Floorstanding speaker experiences/recommendations in the $12-25k range


I realize there are thousands of options, but I'm looking for strong personal experiences/recommendations for floor-standing speakers in the $12-25k range. I currently have Dynaudio Heritage Special stand-mounts. They really are a great speaker in many ways, but full-range they are not. There's an obvious missing element to the music in the <45Hz range. I listen to 95% vinyl, 5% CD (I stream off a Bluesound very occasionally to get ideas for albums to purchase). My system is comprised of a Rega P10 with Hana umami red cart, Modwright PH150 reference phono stage, Oppo 205 disk player all into an Octave V80SE integrated amp with super black box.

My current "leaders" for speakers are Qln Prestige 5 and Devore Gibbon X based on what I've heard, but have liked the Wilson Sabrina Xs and have heard great things about the newer Borresen X3s. Any experiences/recommendations welcome. 

Cheers!

njkrebs

I’d suggest before making recommendations to take into account that the OP’s amp, while excellent, is a relatively low-powered tube amplifier. As per John Atkinson’s measurements of the amp it’s not comfortable driving speakers that dip to low impedance levels. From his measurements…

”Octave specifies the maximum power into 4 ohms with KT150 tubes as 120Wpc (17.8dBW), and fig.5 reveals that, with both channels operating, the amplifier just reached this power at 3% distortion. At our usual definition of clipping (1% THD), the amplifier gave 43.3Wpc into 4 ohms (13.35dBW) and 79Wpc into 8 ohms (19dBW).”

So recommending speakers like Revel, Wilson, Magico, Vivid, Dynaudio Confidence, KEF, etc. that aren’t really tube friendly — and especially not low-powered tube friendly — are likely not a good match for this amp as they’ll push it well out of its optimal operating range and into high distortion and poorly-controlled bass. Just something to consider for future recommendations.

I auditioned the Dynaudio floor standers and Magico A3's during the same session. I don't remember the model but as I recall the woofers were a little bigger and, the cabinet was bigger than the A3's.  I went with the Magicos. The Dynaudio's were nice but I thought the A3's beat them. 

That was over three years ago. I've been extremely happy with the A3's. I've updated all of my gear to bring out their potential but it's been worth the effort.

I’ll throw in my two cents worth for your consideration. I’ve cycled through three pairs of speakers — B&W bookshelves, Usher MD2, and currently, what I think will be the last speakers I ever purchase — the Scansonic MB6-B.

Scansonic is the value line of the well regarded (but very expensive) Raidho speakers of Denmark. They are tall, sleek, and sound exquisite — detailed, amazing soundstage and depth, fast, and with incredible range. I have two REL subs in my system and haven’t bothered to turn them on — the Scans do perfectly well hitting the lower frequencies on their own. They retail for $15k.

The MB6-Bs were designed by Michael Borresen who later went on to found his own audiophile company bearing his name and producing outstanding loudspeakers including the Borresen X-3. I considered them when I purchased the Scans — to my ear it was a toss up. Both were amazing loudspeakers at an even more amazing price — between $12-$15k. They were  the best values I could find and certainly kept pace with the Sabrinas that I had longed dreamed of owning.

For context, my equipment is based on Parasound electronics including JC1 monoblocks, JC2 BP pre-amp, JC3 phono amp, and a CD-1 CD player. My primary source is vinyl played on a VPI Scout turntable with a Dynavector 20X2-L cartridge. And the two REL subs mentioned above now get used only with my home theater system.

The Scansonic aren’t well known in the states and you’ll have to dig to find reviews. But with one exception where the reviewer didn’t like the technical “measurements” of the speakers, all of the others I found came to the same conclusion I did — these are amazing loudspeakers that will give you hours of musical enjoyment. 

I first discovered and listened to the MB6-Bs at AXPONA 2023. That was it, I was hooked and purchased them by the end of the month!

Best of luck with your search — enjoy the ride! 

@njkrebs 

Lots of good recommendations above. Add Rockport Atria ii to the list. Amazing speaker. Good luck!

@soix agreed on the Octave being underpowered for the recommendations above. And I mentioned that as well. The only speakers it will be comfortable with is probably the Devore.