Speakers to mate with McIntosh gear

Markd51:
I'm with you on the JBL's. There's just nothing like that effortless sense of impact with those Alnico 4" voicecoiled 15" jobs. What I have found very helpful in taming the JBL's is using a fairly high quality 5 band fully parametric eq like the Phase Linear or Technics of the late 70's.

I also have the Mcintosh MC-402 and I have a MX-119 for a preamp/processor. I am using the Vienna Acoustics Mahlers for the fronts, Waltzs for the rear surround and a Maestro for the center. I am using three bridged channels of a Mcintosh MC-7106 for the center and surrounds at 320 wpc.

I do most of my listening as two channel and with the MC-402. I love my Vienna Acoustic Mahlers. They retail for $10k, but I was able to buy a mint pair at $3900. There are deals out there especially on this website.

A long time ago I did own a pair of JBL 4343 speakers, I loved them, and they were very special to me. I foolishly sold them when I went back to school, but they were nice. They were a very different speaker than the VA Mahlers though!

My wife will tolerate the Mahlers, but just barely! (They also sound a lot better in many ways!)

The JBL speakers are great and if I was able to rock out and was single I might be look for a pair, but I am at a different stage in life and am seeking something with a little more refinement that can still kick ass (bust discreetly of course!)

Another possibility is Revel´s F32 or F50, which you could easily find on the gon for your budget, and which both offer the richer sound you are craving for.

There's a pair of Eggleston Rosa's for sale ($4,600) here on Audiogon that would be a good match. I'm very happy with my MacEgg combo in a similar size room.

I have a McIntosh MA-6500 SS int. amp and I use the new Sonus Farber Dolmus Concerto two-way floorstanders with Nordost Solar Wind non-bi-wire cables and I think they are just smashing together. The speakers take about 500 hours to fully break-in and the wires about 30. The speakers list at $3500 and the wires are about $400. (spkrs. are very good looking too!)