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Another Speaker Recommendation Request

Greetings Goners,
Just retired and have my new dedicated listening room. Bonus room above garage; 15' wide, 24' deep, 8' ceiling, drywall and carpeted. No WAF to consider. I am all digital with PS Audio kit: BHK stereo 250 amp, BHK pre-amp, Direct Stream DAC and Direct Stream Media Player. Also have Cambridge Audio CXN for streaming and NAS.
Current speakers are Wharfedale Jade 3 stand mounts with HSU subwoofer. Worked well in the previous home, but looking to upgrade. I don't need concert hall performance. I will crank it up on occasion, but mostly solo mid and low level listening. Would like full range floor standers and possibly loss the subwoofer.
Most important attributes for me would be non-fatiguing and imaging. Looking in the $10k range and prefer new vs used. Have considered Spendor D7, PSB Imagine T3 and Focal Electra 1028BE. And shops to demo in Tampa St. Pete area would be appreciated. Thanks!
chuck929
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 
Excellent Vandersteen dealer in North Palm Beach, 
chuck929 OP
19 posts
 
Thanks so much to all who have responded, very much appreciated. Much to digest here! I must say, open baffle speakers were not on my radar (or even in my scope of familiarity) but they sure are intriguing.
Vandersteen Quatro has long been on my dream list, I just wish I liked the way they look.
tomcarr
1,498 posts
 
Another vote for Vandy Quattro Woods AND room treatment. 
tomcarr
1,498 posts
 
Close your eyes when you listen, you'll forget about how they look.
mitchagain
441 posts
 
I recently demoed the Focal 1028 BE and the new Kanta 2. I had to go to two different dealers because each thought their speaker was better than the other one. I thought the Kanta was vastly better than the 1028 BE; and, the Kanta looks much better in person than it does in the photos.

While demoing the Kanta, I asked about the speaker that was sitting next to it, which was the Revel Performa 206 F. When I was told it retailed for $3500, I couldn't believe it. So, I listened to it and I was stunned at how good it was. It sounded about 90% as good as the Kanta for 33% of the price! 

While I wanted to demo the new Revel F228 BE, I saw no point because that speaker is too big for my room (which is only half the size of your room, plus it's in a condo).  If I were you, I'd demo both the Revel F208 ($5K) and their new F228BE version ($10K). If you happen to prefer the former, then you'll save yourself $5,000 to spend on something else!
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