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Excellent Speakers for Classical Music - $2,000 USD Budget

Hello All...I am primarily a classical music listener, leaning more towards solo piano, symphony/orchestral, and chamber music. I have a Rotel A14 integrated amp in which I plan to add mono amplifiers to at some point in the future. I let a pair of B&W 804 Nautilus Speakers slip through my fingers recently. There is a B&W 804 Matrix set for sale near me, but don’t know if the Nautilus are better than the Matrix. So, I let a good pair slip through my fingers. But, it got me to thinking...Are there any other brands that I should consider besides B&W? I had in mind to audition Magenpan and Martin Logan electrostatics. Seeing that I only want to spend around $2,000, does anyone have any ideas?

In my office, I use Adam A7x nearfield monitors with ribbon tweeters, and for headphones, I love my Sennheiser 800S’. I like a nice detailed, clear, and forward sound. Would another ribbon tweeter floor standing set do it for me? Electrostats the way to go?

Looking forward to your suggestions.
128x128dfwbach
jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 
A used pair of Rogers/KEF/Goodmans LS3/5A's plus 28" stands will sound better than 99% of the above speakers for listening to classical music! I have the Rogers - bought on eBay from a seller in Lithuania (!!!!) for $960! The LS3/5A is now back in limited production from Falcon and another company in the UK. The price is high - over $3K!
jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 
Let us not forget the venerable Quad 57 - Walker's Wonder! What's better than one pair? Two pairs! The 57 remains a true legendary design! I have two pairs, bought over the past five years. I originally had a pair in daily use from 1981 to 2000 when I stupidly sold them! A great speaker for classical and jazz! Can be found for around $2K!
dfwbach's avatar
dfwbach OP
7 posts
 
Sorry, should have mentioned that my room is 16 feet by 20 feet.   I would sit around 7 feet away from the speakers, and could move my seating position back further, if needed.  I'm only at the research phase now, but I did hear a couple of brands.  I heard Kliptsch Reference 800, I believe, and they were great, but something felt like it was missing.  I heard a pair of Revel speakers, and those sounded great, but can't remember what they were.  I do plan on going out to do more listening, but the responses already have helped me to narrow things down, so thank you!
dfwbach's avatar
dfwbach OP
7 posts
 
Also, live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.  I am going to San Diego this week for vacation, so if anyone knows good dealers in SoCal, let me know so I can swing by.  I will be with my entire family, so I'm already looking for a good excuse to get out of the house :)  My wife would also go with me, as she doesn't care about audio, but also wants a good excuse to leave, and for once, she would love to audition speakers with me! :)
calvinandhobbes
290 posts
 
Monitor Audio Silver 300s have a fast, but refined sound which I find works well for acoustic music such as classical and jazz. By "fast", I mean a speaker that sounds agile and responsive. I mention "fast", because that is what I do like about electrostatics and you had mentioned an interest in electrostatics. However, unlike electrostatics, the Silver 300 is easy to drive and you (and your wife) don't wind up with giant panels in your living room that look like room dividers.

When auditioning speakers, I also listened to the B&W 704 S2. They were similar in sound personality, but the Silver 300s had a sweeter top end. If you are looking into used speakers as well, the Monitor Audio Gold 200 has an even more resolving top end. Basically, everything the Silver 300 does well, but even better.
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