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Speakers in the 5-6K$ region & their components

Hi all,

This is my 1st post here.
I'm a long time audio enthusiast and even worked in high-end audio sales for a few years a while back, but I've been out of the loop for a few years now. I'm looking now for a new pair of speakers in the 5-6K$ range to replace my current Merlin TSM. The type I'm looking for is a 2 way 6-6.5'' speaker, preferably a floorstander. I know many brands and models and went through a lot of speakers in the past, so my question is a technical one:

I'm looking only for speakers in this range which use high end componenets. which ones are there?

I've already done some research, so here are a few examples of what I mean:

Proac in its response range is using Scanspeak D2604 tweeter (48$/unit).
PMC in its "i" series - Seas 27TFFC (45$/unit).
Spendor, "A" series - Seas 29TFF/W (52$/unit).

I can go on and also bring examples of the woofers used and more speaker brands, but I think the picture is clear. These are all quality units of well acclaimed manufacturers, but are by no means high-end units. Which are?
My research brought me this far to the following (All in my price range):

Kudos audio Super 10/Super20: Seas T29CF-002 tweeter (330$/unit) + a version of Seas W18NX (196$/unit)

Marten Form Floor: Accuton C173-6-095 woofer (over 300$/unit) + a ribbon tweeter I was unable to recognize (anyone?)

Merlin VSM (as second hand only): Dynaudio D330/A tweeter (over 400$ per unit) + Scanspeak 18W/8545-01 (173$/unit).

BTW, my current Merlin TSM is using Morel MDT30 tweeter (80$/unit) + Morel MW166 woofer (124$/unit) and sounds wonderful to my taste, despite a considerable lack of bass (being a sealed- box design). 

So, given all that, does anyone have any more ideas for speakers I should consider?
roylindenfeld
soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
642 posts
 
Important to note here, the cost of a driver does not indicate how good it sounds. In many/most cases the technology they use is suspect. Example what are the sonic benefits of diamond coated diaphragms. What is so great sounding about ribbon tweeters, plasma tweeters?

So expensive drivers don't necessarily sound great or even better. I think to many speakers today are forward and lean. The audio industry is trying to convince us that is what we should fall in love with. Count my out. 
jhills
323 posts
 
Over the past 30 or so years, I've had and auditioned many very nice speakers - electrostatic, ribbon and box - the Quad ESL 63s one of my favorites. When I downsized my environment, I went on the search to find something in a small package that would sound as much like real music as the Quads. After much evaluation, for a two way dynamic speaker, I found few dynamic speakers that sounded less boxy and more like real live music (in spite of it' low $,2000.00 price tag) than the Gershman Chameleon. Because of my long time love of electrostats and ribbons and now with a bit more room, I now have a set of Magie 1.7s and possibly upgrading to the 3.7is, but for a very musical 2 way un-boxy box with very good detail, decent base and convincing stage - check out the little Gershmans.
Regards,
Jim 
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
 Sounds real is right, but kind of. My impression is a little different.

For any given type of technology, Be or AMT or whatever, there are excellent and crappy versions.  In and of themselves, diamond or Be tweeters are not all that.  Still, there are great versions of each.

As was mentioned before though, the truth is for commercial designs, the quality of parts in the crossover may or may not be all that. As far as I can tell, with few exceptions, the speaker prices are often set solely on driver cost. Since that's true, there's usually very little cause to spend a lot in the crossover.

Also, some one mentioned upgrading crossover parts as a good idea.  While I often recommend it, I've seen a lot of commercial speakers with really wonky crossovers that, while they would benefit from a better tweeter cap, really desperately need a new crossover design.

Best,


Erik
2psyop's avatar
2psyop
779 posts
 
I like the Magnepan 3.7i. I also like the Vandersteen Treo CT. Both require some quality power.
I have heard them both and they sound stellar.
soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
642 posts
 
Some one mentioned Chapman Audio speakers. I heard them at he RMAF a couple years ago. Very, very nice. Relaxed but still involving. A small company in Washington state. They are transmission line so the cabinet resonance is much better controlled then most speakers. You probably noticed that with your adagios. 

Jim
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