Building a system and need some imput on speakers

All speakers have compromises and it is very difficult to use other people's opinions once you get to the level where the obvious faults are taken care of. We will not even be able to agree on what is important for something to sound like "real music". This means that most of the advice you get is along the "I have XXX and I like it".

My idea of natural sound doesn't get delivered from box speakers, but I am not sure whether you like dipoles at all.

I love my Quad 2805s, but if your pop/rock interests means that you like playing really loud then they will not be for you. In that case I would suggest the excellent Linkwitz Orion (www.linkwitzlab.com), which I auditioned before buying the Quads. They are also great value (your budget including the 12-channel amp) and pretty spouse-friendly since it is smallish and have a large variation in looks.

Selection of speakers is probably the most critical decision in setting up any system. There are so many variables it's incredible -- and I wouldn't rely on anyone here, or anything other than your own ears. $8-9 large is alot of money and a bad decision can be a very costly error. Also, Lapierre's remarks about building a system are right on. A good system will be worth more than the sum of its parts.

This may be heresy on Audiogon, but in my opinion, unless you really really know what you're doing, I think that a system you put together with a good dealer, new, is likely to be more musically satisfying than one made by putting together a selection of very nice "top rated" pieces. The latter is a crap shoot -- and the house usually wins (yikes, where did that come from?!).

New doesn't necessarily mean full retail either, btw. You can usually do a little better -- but dollar for dollar, within your budget . . . especially when you're starting from scratch and new to equipment at a high price range . . . you're better off with a dealer. It's your money, not mine, 'just saying what I'd do.

There are many many good speakers in the $8-9K price range. All of that said, my personal favorite around your price range is the Quad ESL-2805, but all speakers have compromises of one sort or another and the trick is to select speakers that, in the context of a coherent system, compromise in a way that's best to you. (e-mail me if you'd like the name of my dealer, who has never steered me wrong. If I mentioned his name here I might sound like a shill, please which believe me I am not.)

Audiogon definitely has a place, mind you. I buy and sell here. But I wouldn't put together a whole system here, based on the advice of others -- as you'll see, the advice will be all over the place. Hope this helps.

Want a system to sound natural like real music should.Sorry, dont know all the buzz words but I want it to present it self as musical as possible

Everybody wants or already thinks they have this - yet none of the speakers you mention are quite there.

I listen to all formats jazz/pop/classical/rock..

For example the 802D and Dynaudio C4 are known better for Jazz/classical as both have a bass emphasis that people like (it can get overhanded on pop/rock). For examples the Sophias are revealing but a little laid back in the upper mids, which is good for pop/rock - especially on todays compressed pop. Revels tend to be the most "accurate" of the speakers you mention making it most suitable for all genres...

If you are buying used speakers at the 8 to 9 grand price point, it most likely will be the ELECTRONICS you choose to power the speakers with, (source, preamp and amp of course) that will determine whether the speakers are to your liking.

Buying new... as many posts are suggesting, is not a bad idea if you are going to keep the speakers for the next 10 years. But I don't like the idea of wasting a salespersons time if I know I am going to just go out and buy a similar product used.

I imagine that you would easily be able to find a New speaker you could live with for that kind of money. (Proac, Vandersteen, Spendor, Merlin...) However, if you are gonna be like many of us on this site, and enjoy the search for the holy grail, a great used speaker, purchased at a reasonable bargain price, will usually lose a very small margin of the value that you purchased it for, and often times, you will get a tad more for the product.

I couldn't agree more with Scpetscott's point about not wasting a salesperson's time if the plan all along is to buy something used.