Small room, "budget priced" speaker advice, please


Hi,

I recently sold my dearly beloved, old Vandersteen 2C's here on Audiogon (and I hope SgtPeppers is loving them at this moment!) :-) I did this because in our remodeled house, my new listening room (which will double as a guest room) is just too small for the 2C's. The Spousal Acceptance Factor was just too low. ;-)

I have a PS Audio Elite-Plus integrated amp for power (around 70 W/Ch) and a soon-to-be-shipped-off-for-a-refurb Sota Sapphire for an analog front end (I have "miles" of vinyl)! I will also get a CD player at some point.

For now, I need to find a pair of best-of-breed, truly "budget" speakers. By "budget," I'm talking upper limit of $850/pair. (Gone are my free-spending, single days... I'm a dad now...) :-)

Listening habits: lots of 60's and 70's folk and rock, some jazz, Donald Fagen/Steely Dan, a little classical. Listening volume: not too loud. Sonic preferences: I value transparency and imaging/soundstage. Bass should be accurate above all, as opposed to chest-pounding powerful.

I've looked at Paradigms, which I know are highly regarded at lower price points. Trouble is, our one, local dealer is primarily a TV/home theater outfit, so you're trying to hear them in a showroom crammed with other stuff... you know the drill. I've also hit a high end shop. Listened to a pair of PSB small towers and disliked them; they sounded muddy and veiled to me. Listened to a pair of the smallest Rega's and liked them quite a bit, but would want to go back to listen again. I even wrote to PS Audio for advice; they recommended the "baby" Epos monitors, but they're out of my price range.

Thanks if you've read this far. Knowing how subjective all this is, I'd still welcome any advice you have to offer about what I should try to audition.
rebbi
Rebbi, now that you have me thinking about it, I've purchased everything that I currently own without audition.
Amp was purchased from a store in Austin (I'm in NYC!), Ohms are obviously factory direct, DAC was from Pacific Valve MacBook Pro, PS3...
"Rebbi, now that you have me thinking about it, I've purchased everything that I currently own without audition."

Yeah, almost everything I've bought in the last 3 years have been without audition as well based on info I gather via websites like this.

That includes amp, 3 pair of speaks (two Ohm, 1 Dynaudio), 2 replacement woofers for another pair of speaks that was a DIY upgrade on the Ohm Ls, the CD player, phono cartridge, and all new interconnects and cables. Also 3 digital cameras.

And amazingly, everything has worked out well.
Hi. I haven't read all the other posts, so forgive me if someone has already suggested the Schonberg Series of speakers from Vienna Acoustics. They're perfect speakers for small rooms, but work well in larger rooms too. They are designed to be placed on the wall or against the wall and sound unbelievable. www.sumikoaudio.net
Folks,

Snuck the Arro's out from the rear wall another 6" when nobody was looking. ;-) Yowie!! The soundstage firmed up by another degree and the bass response deepened radically. I don't even think I've scratched the surface of what the Arro's can do. Joy! :-D
Rebbi,

Did you try filling the chamber in the back with sand or kitty litter yet?