$1000-$2000 Floor-standing speakers for larger room w/NAD 326bee
I’m looking for a set of floor-standing speakers for our main listening room. They will be 2 channel music only. They need to be "cat safe" (no fabric on front, or removable grills), able to fill a larger room (20x15 with vaulted ceiling) with decent volume (typical max listening level is 85-90db but a lot of listening is at low volume as well) and efficient enough for a NAD326BEE. Budget is ~$1000-$2000 for the pair. My old speakers in the room were open baffle design (Hawthorne Audio Duets) and I did like the relatively open sound stage they provided. I may move them to a different room or just sell them (they’re too wide for our current configuration in the room and they aren’t too high on the "cat safe" scale). I have a couple of Polk TSi400’s in the room now as "placeholders" until I decide on a permanent pair. Minimum distance between speakers is about 8-10 feet and listening position is about 10 feet from the speakers. The speakers will need to be within about of the wall behind them. The floor is carpeted.
Music is a mix of Jazz, Classic Rock and Classical and sources are turntable and streaming from a Roon server. I live in the Atlanta metro area and
I’ve been out of the speaker hunting game for a while so any suggestions would be very much appreciated!
I have a pair of Martin Logan Requests for sale in that price range. These speakers feature a very full sound stage. They are somewhat bright and very responsive. An outstanding speaker for the price! https://www.audiogon.com/listings/planars-martin-logan-request-2017-10-28-speakers |
This whole cat thing made me start thinking. You may not be able to get the sound that you want if the grills are a big deal. maybe you can. I think with Maggies, I'd be freaked out as the grill is the whole speaker panel. If the cat touches those, he could potentially ruin the whole speaker. Could he or she get into the perforations on the ML and hurt him/herself or the speaker? Maybe not, but just made me think, lol. this is an interesting thread to say the least. |
My room and listening dimensions are very similar to yours. I found a fantastic deal on fully upgraded Tekton Pendragon's for $1,800 barely pre-owned. They are plenty loud enough with my 8 watt SET amp and sound amazing. Tekton's frequently show up on the used market at prices that are low risk if they weren't your cup of tea. |
joshelston-Thanks for the lead on the Elos, they look interesting. @kenm10759- The KEF are over my budget new but I bet I can find used within the budget. Thanks for the suggestion. @redbaron The ML look great, except I think they will look even "greater" to our cats! @axememan and @64voxac30 - I have considered Tektons, especially the Lore and Enzo models. So many possibilities out there, but keep the suggestions coming. Now I need to get some listening in! |
