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Looking for speaker recommendations that I can purchase on Amazon.com

Budget: under US$5000 and would prefer a price point of less than $3000/pair. The most expensive speakers I have owned so far are Polk RTi A7's, so this will be a big jump for me.

Purpose: music

Room: I tend to move every few years, so I don't want speakers that will work best only with very specific room conditions. Currently, I will be using these in a medium size room of about 22 feet x 18 feet. The room has carpet and window treatments.

Music sources: CD's, lossless music files stored on computer and MP3's when that's all I have available. I don't ahve any SACD's yet, but I plan on purchasing more high quality music once I have this system set up.

Music styles: acoustic, Indian classical (sitar, srangi, flute), alternative rock (Portugal. The Man, Sleeping with Sirens, etc.), older rock (e.g., Rush).

The speakers should sound good playing the Tanpura (aka Tambura). It is a classical Indian accompaniment instrument in the "drone" category. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanpura) Example of sound here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7tlqXix_eo
With bad equipment that sound is fatiguing to me. Live it is beautiful and relaxing. Hopefully I can find speakers that will do it justice.

Personal Preferences: I am looking for non-fatiguing, warm, musical qualities. In another discussion topic here on this forum, @mtrot and I agreed about "smooth, sweet, soft, silky treble" and "shimmery, airy cymbals" as goals.

Amplifier: Yamaha P5000S

DAC: to be determined, but probably something like the Teac NT-503

Finally, the speakers of choice must be sold on Amazon.com, Bestbuy.com (or possibly some other similar retail website). I have personal reasons for this limitation. It isn't always true that I will need to buy all my speakers or audio gear from one of these sites, but for the moment, it is a requirement. Please don't recommend anything that isn't available on one of these sites. Thanks.

lowoverdrive
thomascrownafair
11 posts
 
Alborosie
    You are spot on. Amazon is best for mass market average at best products not hifi gear.  After all Amazon is a Walmart competitor.  Having a good relationship with a local dealer is invaluable. You can demo products in your own home and make the choice that suits you.  You can also usually trade in your old gear towards upgrades. 
    The Yamaha P5000s works best with Yamaha club series speakers. Great set up for an arena or night club where quanity trumps quality. Return the yahama if your end goal is quality sound. 
    Best Buy Magnolia is ok. Some products are good. The problem is the staff. Not experienced not super knowledgeable and have limited information about products they don’t sell. 
    My first system was from crutchfield, JVC products with infinity speakers. Next stop was an upgrade to carver gear and Cambridge sound works tower 1s. After 10 years I upgraded to all Krell from source to speakers. 
gnason's avatar
gnason
43 posts
 
How about the Bowers & Wilkins - CM10 S2 Triple 6-1/2" 3-Way Floor Standing Speaker?  Featuring triple 6-1/2" bass cones, a 6" midrange cone and a 1" tweeter, this Bowers & Wilkins CM10 S2 Rosenut floorstanding speaker fills a large room with stunning, true-to-life audio. The tweeter-on-top design ensures studio-grade sound is emitted. 

Product Features
300W peak power handling

Helps ensure rich, dynamic sound.

Triple 6-1/2" DuPont™ KEVLAR® fiber/paper bass cones

Along with a 6" woven KEVLAR® fiber FST midrange cone deliver deep, powerful lows and crisp midrange tones, filling large rooms with stunningly detailed, realistic sound.

1" free-mounted Decoupled Double Dome aluminum tweeter

Provides rich, crystal-clear highs. The tweeter-on-top design helps ensure studio-grade acoustic quality.

3-way vented-box system

Sounds like 1 source rather than several separate sources.

45Hz - 28kHz frequency response (±3dB)

Delivers a wide range of accurately reproduced sound.

90dB sensitivity (2.83V, 1m)

Provides robust audio.

8V nominal impedance (3.1V minimum)

Ensures efficient conduction of power through the speaker.


These speakers are usually $4,000 a pair. Right now, Best Buy has them on sale for $3200 per pair.  They are rated by verified buyers at 4.9 stars out of 5, with 74 reviews posted.  100% would recommend this product to a friend.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/bowers-wilkins-cm10-s2-triple-6-1-2-3-way-floorstanding-speaker-each-ro...


The thing I like about them is that they aren't as large and imposing as my Paradigm Studio 100 Reference Series speakers, so they would fit in any size room comfortably and with any style décor. I am sure your meditation music would sound great on them, but they will really shine when you play acoustic music, which has more range and depth than what I heard on the YouTube link you posted. You can almost hear the finger pickers finger print easing over the string on guitar.

lowoverdrive OP
169 posts
 
@gnason Thanks for the suggestion. I have been hearing good things about B&W speakers. But aren't the CM10 S2 an older model?  Maybe discontinued?

I thought the B&W's to look at now were the 700 (or 800) series. Probably, I'm confused. All this is new to me.

I was looking at some B&W in the 700 series, and several reviews said the 705's were the best. BestBuy has those at about $2500/pair.

I'm still considering these below, which I can find at either Amazon or BestBuy:

  • KEF R900
  • MartinLogan Motion 60XT
  • MartinLogan - ElectroMotion Dual 8" Passive 2-Way Floor Speaker
  • Dali Opticon 8
  • Alta Audio Rhea
  • TANNOY Revolution XT 8F
  • Focal Electra 1038Be
  • Elac (not sure which model)
hensley
1 posts
 
Agree with previous poster regarding the Emotiva Airmotiv T2's. Haven't seen reviews on them yet (relatively new) but there are ample reviews on the T1's. I own the T2's and have been quite pleased. FWIW free shipping and a trial period come with the purchase. The T1's are sold on Amazon
path2one's avatar
path2one
4 posts
 
PSB Imagine T - 1600 pair.  
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