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With $20,000 in your hand, what speaker would you

I've recently gone into retirement. I am a 52-year-old diehard audiophile. I've had just about every statement level speaker the American market has offered over the last 10 to 15 years. The speaker I have found the most satisfying overall is my presently owned modified pair of Maggie 3.6R. I've also had their 20s and started with the Mg 3A. for my second favorite speaker I would have to pick the Avalon radian HC, and not the Eidolon( I had problems with the ceramic midrange distorting with dynamic vocals and the base was not perfect). I had dozens and dozens of conventional and electrostatic speakers so many I could bore you with the list. So let's just say I've been around the block a few times.

Let's assume that I made no mistakes meeting the speakers with the proper equipment, power conditioning and acoustical environment treatment. I have been mostly a tube person but I switched over to the new passlabs equipment because I found that I am
the equivalent sound or better than my reference tube amplifiers, without the heartbreaking experience of blowing up and $2000 tube replacements.(As I said I am retired now, I can't afford the maintenance fees anymore.

What I'm asking of my fellow audiophiles that have been listening with reference great audio systems is that they e-mail me back and give me their opinion on what conventional loudspeaker they would own if they had say $20,000 or so to spend(20,000 retail). Semi-full range down to say 35 Hz or so.

I'm going to keep the Maggies but, they don't feel the need when it comes to wanting a more compact/dynamic speaker that I could also drive with my Belcanto SET. Although, they don't need to be ultra efficient.

I would really appreciate anybody's input, I would find all of your input invaluable in making my decision.

by the way what do you all think of the Grand Veena 3A speaker. Is it better than anything for under $20-$30,000?

Thank you very much for all of your help,

Regards,
Andrew

thanks again,
Andy

PS I am still keeping the Maggies.
acollen
dylanhenry
52 posts
 
This is an easy question - add two grand to the budget and get a pair of B&W 800Ds. For the money, the best all-around speaker in its price class. Many speakers will do SOME things better than the 800D, but no speaker I've listened to in this price range, and I've heard a lot of speakers, offers better overall performance to my ears.

If you want to save six grand and put it back in the retirement fund, get a pair of B&W 802Ds, which provide about 95% of the performance of the 800Ds, and is the best overall speaker in the $15K and under category. Better than the Wilson Sophia II, better than the Magico V3 (which costs almost double), better than the Revel Ultima Studio, better than all those "trendy" speakers that paid-advertising supported reviewers love these days.

But the most important thing is to listen for yourself. Ask 30 different people and you'll get 30 different answers. It's good to use these as reference, but the only person using your ears is YOU, and in the end, those are the only ears that matter. Good luck and have fun in finding your dream speaker.
mrjstark
1,112 posts
 
GV 3A might save you some money without missing a whole lot.

jj2468
280 posts
 
I'd like to suggest a little different approach. Since you are going into retirement, why not make an enjoyable journey out of it? I'm not sure a punch list of everybody's favorite will be of much help.

FWIW, here is free advice and we know what free advice is worth. Well, these days paid advice may not be much better.

Think about which "types" of speakers you have enjoyed and go hear a couple of models in each "type" and commit to not pulling the trigger until you are done with your survey. And add a couple of new "types" in case you surprise yourself. For example, listen to a) a couple of single driver speakers or high efficiency speakers, b) a couple of two way monitor box speakers, c) a couple of multi-driver box speakers, d) a couple of planar speakers and e) a couple of dipole speakers. Maybe add a horn speaker. IMHO, most models within a "type" will share similar characteristics. But, of course, there will be standouts within each "type" and you may like a model from more than one "type". But, it will be very unusual for, say a multi-driver box speaker, to sound like a single driver or planar speaker.

And since you have been doing this for some time, you probably already have a good idea about what "type" of speaker you like. Once you narrow that down, listen to more speakers within that "type" and suggestions within that "type" will yield more useful information (I think).

Last, given diminishing returns, there is no warranty that a $20,000 speaker will appeal to you more than a speaker half that price. Use your maggies during this enjoyable, yet imperfect, journey.

IMHO. YMMV. etc. Jeff
adam18
670 posts
 
I really agree with Jj2468 Jeff's plan. This approach makes a lot of sense to me, and would make the whole experience one of learning and "ear-opening" revelations.
You may fall in love with a $ 5000.00 pair of speakers, and have 15 grand left over for a beautiful vacation. Good Luck, Happy Listenig, and Happy Hunting !!
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mapman
15,679 posts
 
I'd give the Avalons another listen to see if they are worth it to me or not.

If not, I'd buy a pair of $5000 OHMs and do something else fun with the rest of the money.
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