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16K to Spend. Help me make the end all Upgrade.

Hi, I'm in the process of upgrading my speakers; Aerial 10t's. I need to upgrade the speakers for a couple of reasons, one being the waf. I'm looking to get the best 2ch stereo speakers out there for 15-17K. I'm currently looking at Revel Studio2s and Dynaudio Saphires (although I don't think they're physically attractive so waf would be a factor), also possibly interested in JM labs 1037be's. I really wanted to get people's opinions as to what else is out there, what's better or comparable to these speakers. I don't want to upgrade these speakers again so I'm looking for something to hold me over for a long time to come.
baraeryo
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Boy the Vandersteen 5A with Pass would be great plus you can tune them to your room with the onboard 11 band woofer EQ, while the top sock may be a turnoff the bottoms look stunning in both stock and many premium wood options and the have a reasonable footprint. I and a quite a few other view the 5A as the best speaker out there and a reasonable price that is right in your budget but there are some that take issue with looks....I dont think they draw alot of attention to themselves and maybe that is a bonus for you.
baraeryo OP
20 posts
 
The Studios are pretty narrow in the front and the finish on them is nice. I need something that doesn't have a huge footprint. The Sonus Faber Cremona M's look very nice but they look like hulking behemoths from the pictures I've seen. The Aerials are big, bulky, boxy they look like R2D2 in the room. I have them in black finish so they're even more noticeable. I've gotten pretty good sound from them. I do remember auditioning the Wilson W/P years ago though and they were much more detailed and could go lower in the bass than my aerials. They sounded really good. I'm also going to use the speakers for a 2ch HT setup. They'll probably used 50/50 music and HT.
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
a 10k itch may get scratched, and you'll only get 'different' and maybe a baby step 'better'. keep the aerials, unless you just want some cool cabinets like avalon.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,333 posts
 
Baraeryo,

For a modest dual purpose space and given WAF considerations you might do well to consider small high quality two ways and a powered sub. You could wall mount the speakers to conserve space and you only need space for the sub.
steveaudio
328 posts
 
*Ok, my current amp is a Pass X350. Although I'll probably trade that in and get something else.......The room would be about 11x19*

Why are you trading a Pass X350??? What's wrong with it? Also, does buying $16,000 speakers for an 11x19 ft. room make sense? I have Totem Mani-2 Sigs in my 12x16 LR. I think they sound & look great with the Totem stands. Paid about $3500 slightly used. I bet they'd sound great with one of the big Pass Labs amps :-)......
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