Dissapointed with my new speakers

07-14-09: Knownothing
Part of the problem is the Klipsch speakers are super efficient, so comparing their performance to the B&W straight across is like tying two arms and a leg behind your amplifier's back. ...

Question: do you really want floor standing speakers? If so, quality floor standers for around $1000+- I would look at these:...

Good list, to which I'd add the PSB Image T55 and T65. Both have an in-room sensitivity rating of 93-94 dB, which is a good match for a high current 100wpc amp. Should give a similar result as the Paradigm you mentioned.

Agreed.

Another speaker that might be a stretch new but is gorgeous looking and sounding is the Quad 21L2. These little two ways look like they came out of the Steinway piano production facility and have a marvelously balanced sound to go with the stunning looks. Not bass monsters, but clean bass and midrange and treble to die for. Look for used - worth the shipping to HI if you can find.

>Also while pushing these speakers harder I found that they aren't very cohesive. I can hear the cross-over points for the woofer, the tweeter, and the mid-bass driver and they just don't come together smoothly, they sound like they're coming out of individual drivers (Which they are, I guess I just expect them to meld together better). Do you guys have any suggestions for better speakers? I auditioned a pair of Kef IQ90s and they sounded pretty good however I'd have to pay close to retail and was quoted $1100 which seems a bit much for these speakers.

With conventional speakers you need at least a three-way to get reasonable bass extension and output levels without distortion or polar response issues that make the speaker's performance very room+placement sensitive.

Parts cost on an unoffensive 2-way translates into ~$1K/pair MSRP through brick and mortar dealers, with a 3-way doubling the cost. You just can't sell a decent three way through conventional channels for less than $2K a pair.

The two-way one high and one low pass filter. The 3-way essentially has two high-pass filters and two low pass filters. The bass low pass and mid-range high pass occur at lower frequencies than in the 2-way so they use much larger and consequently expensive reactive components. IOW, cross-over costs more than double. Since little of the driver cost is in the tweeter (you see $25 tweeters on $8K speakers with $80 midrange drivers) and the bass driver requires a larger motor than the midrange driver those costs tend to at least double too, especially where multiple bass drivers are used to maintain sensitivity or provide higher output while fitting into an aesthetic narrow cabinet.

I would save up and find a used pair of Von Schweikert 4JR, they do what you want.