New Speakers for $2000

01-21-12: Toddnkaya
Not to be sarcastic, but it seems like the OP's wish list encompasses all of the great attributes of a perfect speaker system. Ok so he said he did not need bass slam. I would think that there are many 20,000 speakers that could not meet all of these preferences. I am surprised someone has not said that this is a tall order to fill for two grand. Or maybe , I am off base and there are many or a few that can meet all of these.

Good point, but not quite true: Besides not asking for deep powerful bass, he didn't mention anything about wide dynamic range or the ability to play at live concert levels. There are many stand-mounted speakers that meet all his criteria--$2K will buy many different mini-monitors, any of which will provide that imaging and soundstaging, plus airy highs and a transparent midrange. It's when you try to maintain those characteristics and add in dynamic range and bass extension that it gets expensive. The Nola Boxer sounds like an excellent match at $1500 (or Paradigm Studio Ref), and if he adds this excellent sub from SVS he'd still meet budget and be able to do the metal thing fine as well.

Honestly, my current speaker system does many of these things to a satisfying level. It lacks a little bit of resolution but as far as sound signature goes, mids and bass are both perfect. Highs a little rolled-off but I can deal with that. Sound stage width could be wider. I'm just looking for basically the same sound signature with a resolution and imaging upgrade. These speakers were $1600 in the early 90s. I don't know how the whole market goes but I'd like to think the industry could do that with $2000 in 2012.

Another thing is, I've been reading about stereo amp power. The speakers I have, have 200W power requirement and are 4 ohms yet my amp only has maybe 110W at 4 ohms continously. I've read that this can cause distortion. Maybe, I should just invest in an amp upgrade since almost everyting I read recommends twice the power required by the speakers on the amp.

"Vandersteel Model 2s - They sound very nice but the Stereophile review seem to jump straight through the fact that their sound stage isn't top-notch"

Huh? Which review is that? To my ears, the 2Ce Sig IIs can throw as good a soundstage as any speaker I've heard (a list that includes models from Avalon, TAD, Wilson, Revel, Aerial, Thiel, B&W, Paradigm, MBL). In fact, they're *better* than most of those. The Vandies also can disappear into a room as good as any speaker I've heard (even when all of the signal is in one channel). Overall, I don't think you can do better at the price point. They are very musical and are above average at most any sonic parameter. In fact it's easier to talk about their (few) shortcomings. Compared to the *very* best I've heard (Avalon Ascent II, TAD Ref 1, and Vandersteen 7), the 2Ce Sig IIs are: 1) not quite as highly resolved; 2) lack a bit of extension at both frequency extremes (more obvious in the bass); and 3) have a somewhat veiled midrange. This last point I was able to mitigate with a cable upgrade (also, Vandersteen has recently upgraded the midrange driver; I've not heard it but presume that it sounds better than my iteration). For $2K, Vandersteen gives you a big, fat helping of what's possible in high-end audio. Best wishes in your quest!