptional, "statement" type speakers, if they become available to you locally. The good news is that most speakers in this price range are typically fairly large and a tough sell due to shipping, so bargains can be had quite often.
- Beveridge Model 3 - if you do a search in AK, you will certainly find my name associated to the vast majority of comments regarding this model. Of the various Bev models, this is the ONLY one I would recommend. The Model 2 may have sounded better, however, it was not as robust and they have failed over the years, not so with this model. This speaker is simply unlike anything else, "magical" in a way vs most other offerings. They are fairly rare/unknown, so can be had for much less than your price range, but you can use that savings to give them a much needed recap. The stat in this model, thus far, has not shown to need any sort of rebuild, unlike Quad/Martin Logan, etc.. An AKer recently went to great lengths to pick up a set of these, still waiting for his follow up rebuild thread.
- Dunlavy SC-IV - I have not heard these myself, but everything I have ever read is glowing. I keep these on my radar myself.
- Pioneer Elite TZ-9 : When Pioneer, like other major vendors, wants to release top end product, they can do it. The Elite series exudes quality all the way around. They are great, all around, do anything type speakers, but seem quite rare to find. This is a 4 ohm speaker.
- Large Tannoys - I have only had one set of 10" Golds, but they left an impression. Probably not something to be found often within your budget, but it can certainly happen. The key here is finding some in nice cabinets.
There are certainly nice offerings from ADS, Klipsch, JBL, etc. but most of them are fairly common or outside of your budget in many cases.
- Beveridge Model 3 - if you do a search in AK, you will certainly find my name associated to the vast majority of comments regarding this model. Of the various Bev models, this is the ONLY one I would recommend. The Model 2 may have sounded better, however, it was not as robust and they have failed over the years, not so with this model. This speaker is simply unlike anything else, "magical" in a way vs most other offerings. They are fairly rare/unknown, so can be had for much less than your price range, but you can use that savings to give them a much needed recap. The stat in this model, thus far, has not shown to need any sort of rebuild, unlike Quad/Martin Logan, etc.. An AKer recently went to great lengths to pick up a set of these, still waiting for his follow up rebuild thread.
- Dunlavy SC-IV - I have not heard these myself, but everything I have ever read is glowing. I keep these on my radar myself.
- Pioneer Elite TZ-9 : When Pioneer, like other major vendors, wants to release top end product, they can do it. The Elite series exudes quality all the way around. They are great, all around, do anything type speakers, but seem quite rare to find. This is a 4 ohm speaker.
- Large Tannoys - I have only had one set of 10" Golds, but they left an impression. Probably not something to be found often within your budget, but it can certainly happen. The key here is finding some in nice cabinets.
There are certainly nice offerings from ADS, Klipsch, JBL, etc. but most of them are fairly common or outside of your budget in many cases.
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Ohighway
Wannabe Minimalist
musichal
poet emeritus
Thanks so much for your opinion.
You are quite welcome.
KevinJS
Lunatic Member
May as well chuck in what I'm pounding right now.
Martin Logan Theos electrostats.
Sure they are way outside the budget, but can be found used well within it. The advantage with the Theos over the rest of the ML electrostatic range is that the woofers are passive and don't need an LFE connection from the amplifier. Also, less to go wrong.
No WAF, they are bastards to place properly and they need plugging into an outlet but I'm feeling no pain.
Martin Logan Theos electrostats.
Sure they are way outside the budget, but can be found used well within it. The advantage with the Theos over the rest of the ML electrostatic range is that the woofers are passive and don't need an LFE connection from the amplifier. Also, less to go wrong.
No WAF, they are bastards to place properly and they need plugging into an outlet but I'm feeling no pain.
