Which Speaker in the 4-6K Range?

More on the Sonatas: the speakers are extremely coherent from top to bottom, in my room the bass doesn't really roll-off much until below 30 Hz, and still remains very very tight and accurate. The midrange is simply astounding, the softcone midrange driver (which is set with a higher cross-over slope than the other components) makes voices and instruments such as pianos well delineated and clear. The speaker is very dynamic but can be easily driven by low power tube amps --though I would recommend 25-40 wpc real power minumum. However it also works well with good solid state amps. It is a matter of opinion, the tubes will make it sound sweeter primarily due to the looser midbass, and it will be drier and ore accurate with a top solid state amp. With the later the speakers become less tolerant of low quality recordings or front end: they will sound heavenly with the best recordings but will reveal the dryness or harshness particularly in poor CD material. For instance on MA Recordings "Sera una noche" which is a compilation of revisited Argentine Tangos with non-traditional instruments, you can hear well into the recording and the acoustic signature of the monastery it was recorded in, and all instruments are tonally accurate and very well delineated. In Rebecca Pidgeon's unbelievable "The Raven" CD both the voice and the piano are very lifelike. You can almost hear the recording as it was being made. The speakers are also good at reproducing the lower noise floor of the new formats such as 24/96 --I've tried them with many Chesky 24/96 recordings (Livingston Taylor, Sarah K) and Classic remasters and they sound simply gorgeous. One thing which is very critical with these speakers (as with almost any good speaker) are room acoustics. To get the most out of them you definitely need a room that will allow good bass reproduction, and add treatment to minimize mid and hi frequency reflections which will otherwise color the sound. The speaker's distortion is so low that any of these artifacts, whether in the source material, the upstream components, or the room, will be sorely evident. If you are a perfectionist on a budget then these speakers are for you. If you want to cover other defects with your speakers then they are not !

Besides the "usual suspects" among which I think you definitely should audition Vandersteen 3A and 3A Signature, there is a not-that-well-known speaker from Canada called Gershman RX-20 Avant Garde. These, like the Vandy's, and IMO unlike the Silverline Sonata, do go down to 25hz with a power and authority which is almost never heard in this speaker price range. Gershman's give a great soundstage effect both from side to side and front to back, have great imaging and a pure clean midrange that some have described as almost electrostatic. These speakers have been winning best-in-show awards at recent hifi expositions. On the complaint side, some have said they are too laid back in the high end. Nevertheless, they are smooth in the high frequencies, if not overly prominent. They are never harsh or strident. You may need to consider cabling which favors the high end slightly, depending on your taste. Because of the bass, they require careful set up and a room which is not tiny in order to avoid bass bloat. You will probably have to locate them away from the wall by two feet or more. These speakers are definitely warmer sounding than either the Sonatas or the Coincident Super Conquest/Super Eclipse. This is not to disparage the performance of Silverline or Coincident, but just to get you to look at all your alternatives in order that you may decide according to your personal taste. They are slightly less than 40 inches high, have a small footprint and have an exceptional beautiful finish which comes in a lacquered high gloss black or burgundy, among others. Cost is $4400-$4800 list, depending on finish. They are difficult to find, but definitely worth an audition.

I looked again at your requirements. Efficiency of the Gershman Avant Garde's could be a problem. I believe they are only rated at 86db/w/m. Although 100 watts is more than enough in an average sized room, I would recommend a high current solid state amp in order to get the most out of them, including that glorious bass response.

Hi Pops, Haven't heard the Ascents yet, but they are heavily based on Prodigy design. I stay in touch with the guys at Martin Logan and even they debate whether this is better than the SL3. Comes down to personal taste, like most things. Dealers I've spoken to (in the LA area) all seem to say that it's a better speaker. It depends on what your huckleberry is. If you like ML hybrids I would have to make an educated guess that this is a good sounding speaker. Dealers claim that the crossover between the panel and woofer is better extecuted. I like the SL3's OK (as the hybrids go) and don't think that the Acsent is a huge difference. I did have an overzelous dealer tell me that it was "80% of the Prodigy". Hardly likely, I think. But worth a listen -- I'm going to check it out soon just to keep up with what ML is doing firsthand.

Thanks Jim, I'm hot and cold on Logans. I listened to some Aerius the other day with all Classe electronics and the sound is so open it's got to be addictive but I worry about bass response and maybe too much detail for older CD recordings.