Speaker recommendation for married couple


I am the guy who opened the thread "Harbeth Love". Unfortunately, wife didn't like them at all. She listened to ATC, nope. Spendor? Nope. I do trust her ears too but we need speakers that we both like. I remember her liking this Sonus Faber speakers (can't recall the model but I know newer Fabers). She also likes KEF LS50 which I find good but not outstanding. Any help for this married couple?:)
celo
Sonus faber Cremona M Auditors are spkrs my wife liked if you want stand mounted monitors.   We also got some YG acoustics Carmels for our family room that she really likes (yes, I'm a lucky man...).

also, I'd agree that Vienna Acoustics might work. They are very attractive speakers and with their thinner profile, they don't look like bulky old school spkrs.  I actually got a pair of Mozarts for my 20-something daughter.
Tekton speakers aren't so attractive looking…might sound OK but really….maybe with some exotic finish.  I'm looking into single ended tube amps so I just bought a pair of (93db efficient) Sonist Recital 3s, solid wood (Poplar) with a deep reddish finish, and they look great. My wife likes them, but doesn't care much about gear as a hobby as is the case with 99% of everybody I know. I try to hide wire behind things and keep the rig from dominating the room, and when people come by for fun I move the speakers back so so nobody feels like they could knock them over…I put the grills on also if I think about it.
Notes from the wife :)

Thanks everyone for the input! I really do leave these decisions to my audio geek - he can have whatever he wants and I just want him to be happy. Unfortunately for him, he has a burning urge to pass it through me for approval because he thinks I have better ears 😂 

I want to feel the music in my bones, I want to feel like I can close my eyes and am listening to it live. The full reverberation of the bass, the nuances in the metal strings of an acoustic guitar. The sibilance in vocals just grates my ears. I basically want to sit in the 1980s Maxell poster and be blown away. 

I don't particularly remember the Sonus Fabers except that they were very expensive 😂 

The KEF LS50, it's tiny and aesthetic perfection (imho). We've listened a few times. It's a very tight and clean sound, bass is pretty damn good (even better supplemented with a sub), but perhaps not as natural in the vocals for me to be blown away. Not as warm as I'd prefer.

Harbeths, I cannot pinpoint it, but I just didn't feel it. I felt like it was a simple speaker, and it just felt flat. Definitely a warm sound but I just didn't feel the power in the vocals. I think the lows drowned the sound. 

So, I guess I am looking for warmth and bass, detail in mids, and no/low sibilance in vocals.

Hello wife.  Buying Hi-Fi is quite a tricky subject.  Sizable dosh for something personal.  It is even more tricky for me because I live very close to the edge of the earth and the opportunities for listening are few and far between.  Not only that but I have a wide range of styles to accommodate; from singer and guitar to large orchestra. That is enough about me.   I like the suggestions so far about Sonus, Canton, and Tannoy.  You can add Triangle and to that.  In particular I think the 'paper driver' comment is right on the money.  I think little boxes - Harbeths, LS3/5a, Kef LS50 - wont cut it.  These days manufacturers do sterling work with getting bass from small designs but the bass - while there - seems a little contrived, without real body.  Sorry for the abstract language, but hopefully you are used to it by now.  Or as has been said 'There is no substitute for cubic inches' - or was that in relation to vehicle engines?  :->  I know there is already enough to think about but (& sorry if I have missed it) what amp is to drive the speakers?  The relationship between those is the most important issue in system matching, in fact this is why 'active speakers' are inherently right.  Good luck.

Listen to these:

  • Monitor Audio Silver 6 or 8. Pick whichever one works for your listening room size.
  • KEF LS50 plus a good subwoofer; the sub could make it work for the both of you.
  • Magnepan 1.7, with or without subwoofer. This is the one that my wife picked over several others including the GoldenEar Triton 7. You can also add a sub to this one to give it more low end oomph while being free of boomy, boxy resonances. This is a *fabulous* speaker for the money. It's the one we bought, and it captivates me every day.
  • Sonus Faber Venere 2,5; voluptous, seductive, and engagingly musical. Also beautiful.