I'm ready to pull the trigger on some new speakers.looking for some last minute advice


Hey all,
I know that there are too many posts like this when it comes to buying speakers, and I know that the answer is 'what sounds best to me', but maybe there's something that I have overlooked. Maybe someone has had a bad experience, or has been blown away, etc.  I hope to buy one of these soon. I have an 80W NAD int amp and my room size is 14x12'
The speakers I've listened to in the last 3 days are :

Golden Ear Triton Two+ Tower
Paradigm 85F
KEF r700
B&Wcm10
revel F206
Focal Aria936

It's not easy to remember what one speaker sounded like when listening to a different one days later.
One dealer won't do an A-B comparison because he believes it's deceiving?
From what I've read, the Golden Ears are either loved or hated.

So any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

Dan
128x128snoopgordie
Nice short list you have put together and good to hear that you were able to listen to all on them.  Surely something struck you about each when you auditioned?

FWIW, here is my take of them.  Focal, B&W too bright for my tastes.  Always thought Kef were a little weak in the bass dept.  Have heard high praise for the Tritons but mixing active subs in a passive system reminds me a Def Techs which I never liked for music applications.  I am sure the Tritons sound great but their design would steer me away - yeah I know, my own built-in bias.  But we all have them.

But I never heard a Revel I didn't like.   Also a friend has a pair of F12 Concertas that I have spend a lot of time with. Very smooth, musical speaker. So I gotta believe the new F206 Performa3's sound even better. This would be my first choice if looking for a well balanced, musical speaker.  Good luck! 



voxerama, just so you should know, there are numerous GET owners who have reported that Golden Ear has honored warranty service (albeit seldom needed) when the issue was caused by user error or the warranty has expired. In fact there is a current thread now on their forum about the outstanding support service if and when needed.

4425, I kinda sorta beg to differ. While the Revel may be an outstanding overall value, I believe the top model Salon 2 was compared (under "professional" review) to the Golden Ear Triton 1. When the price tag of $22,000 versus $5,000 respectively was brought into the fray, it became a bit clearer which was the better value.  
With a relatively low powered amp you should take care to look at the sensitivity and impedance specs on the speakers you're considering.  Some of the speakers on your list are known to need some power to get the best out of them.  There is a nice pair of Joseph Audio RM25s for sale here now at a nice price that sound fantastic and don't require much power to drive.  Tough to beat at $1295 IMHO.  Best of luck.
Which ever speaker you choose make sure you have a good return policy in place. Speakers tend to sound different at home then compared to the store. Sometimes better sometimes horrible. Another post mentioned the Ryans ,That will probably be my next speaker. Good combination of old school base(clean and punchy) and nice clear non fatiguing highs. I also like the paradigm 85F good looking and build quality with nice detail price not to bad. Good Luck
Thanks for all the suggestions!  There's not a Ryan loudspeaker dealer within 2 hundred miles of me, so I can't check them out.  I visited a website that carries the Acoustic Zen, http://www.soundsofsilence.com/ and I wasn't familiar with anything there.  The Revel is 500 bucks cheaper than the others, so that's a plus.
 I've got it narrowed down to the Focal and Revel and luckily one dealer (about 90 minutes away) carries both.  I'm contemplating bringing my wife with me for another set of ears, but what do women know about hi-fi?  :)

Dan