My last speaker shopping endeavor about a year ago, was A/Bing the Focal Electra 1038 ($10k) to the Aria 948 ($5k).... Switching between them side by side, I actually preferred the Aria 948 at half the price... they were more dynamic & lively. The 1038 felt a bit over engineered... so controlled that the music was not exciting. The Aria's weakness was that the tweeter fell short of the Beryllium in the Electra. NOW that Focal has married the Be tweeter to the Flax cone drivers in the Kanta series, that should be a great match.... still a bit too pricey for me though. I thought the Aria was a great deal with nice cosmetics. The dual 8" woofers in the 948 had more kick than the 3x7" woofers of the 1038, in my demo. I've tried to like the new B&W's... but I don't.
Curious what people think is the best "value" high end speaker (~5K to 15K)
I am on a long search for speakers and just curious what people think is the best value both new or used in speakers ranging from around $5000 to $15000? I have a set of Paradigm S8's (V1) and love them but looking for another set for another set in a different listening area (25 x 20?, maybe larger). I love the full sound of JBL's and looking for something in that range (it also helps that JBL's seem to hold their value better than most, which will be a consideration). The only drawback to JBL is footprint. I prefer a smaller footprint which is why after reading I hope to listen to several B&W 800 series but open to suggestions across the board. used Watt Puppies? Revels? I am curious about peoples experience with McIntosh XR100's.