$8,000 budget--Need help


I am purchasing a new stereo system. I have a $8,000 budget to spend on speakers and equipment. I am working with a room filled with travertine that is 35 ft. wide by 55 ft.long with 18 foot ceilings. I am going to the CES Show in Las Vegas for my evaluation. One speaker line I am looking at is the Von Schweikert VR4 SR. Can anyone recommend speakers and equipment for my comparison? I listen to all types of music; soft/hard rock, pop, oldies, classical, jazz, etc. I enjoy listening to music that is very defined and realalistic. I do not mind used equipment.

Thank you in advance!
sprinzer
everything im about to suggest goes against popular choices but your GIANT room present's a ton of problem's & treating a room that size is not cost effective so your gear must be chosen around the room,choosing gear that sound's great at a dealership or at ces will not help you in your room no matter how great the review's are.

avoid ces like it's the plague,ANY gear that is being shown at ces will be new model & carry a price tag to match the hype,with an 8k budget & such a demanding room you need to pay for rock solid gear & not hype,an 8k budget can go along way but not on new gear.

first off vr's wont cut the mustard in that room even though they are top flight speaker's they will end up sounding like mini monitor's with zero bass or dynamic's & your ceiling's will suck any bass they have right out of them,ANY audiophile speaker that need's to be away from the wall to sound it's best will not help you in a room that large,you need speaker's that like being close to the wall to add bass response & dynamic's.

a used pair of modern klipschorn's would be about the best speaker still allowing you some cash left to go tword's the rest of the rig,you must have big speaker's with big driver's or you will end up with lifeless & undynamic sound.

dont even think about buying a preamp without tone control's & a loudness contour control,your going to need all the help you can get in the bass dept & tone control's will come in handy to increase bass response & to tame any harsh high's,there are not that many high end preamp's with tone control's other than mcintosh & cello but a cello pre would smash your budget to bit's so a mcintosh c38 would do the trick.

you will also need an amp with huge ball's & i dont think an intergrated will cut it & you can forget tube amp's right from the start,you will need a high current high power solid state amp to make the speaker's move some air.

for amplification i would look to threshold & krell,there are many high current high wattage amp's from both manufacturer's that will fit the bill.

for a cd player i'd go with a tube player to smooth out all the ss gear,a dynaco cdv pro hdcd tube player is hard to beat at any price.

klipschorn's.............................$3,500

mcintosh c38 preamp................$1,000

theshold sa6 monoblock's...........$2,500

dynaco cdv pro hdcd tube cd player...$700

mike.

trav·er·tine (noun)
1. A light-colored porous calcite, CaCO3, deposited from solution in ground or surface waters and forming, among other deposits, stalactites and stalagmites.
2. A compact calcium carbonate used as a facing material in construction.
;-)
Hey,

When you go to CES check out Cary Audio, They really have some nice stuff, Also You can get a nice start with some used McIntosh Gear. I will be at CES, I can't wait to see and here all the great gear. Good luck, It sounds like you have a great room and you should be able to easly push some nice sound though it.

Mark