What is under $5k speaker with best bass slam?

Matti:

The Salons use 4th order crossovers, which ultimately allow them to go louder than the 1st-order slope Mahlers, assuming you have massive amplification to drive them (Salons are only 86 db. efficient, while Mahlers are +/- 90 db. efficient).

The Mahlers are a very different type of speaker, being intentionally colored to sound good with large-scale symphonic (i.e., rolled off a bit in the presence region, well-damped cone materials, fabric-dome tweeter, fat in the midbass, all designed to take the bite out of what digital does to string sections and to give body to wood-body instruments -- he didn't name it "Mahler" by accident). Having a peaky midbass, they are particularly exciting with rock/pop (... the WattPuppy formula).

The Salons are more linear and more extended, lower distortion, and often times, a lot less satisfying because of the nature of many recordings (not made for high-end equipment).

The real problem with Salons is that they require high-powered amps, and given that most high-powered amps sound like shit, well, ... .

Raquel, thanks. I've been tossing around the idea of picking up one of these 2 for some time. I don't have the room right now, but one of these days....

What is your CD player? A player with an undernourished output stage wont get the slam to the speakers. The Marantz SA14 v.2 was best I've heard in the low-mid priced category, though I have a turntable now.

I can't resist chiming in in favor of Mahlers. Indeed they can exhibit definite 'bass slam'. Furthermore, unless they are set up properly, they are driven with a great deal of power and a stout damping factor, they can in fact exhibit an excess in the mid to upper bass and some undue warming in the midrange. I have now used Mahlers for 6 months and have driven them with legacy Rowland 7Ms, Nuforce Ref 9 SE2 and Rowland 312. The only configuration where I may have detected some traces of unwanted stereotypical behavior is with the old 7M monos. With the Rowland 312 and Nuforce there is no bloat anywhere and bass is strong and instantaneous, if perhaps slightly more musical and pitched with the JRDG 312. It is worth pointing out that in rooms that tend to suffer of runaway bass, configuring the Mahlers with the subwoofers firing inward may yield a tighter -- if perhaps less expansive -- bass response. Lastly, my Mahlers started to sing only after a 500 hrs breakin followed by a professional 'Master Set' performed by Soundings of Denver (Co). The Mahlers have been just updated with a new tweeter configuration and are now on version V1.5 which has unfortunately gone up in price. Used Mahlers on the Gon are therefore an absolute steal!

Powered Sub (JL Audio) if you want to be able to feel bass slam at low volume, and you can adjust the slam as feel the need!