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
Asa,

Thanks for the amplifier advice. "Down the road," as you say.... ;-)

By the way, do all of these newer amps lack phono stages and so require a separate phono section?
Rebbe,

If you ever get to the DC/Baltimore corridor area let me know in advance + I'd be happy to give you a listen.
Asa,

Oh, and by the way, I hear that Totem drives their speakers with Naim electronics at shows these days, FWIW.
Rebbi,

You are welcome - my hobby, not a problem.

If and when you consider another amp, I suggest you look at the units described in this link:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1211126685&openusid&zzKnownothing&4&5#Knownothing

After recent listening sessions, I would also recommend the match to the your new CDP, the Music Hall a25.2, as a viable and less expensive alternative to the others. This amp will not provide the magic I hear in the PrimaLuna products (sweetness combined with abundant drive and definition), or the overwhelming PRAT of the Nait integrated amps. But it will provide hours of sour-note-free listening and will mate well with your new CDP. And for what, like $600 bucks???

Anyway, enjoy your new CDP and speakers. The warmer sound of the Music Hall CDP should compliment the PS Audio amp. Once you have given everything a couple hundred hours to run in, I think you will be very happy.