Speakers for metal, hard rock ... also SS amp


I need recommendations for people who play a lot of metal and hard rock. I don't want to be dependent on a sub for the bass slam.

Speakers should be in the $4-8K used range and amp should be high quality.

I don't want it to be too harsh, though, because I ocassionally listen to ambient, female vocals, soundtracks, etc.
mrvegas
Your listening habits pretty much parallel my own, although I probably throw a bit more jazz and classic rock into the mix than you seem to.

I use the Revel Studios and these have pretty decent bass response. It is quick enough to get the hard front edge of the beat of the drum, and yet deep enough to get all but the deepest bass notes. (And since most rock music does not have the really big bass kettle drum or a low octave organ, this is plenty). They also reproduce the vibration of the bass strings amazingly well too. (You can actually hear the individual string vibrations, rather than just a thrumming noise in the bass region.)

Currently Revel is starting to dump the current Studios (and Salons, if you really, really want the deepest bass notes), as they are going to be coming out with a new line soon. This means you might even be able to pick up a brand new pair and save big bucks (or a demo pair to really save money). A used pair of Studios are going for around $6K. The Salons used are a bit more at around $8-9K.

As far as power is concerned, I recommend going with really good powerful monoblocks, like the Mark Levinson or Classe solid state amps or even better the hybrid Lamm M2.1s or M2.2s, which have 200 wpc and 220 wpc respectively. The Studios need at least 150 wpc and the Salons 250 wpc. (I recommend going a bit more if you can, as these speakers need power, and lots of it.)

I use the Lamm M2.1s (200 wpc) and they sound incredible with the Studios. Unfortunately, the Lamms are pretty expensive, even used, going for around $7K used. However, based upon my experience, they are worth every penny. (I previously used the Mark Levinson No. 23 (200 wpc), and while it worked very well, the Lamms really give me a much more detailed, and yet more powerful, sound.

Good Luck in your search.
Mcintosh Amps with horns or most speakers recommended for rock will definatley render the better results over most other amps without a lot of screwing around.. test it trust it.