I had the Rainmakers, 11X16 room. I thought they were great, though a bit of a slump in the midrange, and the bass is bumped up to get that low.
I was running them with either a Sansui AU-717 or a Yaqin 100b (KT-88 push pull tube).
I decided to listen to new speakers, never a good idea ;).
Local dealer had the totems and a few other brands. They also were powering them with a Simaudio integrated.
The Rainmakers sounded great but when he swapped in a pair of Focal 1008be2's everything changed. Luckily they were on a moving/demo sale. I sold my rainmakers immediately. There was more resolution, coherency, accurate bass. They are just so much better. They also list at around $4500.
My point. Listen to the Rainmakers in your new room. To get anything appreciably better you're going to have to raise your budget. The Rainmakers list at about your $1500 budget, they are wonderful speakers and I truly enjoyed mine.
I have a pair of the Vandersteen 1b's doing TV/home theater duty they do need room but remember that the whole speaker is larger than the actual drivers so they're a bit misleading in their size. You could probably get them used for about half of your budget.
In fact I would look at used or demo models in you area.
I got a pair of the Focal chorus 714's for another room and although really good they don't have the resolution of the Rainmakers. It isn't till you get into the Electra, Sopra, or Ultra line of the vocals do you really get the true focal sound (just my opinion).
Also remember floostanders are harder to place to get everything right, compared to stand mounted and sub woofers.
good luck and keep us posted.
mdr
I was running them with either a Sansui AU-717 or a Yaqin 100b (KT-88 push pull tube).
I decided to listen to new speakers, never a good idea ;).
Local dealer had the totems and a few other brands. They also were powering them with a Simaudio integrated.
The Rainmakers sounded great but when he swapped in a pair of Focal 1008be2's everything changed. Luckily they were on a moving/demo sale. I sold my rainmakers immediately. There was more resolution, coherency, accurate bass. They are just so much better. They also list at around $4500.
My point. Listen to the Rainmakers in your new room. To get anything appreciably better you're going to have to raise your budget. The Rainmakers list at about your $1500 budget, they are wonderful speakers and I truly enjoyed mine.
I have a pair of the Vandersteen 1b's doing TV/home theater duty they do need room but remember that the whole speaker is larger than the actual drivers so they're a bit misleading in their size. You could probably get them used for about half of your budget.
In fact I would look at used or demo models in you area.
I got a pair of the Focal chorus 714's for another room and although really good they don't have the resolution of the Rainmakers. It isn't till you get into the Electra, Sopra, or Ultra line of the vocals do you really get the true focal sound (just my opinion).
Also remember floostanders are harder to place to get everything right, compared to stand mounted and sub woofers.
good luck and keep us posted.
mdr