3-way under 1000 new.

Tube 777, You are certainly entitled to go your own route. I can' help but think that you may be putting the horse before the buggy. Used speakers will offer much greater value, especially at your price point. Three way speakers are by there very nature going to have some size to them (I think the Vandersteens size is typical). Personally I'm more concerned with foot print than actual size. While bi/tri amping/wiring can have advanteges, at your price point I would want to keep things simple. Better speakers are made with a combination of considerations with compensations made with cabinet,crossovers,etc. Just willy nilly replacing drivers could possibly (probably?) make things worse, even if said drivers are better. This not to say that mods can't improve your system, but only to say that it takes expertise (including appropriate testing equipment) and money and still comes with risk. I would be much more concerned with speaker to room interaction and how it effected my musical enjoyment than in playing with wire and/or amp combinations. Another area that on the surface may seem like a good idea but in practice take a great deal of expertise to make work. Again this type of fine tuning can provide signifiicant improvement, but your budget seems to be out of range for these priorities. IMHO it would be like contemplating racing slicks on a Yugo. I don't mean to rain on your parade and I wish you the best, but my advise would be to keep it simple.

777, it seems to me that you pretty much have decided where you want to go, and are looking for others to help justify your decision. All I can say is , that I gave you my best opinion on the matter, and some figures to back it up.

I agree with Unsound, that if you can't build cabinets, then good condition used speakers like Vandersteens could get you good sound for your price.

Adding different drivers to a box without knowing what you are doing is a recipe for disaster. I've been building and designing speaker systems for going on 30 years now. Take my word for it.

Twl,

I have heeded your advice and have put Vandersteen on my short list. I just wish they wern't so dogon big :)

One of the things I have found on this forum, is that the Vandersteen speakers are widely recommended from all kinds of different audiophiles with different viewpoints. Any speaker that gets that kind of consensus on these pages must have something going for it. I think you will find it good sound for the money.