Which Speaker in the 4-6K Range?

I recently auditioned the Silverline Sonata's (just because they were there) but was not in the market for a speaker in their price range. I actually thought (at the time) that they retailed for $3500.00, so I was not influenced by their real world $5000.00 (if this is accurate, I picked it up at another review site) price tag. Neither the accompanying equipment or their set up was ideal, but nonetheless they were a very impressive set of speakers and well worth an audition in your price range IMO. I am by no means an expert on contemporary high end speakers but even given the limitations of the audition would compare them with older Quad ESL's, Magnapans, etc., for their detail and musicality, plus they had a very impressive low end that I am sure would have been even more impressive under more ideal listening conditions. I find it odd to audition speakers in a room full of other speakers that suck and deaden the music from the test speakers, but this is usually the case in most hifi shops. I originally went to this shop to audition the less expensive Coincident speaker line but did not listen to the high end model listed above. The dealer no longer carried the line and just had a few demo models left in stock. They (the Sonata's) were originally hooked up to an expensive Denon HT receiver and sounded just so so. We switched them to an Audio Research D120 tube amp and an AR tube preamp and that is when the music started. The combo did not sound very tube like, but did sound good.

Dekay, your comparison with Quads and Maggies is interesting. How did the Sonatas sound in terms of transparency, imaging and soundstage? I admit that I'm hooked on transparency and detail but my electrostatics compromise the low end, which bothers me once in a while.

I should have mentioned that when comparing the Super Eclipses (which come without a grill), you should remove the grills from the Sonatas. They sound much better that way!

Hi Jim: I should have said in the "same league as" in regard to sound reproduction, as the Quads sound different from the Magnapans. The Sonata's had a great deal of detail and a very wide and deep sound stage. They were less bright than Magnapans, but without loss of detail (kind of like the Quads in this respect). They were more dynamic than either of the planers (a plus IMO), had a full and very well integrated low end (in this room) and a rather large "good" listening area (like the Magnapans). They were quickly set up which I am sure negatively affected the imaging and transparency, so I cannot form an opinion on those qualities. All three speakers really sound entirely different, but they all just have that "wow" factor, IMO, if you know what I mean. They were very fast and detailed but at the same time very musical, not harsh at all. They are probably good for the long haul. I guess a better way to say it is that the music got my attention, not the speakers.

Thanks, Dekay. I'm going to check these out for future reference. I've got my CLS's in a good place right now (both physical position and upstream equipment) but am pterry sure that I'm going to give in to a real full range speaker someday. I just don't want to lose what I get from my esl's to get low end extension. Right now the big SoundLabs are at the top of my short list but I'm starting to open up to the possibility of dynamic speakers. I've heard a few that I can live with but none have had the detail, transparency and openess that I've experienced with ribbons and, especially esl's. Thanks again.