Best floorstanding speakers under $2000

My advice is get a plane ticket to Denver next Friday and spend some time at RMAF. Get a "ears on" demo and determine what works for you and your budget.

Talon Raven or Khorus, very good.
Energy Veritas 1.8 or 2.8, very, very good.
Talon are efficient, Veritas are not.
Aerial 10T's are quite good, not efficient.
Meridian DSP-5500's, good - and have amplifiers built in.

Most, if not all of these can be had for less than $2,000!

Obviously room, gear, ears, music/usage play a factor - but I don't have a problem making these suggestions. My list above is actually the order in which I would pick from the list - and 98% of folks listening to these would be extremely happy with them.

IMO - Dan

I have Merlin TSM's and I've heard the VSM's. I agree they are among the best, but people have different rooms, ears and funny shaped heads that are part of the reason why there are so many wellc-loved speakers systems around.

When I REALLY want to rock the house I fire up the Def Tech 7004's with built in subs and augmented by twin SVS tube subs. They quite literally rock the house and are a ton of mid-fi fun. While I can hear more of a Pink Floyd recording with the Merlins, there's something very entertaining about the big Def Techs pounding along with tons of slam.

Sometimes a guy just wants rock. Now, if I want to groove, then it's up to the Merlins. ;-)

Rob

Pubul57: I would consider giving room treatment a shot. What do you recommend, bass traps in the corners? Thanks for the suggestion.