Looking for speaker recommendations that I can purchase on Amazon.com


Budget: under US$5000 and would prefer a price point of less than $3000/pair. The most expensive speakers I have owned so far are Polk RTi A7's, so this will be a big jump for me.

Purpose: music

Room: I tend to move every few years, so I don't want speakers that will work best only with very specific room conditions. Currently, I will be using these in a medium size room of about 22 feet x 18 feet. The room has carpet and window treatments.

Music sources: CD's, lossless music files stored on computer and MP3's when that's all I have available. I don't ahve any SACD's yet, but I plan on purchasing more high quality music once I have this system set up.

Music styles: acoustic, Indian classical (sitar, srangi, flute), alternative rock (Portugal. The Man, Sleeping with Sirens, etc.), older rock (e.g., Rush).

The speakers should sound good playing the Tanpura (aka Tambura). It is a classical Indian accompaniment instrument in the "drone" category. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanpura) Example of sound here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7tlqXix_eo
With bad equipment that sound is fatiguing to me. Live it is beautiful and relaxing. Hopefully I can find speakers that will do it justice.

Personal Preferences: I am looking for non-fatiguing, warm, musical qualities. In another discussion topic here on this forum, @mtrot and I agreed about "smooth, sweet, soft, silky treble" and "shimmery, airy cymbals" as goals.

Amplifier: Yamaha P5000S

DAC: to be determined, but probably something like the Teac NT-503

Finally, the speakers of choice must be sold on Amazon.com, Bestbuy.com (or possibly some other similar retail website). I have personal reasons for this limitation. It isn't always true that I will need to buy all my speakers or audio gear from one of these sites, but for the moment, it is a requirement. Please don't recommend anything that isn't available on one of these sites. Thanks.

lowoverdrive
Here are a few quotes from reviews of the KEF R900. Again, I was looking specifically for quotes related to my goal of "smooth, sweet, soft, silky treble" and "shimmery, airy cymbals". Since violins can be a challenge, I also looked for any mention of those.

In particular, if the review mentioned anything negative in this area, I grabbed that quote.

Everything Audio Network: Audiophile Review!KEF R900 3-Way TowerMatched-Pair Loudspeakers“Impressive High-End Sound” http://everythingaudionetwork.blogspot.com/2016/03/audiophile-review-kef-r900-3-way-tower.html
  measures 44.5-inches tall, 9.4-inches wide and just over 14-inches deep. They weigh a manageable 65 pounds each.
  The top-end was never hard or edgy; the aluminum-based mid-frequency driver delivered a quick, tonally correct midrange — without exaggeration or hollowness.
  The drum cymbals and piano tone are spot-on delicious. The metal dome tweeter effectively radiates the top end of those wonderful cymbals, yet no stereotypical edgy or resonances.
  The speakers don't have that ultra low-end like some of the double driver, tower speakers I have listened to, but they are very good for music.
  the R900s produced the violin and accompanying orchestra with convincing authority. The balance of the R900s created a clean, immersive tone with lots of violin harmonics getting through. Reminds me of the excellent, metal-dome RBH-loudspeakers I have auditioned in the past. And as with the drum cymbals, the violin’s upper-end energy was not hard sounding. It was, er, just right, to borrow a phrase.
  The KEF R900 speaker is a well-conceived, three-way tower that performs well above its price point. As a stereo pair, the speakers offers a balanced symmetry with airy highs, a very good midrange and ample low-end with nary any bloominess. If you are into a true, sonic picture of the source audio, especially hi-res music, the R900 is a speaker to consider. You need at least a medium-size room to enjoy its virtues.

6moons audio reviews: KEF R900 http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/kef3/1.html
KEF R900 Loudspeaker Review | StereoNET https://www.stereo.net.au/reviews/review-kef-r900-floorstanding-loudspeakers
  Mids, and especially vocals, are pushed ever so slightly forward in the presentation. Highs are very well extended, but don’t push too far forward into the mix to be overbearing
  Unlike many loudspeakers, I actually found the R900 to not be overly fussy with speaker positioning.
  Those who do not have ideal listening conditions or rooms - fear not. The KEF R900 is not a fussy, directional monster.

KEF’s R900 speaker | Stereophile.com https://www.stereophile.com/content/kef%E2%80%99s-9000-speaker
  a bit of tinny-ness on top and booming on the bass.

KEF R900 Loudspeaker | Hi-Fi+ http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/kef-r900-loudspeaker/
  they are so dynamically and tonally consistent that they are almost impervious to level, going loud or quiet with equal ease and a totally absence of dynamic collapse or strain.
  the bass is light on its feet, transparent and tactile, placing notes and giving them shape in a way that you’d normally expect from a far more expensive system and speaker. That clarity and sense of musical purpose extends up the range, embracing a fluid and expressive mid-band before reaching the clean and extended upper frequencies. The Uni-Q’s tweeter might not possess the sheer speed and resolution of Focal’s beryllium units or the almost reticent smoothness of the more affordable diamond drivers, but it more than makes up for that with sheer continuity, providing a natural extension to the midrange that is indistinguishable in cast or character

SoundStage! Access | SoundStageAccess.com (GoodSound.com) | SoundStage! Access | SoundStageAccess.com (GoodSound.com) - KEF R900 Loudspeakers https://www.goodsound.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/456-kef-r900-loudspeakers
  The R900’s tweeter warrants an ovation and a comment. It took over cleanly and effortlessly from the Uni-Q midrange, giving nary a hint that I was hearing two different drivers. Such unity of sound is found elsewhere, but almost always at higher prices. Furthermore, the tweeter sounded smooth throughout its operating range, without the edge that some metal domes can have. Nor was it smooth in the way of, say, speakers from Sonus Faber, whose characteristic smoothness can obscure a recording’s finest details. Rather, it was smooth in its reproduction of the finest details. In doing so, it helped paint a quite transparent soundstage -- as in James Levine’s performance, as pianist and conductor, of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, with the Chicago Symphony (16/44.1 AIFF, DG Deutsche Grammophon): I heard clean through to the back of the stage, with no haze or ambiguity to muddle through to hear the players. Partial credit is due here to the Hegel H300, whose preamp section is as quiet as its amplifier and DAC are resolving.
  My comment on KEF’s aluminum tweeter has to do with its ability to play well past 20kHz. Whereas other tweeters' tendency to peter out at or before 20kHz exhibits itself as a relaxed or unobtrusive top end, the KEF sounds as if it remains flat straight on through this threshold of human hearing. From my very first listen to the R900s, I heard a top end with copious extension, but extension that wasn’t exactly laid-back. It wasn’t bright or edgy, but leaned slightly toward that end of the audioband.

Compared to Vivid Audio’s V1.5 two-way speaker ($7500/pair), however, the KEF R900’s overachievement reached a ceiling. The diminutive V1.5 uses the same tweeter (though not the same tube loading) as Vivid’s flagship Giya G1 ($60,000/pair) -- a catenary aluminum dome whose output extends all the way up to 39kHz, ±2dB. While the V1.5’s single 6.2” midrange-woofer couldn’t hope to match the bass reach of the R900’s twin 8” cones, the Vivid was superlative through the mids and highs. The V1.5 produced greater transparency, a more effortless, organic sound, and even greater resolution than the R900.


Premium Performers: KEF R Series Loudspeakers Review | High-Def Digest https://hdgear.highdefdigest.com/34168/kefrseriesloudspeakers.html
  If you're looking for premium speakers to fill your home theatre and handle a variety of musical genres, you can't do much better than the KEF R Series. Transparent. Well-rounded. Superb rendering and imaging at all volume levels. A powerful-yet-compact subwoofer. Fantastic in pieces, but as a complete sysem your home will sound better than your local movie theatre. There's almost nothing to nitpick, though badly compressed audio might reveal itself, and prepare thyself to declare war on dust.

Amazon.com: KEF R900 Floorstanding Loudspeaker - High Gloss Piano Black (Pair): Home Audio & Theater https://www.amazon.com/KEF-R900-Floorstanding-Loudspeaker-Gloss/dp/B007Q6Z5MO
  Finally have a set of these after running through pretty much the entire R range. These are the best by a long way. It's not close. Don't listen to anyone telling you the R500s image better. They don't.

KEF R900 Speakers https://www.audiot.co.uk/products/kef-r900-speakers-4651.aspx
  They require considerable current capability from the amplifier to deliver their best and therefore need to be partnered with excellent electronics.
Here are some quotes from KEF LS50 reviews:

https://www.whathifi.com/kef/ls50/review
"Given a little space to breathe and mounted on a pair of solid stands these monitors sound terrific. The first thing that strikes us is the quality of the bass performance."
"the LS50’s innate transparency means that any flaws in the partnering kit will be apparent. But get it right and you have what is one of the best standmounters below £1000, and easily one of KEF’s most musical efforts in years."
"the LS50's high frequencies sounded very clean, with no grain or steeliness. This is a high-quality tweeter. The LS50's treble did sound a little soft at first, compared not only with the DeVore O/96 (reviewed by Art Dudley in this issue), but also with the mellow-balanced Sony SS-AR2 (reviewed by me in October). The ostinato hi-hat cymbal in "The Trader" sounded a little subdued, though cymbals in more recent recordings, such as my own Rendezvous (CD, Stereophile STPH013-2), were reproduced with a natural tonal quality and precise, stable stereo imaging."
"Listening to our two sopranos, Julie Adams and Carin Gilfry, and comparing what I was hearing through the KEFs with my memory of what I'd heard live at Bill Schnee Studio, I would go so far as to say that the LS50 is one of the finest speakers at reproducing female voices that I have heard"
"Next up was the identically priced but somewhat larger Bowers & Wilkins CM5 (reviewed by Robert J. Reina elsewhere in this issue). The CM5 was noticeably more sensitive than the LS50, and had a lighter, airier balance, but was also slightly laid-back in the treble"
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-1UeSj6cbCKX/learn/kef-ls50-home-speakers-review.html
https://www.cnet.com/news/the-audiophiliacs-speaker-of-the-year-the-kef-ls50/
"LS50 is one of the best small hi-fi speakers I've heard at any price."
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/kef-ls50-loudspeaker/
"The LS50 is tuned for smaller rooms and is meant to take advantage of the room gain that can give mid- bass response a boost."
"The KEF LS50 is one of the most all-around-satisfying little speakers I’ve reviewed in some time."
"The mid- and upper-treble range is smooth; the sibilance region is controlled— crisp and clean, but with compliance."
Selected quotes from reviews of the Dynaudio Excite X34 2-Way Floorstanding Speakers.

What is "upper treble shading"? Is that the opposite of brightness? Could shading be something positive in my case?

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/dynaudio-excite-x34/ "In tonal balance, the X34 is reasonably neutral with the exception of some upper treble shading, and a hint of mid/upper bass ripeness. Strings could be sweeter—they tend to be a little dry, and violin section layering is not quite fully explored."

http://www.highfidelity.pl/@main-458&lang=en
"you should combine them with amplification that doesn't add anything from itself to the upper midrange, or maybe even is a bit shy in this area. These speakers aren't really bright sounding, but they are capable of delivering so much information that less expensive amplifiers are not able to deliver. ... I would suggest pairing them up with amps offering a bit warmer sound. Heed, Roksan, Advance Acoustic – you should look among these. Clones Audio should be a nice partner too. Or some tube amplifier."

"Their sound signature is somehow specific so you need more time than usually to discover what this sound is about. To achieve this kind of sound (that many will recognize as the right choice) Danish designers had to make many choices. One of them was a choice of tonality. X34 offer „fresh”, open sound – I've already mentioned that. They deliver a lot of information – we know that already also. To use these features to the maximum a decision was made not to roll off the upper midrange. I'm talking about the range between 2-4 kHz that is powerful and unambiguous."

https://www.whathifi.com/dynaudio/excite-x32/review "We love these Dynaudios. We're keen on the Excite range as a whole, but it's these X32s that shine brightest. So bright in fact, they were triumphant in our 2008 Awards. ... With the arrival of new competitors (namely the Spendor A5s), we are starting to see small chinks in their armour, though. One is that when pushed to very high volumes, they do lose a little clarity and composure. The other is that the treble could do with a bit more sparkle."

http://www.hifi-review.com/153256-dynaudio-excite-x34.html "Excite X34 speaker systems showed smooth, organized sound. The dynamics is emotional, without overkill. Bass is well performed and quite deep and powerful. Musical scene is clear and spacious. A neat upper case fills the scene with naturalness and lightness. Timbre resolution is on top. The smallest details are well seen. Localization of the sound sources is slightly blurred. The sound of cymbals impresses - you feel metal, but not the bounce. The speaker systems manage to transfer the character of composition, the composer's idea. Electro music sounds very good."
Purpose Music
Vandersteens are way more sophisticated than a Box
I heard the brand mentioned above last night again in one room the Vandersteen 3A Sigs another easy choice
Vandersteen phase and time correct use propitiatory drivers in a stepped baffle-less muli enclosure to negate unwanted boxiness and reflections that add artificial brightness. All drivers are in sinc with the pulse of the microphone preserving all the music's fundamentals and overtones intact.
 Unlike other speakers where some drivers in phase and others 180 out.
Kavi Alexander used these to master A meeting by the river. Rye Cooder Indian recording artist Hindustani Virtuoso Bhatt playing together won a recording achievement.
Vandersteen would want you to have the personal support that you deserve. The promise of making sure performance is delivered with all the details dealt with where mail order clerks just aren’t trained for this
Your call on what you deserve.
Best JohnnyR
Audio Connection
Vandersteen dealer 27 years

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