16K to Spend. Help me make the end all Upgrade.


Hi, I'm in the process of upgrading my speakers; Aerial 10t's. I need to upgrade the speakers for a couple of reasons, one being the waf. I'm looking to get the best 2ch stereo speakers out there for 15-17K. I'm currently looking at Revel Studio2s and Dynaudio Saphires (although I don't think they're physically attractive so waf would be a factor), also possibly interested in JM labs 1037be's. I really wanted to get people's opinions as to what else is out there, what's better or comparable to these speakers. I don't want to upgrade these speakers again so I'm looking for something to hold me over for a long time to come.
baraeryo
In the right setup, Wilsons can be amazing with their high resolution and the way they hang images in 3D space. Out of all the Wilsons, the Sophias have the advantage of being the smallest and (relatively) easiest to move into optimum position.

BUT!

Wilson speakers came out of Dave Wilson's need for better playback monitors. They are revealing first, musical second. In a professional setting or a no-compromise dedicated listening room, they can be stunning; compromise their placement and room treatment, and you won't be enjoying them so much.

The problem you have here is that you gravitate toward no-holds-barred ruthlessly revealing speakers, while you need to make a concession to placement and decor, the very factors that make ultra high-res speakers unpleasant to listen to.

Placement of any speakers is important, but some more than others, and Wilsons more than most, which is why the purchase of any Wilson speakers includes in-home setup and placement by a factory-trained dealer.

Have you given a listen to any Sonus Faber speakers? They are gorgeous-looking, beautifully made, unfailingly musical, and yet provide a far greater level of detail and resolution than one would expect of "pretty" speakers. The newer "Cremona M" floorstander is relatively modest in size, very full range, and made of hand-placed staves of honey-stained maple, with black accents.

Sonus Fabers are very natural-sounding, but plenty dynamic, and fairly time-coherent. many of their models come with adjustable height feet to adjust the slant of the front panel for best time coherence.

And I guess that's MY long-winded way of saying I also agree with Spencer Bank.
Aerial 10Ts can spoil you because you can pretty much
plop them anywhere and get a friendly sound without
too much boom/sizzle/glare/shrieking/etch or other
audio 4-letter-words. Wilsons and others take a lot more care.
I mention this because I also had the 10Ts driven by the Pass X350 (nice liquid, rounded vocals, a bit small, but fine anyway).
If you're buying new,
you could try to audition some of the speakers that offer home trials where you pay only for shipping if you return them.

Watt Puppies are a completely different experience from the Aerials.
(I went from the 10Ts to the WP6s for a while.)
Well in my search I'm going to audition Avalons in the next couple of weeks. An interesting turn of events is that I've found somebody that's really surprised me with his knowledge and understanding of speakers. We've been talking today about building a very efficient speaker system built just for me.
Lots of folks can surprise us with knowledge and understanding of speakers. But without passion, resources, business acumen, manufacturing skills, patience and luck, they will just amount to one of hundreds who've gone out of business building speakers. If you go down that road, assume that 75% of your price has been gambled, because resale value is almost nil, regardless of the speakers' merits. That puts the achievements of Avalon, Merlin, Magnepan, Vandersteen, Thiel, et al in rarified air. Even often immortalized desginers like Albert Von Schweikert have folded their companies. IMHO, if you want custom work, redo your kitchen. Cheers,
Spencer