Speaker Ideas upto $2500

While in-home trials of loudspeakers are a great way to audition speakers in your home, if you don't have sources and amps yet, that could be challenging :-)

You might want to look for authorized audio dealers in your area, and see what they carry. A good dealer will carry speakers and electronics brands that offer good synergy together. It is not impossible that you might find a whole system in one spot. Room acoustics aside, if you like the sound of a particular combo of electronics and speakers in the showroom, you should like it at home. A good dealer might also be willing to let you try out the system at home for a weekend to see how it does in your listening room.

It's a good idea, IME, to cultivate a good relationship with a B&M dealer. That means you do NOT use the dealer to figure out what you like then buy it on line or used. Does this cost you more money? Perhaps, but it might be a good shortcut to a system you enjoy. Also, you might be surprised by the size of the discount you might be offered if you purchase a package from a B&M dealer (especially including cables).

Just remember to bring a variety of very familiar music with you when you go to a dealer showroom. A good dealer will let you listen extensively to your own CDs/LPs. A local dealer I like once let me spend about 2 hours choosing between to $500 CD players!

05-28-09: Bondmanp
While in-home trials of loudspeakers are a great way to audition speakers in
your home, if you don't have sources and amps yet, that could be challenging
:-)

Absolutely. It's a real Catch-22.

The OP has previously stated that he doesn't have any dealers nearby.

I would start out with a combination that has "general" concensus, like the Totem Forest with a 60-100 watt amp, or Adagios with a mid powered tube integrated, and live with that combination for a while.
You will have a very nice system that will be an excellent baseline from which to learn and experiment.
IMO you will probably end up selling some or all of it within a year or two, but at least you will get a good resale value and will have built upon the knowledge of the people in these forums.

05-28-09: Bjesien
I would start out with a combination that has "general" concensus.

I generally agree with that approach. I'd suggest narrowing it down to a specific speaker once the OP decides if he wants a "tube friendly" speaker or a speaker that will be driven by a solid state amp. I believe this is an important decision to make before writing the check.

Having been down this road and having learned from doing it incorrectly, were I to do it again I'd buy a tube friendly speaker around which to build a system...but that's just my preference.

Once a decision has been reached about a specific speaker model, then the OP can search the threads or the virtual systems to see what amps others are using with the speakers.

I actually take my comment above back, and I will explain why. There are many people who have no idea what a good speaker should or does should like. Wouldnt hear distortion or hardness in a tweeter, from good sound. Wouldnt hear thin sound from full sound. Wouldnt hear a large presentation vs a small one,etc. These people wouldnt know a good speaker if they were listening to it right in front of them. So I agree, the best advice is to listen for yourself. If you are one of the people that fall the list above, then at least you can enjoy your speakers, despite the possibility that they are really terrible sounding speakers to someone who hears well. I guess that is what is most important since you will be the one listening anyway.

-There are many great speakers under $2500 to try out-Paradigm 100's, Martin Logan Ascent i's(one listed right now at $1500!!!), Legacy Audio Focus 20/20's, Magnepan 3.6, Vandersteen, and many others.