Best all around box speaker between 15K and 25K


What is the best all around box speaker for 15K-25K? Like all kinds of music but focus on vocals, Jazz and Classical (no heavy metal).

Vandersteen 5A
Wilson WP 7
Avalon Eidolons
Aerial 20T
Focal-JM labs Nova Utopia
Sonus Farber Cremona
Kharma Ceramique 3.2
dbk
And the Varity Audio Parsifal Encores for a room-friendly 3-way
that's GREAT in the nearfield too!
Shahinian Acoustics Diapason Ensemble. priced at $12,000 and worth twice as much. Probably the best in the world at large scale classical. Thunderous bass and extreme volume and dynamic capacity.
http://www.shahinianacoustics.com
Don't overlook the Bugtussel's, they were much better than the Kharma's that I had
If this isn't an indication as to exactly how personal tastes can be, I don't know what is!

As my ex-girlfriend once said:

"What is annoying to one, is endearing to another!"

How about a Dunlavy SC-IV.
Osborn Grand Monument Reference,
www.osbornloudspeaker.com.au/
Read the reviews
I would second the Verity Parsifal recommendation. Their beautifully refined and transparent midrange makes them great for vocals and acoustic instruments. They can rock too, providing your room is not too large.
Get out and have a listen to the Vmps RM/X's, at around $10,000 a pair you will have plenty of cash left over for an active X-over and extra amp for a bi-amp setup of these monsters. http://www.vmpsaudio.com/rmx.htm

I have not listened to a pair of these yet, but have listened to their little brothers..Vmps RM-40's.

Dave
You can toss in Burmester B99's to the list and Silverline Audio's Grand La Folia. You might as well throw in Sound Lab U-1's while you're at it, possibly even Talon Firebird or Khorus, maybe Cain & Cain Ben ES... the list goes on and on!
Harder to come by, but I love my Dynaudio Temptations. Great sound, slender profile, beautiful asthetics, and a non-box sound!
Cheers,
Gregg
used Genesis 201 ok technically its a ribbon with separate woofer boxes and dedicated woofer crossover/amplifier for 15k it can't be beat
B&W Sign 800. I have much experience with the B&W line. They are simply phenomenal. You simply cannot go wrong.
The Joseph Pearls also belong on your list in this price range, as do the large SoundLabs (may be room dependent).
Vandersteen 5A. It allows you to enjoy the music without the "audiophile sound" getting in the way. If you want music, get the Vandersteens. If you want the popular brand and the most audiophile speakers, take your choice of the others.

More to the point. You can run these speakers with any front and back end electronics and expect good results. As long as they are of reasonable quality you'll get everything that gear is capable of providing. Enjoy!
imo, i thought the joseph pearl's sounded the best at he2003 and they cost 20k. (VOTED best of show the last 2 years if that means anything). the 5a's sounded pretty good also, but i thought the joseph, wilson, and a few other sound better. The Sonus Faber Amati Homage and Cremona speakers sound wonderfull also. Revel Salon's are also worthy of an audition.
Hi, I highly recommend the Parsifal. This speaker has excellent voicing, very amp friendly and can play macro dynamics surprisingly well for there size. It goes with out saying that their micro dynamic performance is top notch. My room is 18L*15W*10Hft and they fill the room with ease. The offer the most non fatiguing experience I have ever heard and their transparency is awesome. The highest recommendation I can give is that I have been buying music (Blues/Jazz/Folk/Rock/Classical) steadily since their arrival in my room.
I agree with Dky: ever since the Parsifals appeared in my room, my music collection has grown at a much faster rate than with any speakers I had owned before. The Parsifals are simply so beautifully voiced and natural that with my Linn Klimaxes they bring me closer to live music than I ever hoped for.
If Joseph stop giving pens and asking everyone at the show to vote for him,Pearl wouldn't be the winner !!!!!

I was there and shocked.

Hey! It was a great pen! Worth the vote!

The Joseph Pearl is also a good speaker.
(Didn't hurt that they were running on Manley NeoClassic
250's in Triode mode.)

My choice though is still the Avalon Eidolon, and if you want me to write it with my nifty new Joseph Audio pen, I will!
Hi,

At CES, I heard all sorts of angry rumors about our 3rd consecutive victory at the HE show.

"they cheated! you know, they were GIVING OUT CANDY!!"

"Pens! They handed out PENS!!"

"Showmanship and marketing"

First of all, asking people to vote for you at the show is not an effective strategy - how many of you would vote for me simply because I asked? Our pens can be used to write
any name you please on your ballot. Telling people how to vote is a sure-fire way to get them NOT to vote for you.

And how many voters do you think were planning to vote for another room, but ingested an M&M and as a result of the sugar high, cast a ballot our way?
(not that we didn't have fun with the idea - at the NY show in 2001, one visitor loudly proclaimed "You cannot buy my vote with M&M's!!" to which I responded "Sir, based upon prior experience, I can and I will!" )

Finally, in John Marks recent column, my "showmanship" and "marketing" skills are inflated into almost mythic proportions.

Showmanship and marketing are easy when you truly believe in what you're selling.

No, we didn't cheat by bribing voters with candy, cajoling them with pens, nor demanding votes.

We cheated because we have an unfair sonic advantage! The Infinite Slope crossover allows the world-class drivers of the Pearl to realize their full sonic potential, free of the lobing and wave interference that plague conventional speakers.

A peer-reviewed paper describing a controlled listening test comparing many different crossovers was presented at the recent AES convention in NY. The authors compared linkwitz-reilly 2nd order, 4th order, 8th order along with finite-zero notch filters (Infinite Slope) and they concluded that based on their results, all speakers should be built using our technology.

You might want to add used Cello Grand Stradivari Master (Dynaudio driver version) to your list. It's rare on the used market. However, it's still unforgettable and collectable.
I know these are great speakers but they have a low sensitivity and require more than 300-400 watts of tube power to get them to sing. Really good tube amps at this level are over 20K.
none of what you have listed are worth anything!!!!
I take it you don't listen to much music. The only question you should have asked is, "is there a better speaker" than ATC'S log on to canadahifi.com to get some info, their about the only speaker used in recording studios around the world. They were used for everything from the movie lord of the rings to remastering pink floyds dark side of the moon to abbey road the beatles. They are the truest, most natural speaker made in the world!
Good luck
Cshouse007- Have you heard all of the above? If not I suspect your claims are suspect!
i also agree with tumbler's reply. I just purchased a pair of totem mani-2's. my reply above was for a very large room. any smaller, i would go with a pair or Totem speakers and invest the $$$$ you would save. You will not be disappointed.
ATC active 100's blow Wilson's away in accuracy, clarity without harshness, and tight musical bass. It's amazing how much bass a speaker rated to 40 REAL hz can produce.
They do need to be played fairly loud to "come on song" and they are studio monitors so limited dispersion / sweet spot. Hey, no speaker is perfect.
Avantgarde Duos. But make sure they are set up properly. A badly set up pair will sound very indifferent. Get them right and they sound real!