$1000-$2000 Floor-standing speakers for larger room w/NAD 326bee
I’m looking for a set of floor-standing speakers for our main listening room. They will be 2 channel music only. They need to be "cat safe" (no fabric on front, or removable grills), able to fill a larger room (20x15 with vaulted ceiling) with decent volume (typical max listening level is 85-90db but a lot of listening is at low volume as well) and efficient enough for a NAD326BEE. Budget is ~$1000-$2000 for the pair. My old speakers in the room were open baffle design (Hawthorne Audio Duets) and I did like the relatively open sound stage they provided. I may move them to a different room or just sell them (they’re too wide for our current configuration in the room and they aren’t too high on the "cat safe" scale). I have a couple of Polk TSi400’s in the room now as "placeholders" until I decide on a permanent pair. Minimum distance between speakers is about 8-10 feet and listening position is about 10 feet from the speakers. The speakers will need to be within about of the wall behind them. The floor is carpeted.
Music is a mix of Jazz, Classic Rock and Classical and sources are turntable and streaming from a Roon server. I live in the Atlanta metro area and
I’ve been out of the speaker hunting game for a while so any suggestions would be very much appreciated!
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Many great suggestions above. In your price range you really can't go wrong. However, the "cat clause" may be your biggest issue. One suggestion I did not see above is Epos K2. I had a pair and loved them. Got a great deal from Music Direct on them. Silk dome tweeters (perhaps give a more laid back sound) may be a good match for your NAD. They are 89 dB sensitive, front ported, and best of all comes with a cat friendly fascia. Here is a review I found. http://www.epos-loudspeakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/K2-Hi-Fi-Choice-Web-Quality.pdf |
I have 3 cats, and KEF R500, driven by an NAD T758. The cats totally ignore the speakers, and they look great (to me) without the magnetic attached grills. They don't bother with the speakers even with the grills on, though if they did the grills would just fall off. I never cared for the PSB sound that much. It's just a little too laid-back and warm for me, and the contoured rubber covers over the mounting doesn't always seat right. The push-on grills leave ugly fixings when they're off. With a list of $2600 for the R500 though, you'd have to find used...or the dealer's demo product like I got. Came in under $2k. |
As an owner of NAD integrated amp C375 Bee and C275 amp. I also paired them up to the PSB Imagine T's. They have a very clean and neutral sound that really got me revisiting old music and enjoying all over again. I have also discovered and now rate even better, Ohm Acoustics speakers. I bought an old pair of FRS 11's and then had them upgraded. Yes, you can upgrade older speakers here, to the latest generation. In this case to the 3000 series. 2 K for the upgrade but to my ears, totally worth it. They are incredible for presence, depth and clarity. They sound like the performer is right next to you in the room. Ohm does have speakers to fit your room size, so it is good to call them first and they can advise on which speaker, room size and price point you are looking for. Plus their warranty and return policy is very good. They have a web site http://ohmspeaker.com/ . It doesn't cost you a thing to look at and you can audition them. Good luck on your speaker quest! |
