New Speakers for $2000

Rlg_audio, Gee, I really don't want to pick a fight with you :-), but again I feel the need to comment on your last post. I basically share your preference, I don't think the Maggies are nearly that bad, in fact I think though quite different, they're quite good, though I think you really have to move up the line to something like the 3 series to really compete with the Vandy 2's, albeit for more money. IMHO, the highs of the Vandy's and the Maggies both veer from neutrality, but in different directions. I'm not at all surprised that a Vandy enthusiast might find the Maggies bright, but a Maggie fan might find the Vandy's dull. IME, the Maggies can offer a different, and perhaps better soundstage than the Vandy's, but the imaging might be better with the Vandy's. The Maggies might be quicker in mids. The Vandy's can offer better if somewhat ripe bass. The Maggies are probably even more room/placement sensitive. It's really a matter of taste.

My wants in order of preference are:
-Resolution
-Neurality
-Imaging
-Sound stage width
-Good highs
-Not so slow mids that it'd make listening to heavier music unenjoyable
-A decent amount of bass or even slightly weak on punch is fine

I should have paid more attention to this set of requirements. Given these plus your narrow listening area, I think Nola Boxers would be the way to go. A mini is going to be easier to place given the narrow room boundaries than a tower. You can use the $500 saved for stands and cables, or toward a powered sub if desired.

I did, however, remember one more $2K speaker worth checking out, the Atlantic Technology AT-1. Available at $2K/pair, it's a tower with an MTM (D'Appolito) array backed by Atlantic's own H-PAS bass loading system that produces meaningful bass down into the 20s. Stereophile's review and measurements indicated an unusually flat response overall. The MTM array helps keep ceiling and floor reflections out of the image that reaches your ears. Review excerpts here, third-party measured response curves here.

respectfully, your 75w/ch amp may not be enough juice for magnepan or revel. in your budget i'd look at the ohms, von schweikert vr2 (huge soundstage and low end) or energy veritas; vanns is also selling mirage omd28 for $1400--they're extremely room-filling.

01-11-12: Loomisjohnson
respectfully, your 75w/ch amp may not be enough juice for magnepan or revel. in your budget i'd look at the ohms, von schweikert vr2 (huge soundstage and low end) or energy veritas; vanns is also selling mirage omd28 for $1400--they're extremely room-filling.

The Vann's price for the OMD-28 is $1400 each, so that would be $2800 a pair. That's still a bargain given that they retailed at $7500/pair and were very competitive at that price. However, the OMD28's little brother, the OMD-15, is also available at Vanns at $1K/pair down from an original $2.5K/pair. They're plenty competitive at their original price and with a sensitivity of around 91dB, will match well with that Cambridge 650A. I've been living with my OMD-15s for 3-1/2 years in an open architecture cathedral-ceiling living space. They definitely fill the space well.

Also, with the money you save you could pick up one or two decent powered subs and then you would have a true full-range system and you could dial in the bass energy for the program material and your listening space.

Salk SongTowers!