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A spousal revelation ... and a tall order. Help

I'm one of the lucky ones ... my wife loves music, live and recorded, and thus tolerates, even encourages, my constant gear and speaker changes. I asked her to marry me on the day she said--and I quote-- "I don't care what it looks like, as long as it sounds good." Ever since, I have, truly, been trying to find speakers that I think she will love.

It finally dawned on me the other evening what she most values in an audio system, and it's not what I thought.

It turns out she loves the ability to locate musicians and instruments in the recreated (created?) recording space, and she gets giddy when those images are fleshed out and palpable.

So, my question is obvious: in the context of our room and other equipment (see below), what speakers in the < $3,000 range might I try that provide the above qualities?

Our amplifiers are now all tubed, ranging from HK Citation II, to Quad II's, to SE (813's, 300b's, 2a3's). Front end is mostly analog--various TT and arm/cart combos (eg., Thorens, Garrard, Technics SP, JMW-10 arm/Benz L2 cart, etc.) Listening area is 16'x 28', with two good corners at one of the narrow ends.

Oh yeah -- she also likes good, clean, deep bass.

I've got no prejudices or pre-conceived notions about what to get, so I'm open to any and all thoughts or suggestions. My only limitation, aside from the $3,000 budget, is her dislike of shopping and in particular shopping at high-end audio salons, so getting her out to listen is tough.

Thanks so much for reading this, and for any suggestions you care to offer.

Happy Holidays!
gtrmkr
schipo
1,268 posts
 
I wish you lived next door to me and your wife had a twin sister..
peter_s
1,348 posts
 
Maybe you guys should take a vacation to an audio show (CES, Montreal, etc) and do some listening. I really liked Green Mountain Audio's top of the line speakers for imaging - maybe used? Then there is the Innersound line, and the new speakers from their founder - but I think this is good imaging for one person not two! Please let us know what you come up with.

Peter
ethanh
48 posts
 
If you want deep, taut, and powerful bass with those amps you'll probably need something very large and efficient or something with a powered woofer. In any case, you'll want to make sure it has a smooth impedance curve to match your amplifiers.
tobias
1,534 posts
 
A bit of room treatment and the perfect setup will do more for imaging than you or your partner can imagine. There are many sources for info. The absolute best is having a magician come to your house and do it before your eyes and ears. Magicians do exist. You might want to check out books, though, and here's one :

http://www.getbettersound.com/

Other than that, Triangle speakers are great imagers. So are my Meadowlarks ( sadly, the company has closed ). But again, setup, setup, setup is what really matters.
learsfool
1,215 posts
 
I would heartily second the horn speaker recommendation, particularly with your low-powered tube amps. I have a pair of used Klipsch Cornwalls that I bought here a year ago for only $600. You can find the big Klipschorns used in that price range sometimes. I would also recommend Altecs, and there are many newer horn speaker designers out there as well, though many of them will be above your range. Especially if you like classical or vocal music, there is nothing like horn speakers driven by low-powered tube amps.
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