Great Mains for $1000?


I am currently considering upgrading to some new floorstanders, and have narrowed it down to some good used classics. I'm running Kimber pbj, NAD 317, and a Denon DCM-280.

The finalists are (used):

Vienna Bach
Vandersteen 2ce
Audes Jazz
Paradigm Studio 80

I don't have the ability to listen to all of these in person, so any feedback you all might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
plburrows
Mains for Home Theater?

Cerwin Vega CLS 215's....Cant be beat for HT. I run 6 of these bad boys and you just wouldnt believe the Movie sound they produce. Ived owned ML's, Legacys, Magnepans, Paradigms, etc..and for HT, these will spank them. Think clean loud sound with a SVS Ultra per speaker.

If you want 2 channel, there still pretty good, but not a hi end sound. For under 1k, my pick would be Paradigm 80 v2 out of your options. For my 1k, some Magnepan 1.6's
I have those speakers and I need to say are excellent-excellent speakers. I've read people are saying about Mozart are way better - and I believe is true. For the moment unfortunetly I cannot afford the Mozart.
Anyhow I have the DM601 S3 B&W in my office. And I know alot of people will say well it's not fair to compare since are different line. Yes it's true. All I can say is I listen to both pairs. And it's a big difference. I will not say that B&W perform poor compared with Vienna. But Bach sounds way better then my DM601 S3. I didn't expect to see such a difference. But Vienna Bach sounds exceptional. Probbaly you need to step up for a different B&W line/class to beat those Bach. I hope one day I can afford Mozart.
Used to own Vandy's, and no question they were great 10 years ago! However there are bigger and better speakers on the market for the price.
I own a pair of Vienna Bach in a second system and they are great speakers, but make sure you demop them filled with sand. The bottom of the speaker has a hidden compartment that is intended to be filled with sand.
I listened to mine both ways and let me tell you the bass will shock you after the speakers have been filled with sand.

Plus, in Beech or Rosewood finish they put the Vandersteen to shame. The fit and finish is far superior to the Vandersteen or Paradigm. As for the Audes, I have never seen or heard them.
I like the Vandersteens too. I auditioned a pair of 2CE cigs some months ago (based on Audiogon recommendations) and I thought they were very impressive in their price range. Unfortunately, they did not pass the WAF test, so I had to focus on 'traditional-looking' speakers for my living room. The only other speaker on your list that I've heard is the Paradigm, which is a nice speaker too.

I agree with Fishwater - look into everything you can.
Vandersteens can't be beat at their price point but there are other choices to be had in this price range, I recently changed from 2Ces to a set of Tyler monitors & couldn't be happier. Look at EVERYTHING, I never thought a pair of monitors & a sub would work as well as they did for me. Keep your options open but the Vandies are a safe bet regardless of music preference.