Should I try to improve speakers at $2000.00 range

Nostalgia kills great audio aspirations. Sometimes I get stupid and go for a nostalgia purchase; bad move in terms of sound. About two years ago I saw some Mission speakers nearby - had to get them. I ended up selling them about three months later since they didn't sound good. I've had a lot of vintage/nostalgia gear and without fail it all goes away since it never measures up. Working with older gear intentionally to develop one's best system makes it virtually impossible to accomplish the task.

Budgetary constraints are an absolutely valid consideration, but aside from that variable I don't believe I would ever seek older gear (i.e. past 3-4 years) to build my best rigs. You let yourself get off the pace of innovation and things fall apart sonically fairly quickly.

I'll take a different approach - and largely steer clear of the value debate (new products vs old products/technology advances vs. high end price inflation) - and point out that you can probably add an octave of bass extension to your system (even in a smallish room like yours) for $2k. I think I remember the SL 700s pretty well - they were very good speakers and, though they had better extension than the 600s, they still came up short in the bottom end.

Johnny's Vandy recommendation would definitely get you better low end extension, but so would carefully chosen subwoofers (with a controller).

Personally, I suspect that $2k, carefully spent either way, would pay off for you. I know it would for me.

Marty

BTW, in addition to the Vandys, there are many other $2k replacement speakers that would also get you more bandwidth than the SL 700s. Many small $2k floorstanders (I own the very fine omnidirectional Ohm 100s, which are one example) are available to do that trick.

Marty

Zoot45,
I can only add a couple of comments. You really need to figure out yourself, what you want different in a speaker. Certainly things have changed, that doesn't mean you have to. If you can say, I really want more detail or I really want a better sound stage or midrandge is too recessed or too forward, top end isn't smooth, you can then get firm recommendations. Otherwise "can you get better speakers today for $2000?" the answer is clearly yes, but will they make the difference of what you are after? Only you can answer that. I don't know where you live, but my guess is that some audiophiles out there would let you visit and make comparisons with your Celestions. If you don't know what you want differently, you need to listen for yourself and decide what you would like to hear differently. Everyone here could then chime in with clear examples of how different speakers sound differently from your SL700SE

Marty, the potential for greater frequency extension was among the first thoughts to enter my mind when I saw that the Celestion speaker in question was a smallish bookshelf. It's not only a matter of build quality or house sound; it's a matter of absolute sonic potential - and $2K can buy you a lot of sonic potential, especially if one buys previously owned speakers!

I am absolutely not attempting to belittle or marginalize those who have a limited budget for audio! My principle holds true whether considering a low cost or high cost system. Technology changes and assures that better sound is available at all price points as time goes on. i.e. I would much rather have my $300 Denon receiver in my living room system than a 20 year old receiver for $200! I had a vintage Sansui receiver; no way would I prefer it over the Denon. The Sansui was sloppier sounding with poorer transients. You don't have to spend inordinate amounts to take advantage of the more recent developments in technology. :)