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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
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649742043-spendor-sp91-floor-stand-speakers/

^^^ these would be absolutely wonderful ^^^

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649643178-spendor-fl10-speakers/
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa733i-proac-dt8-floorstanding-speakers-full-range
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa96da-proac-response-2-5-full-range
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649747501-devore-fidelity-gibbon-88/

^^^ any of these would be quite good but not nearly as good as the 9/1’s ^^^
jperry
2,450 posts
 
+1 on this. I owned the Spendor 9/1 and wish I still owned them. A great and beautiful speaker. Easy to drive. I sold for the same reason as the person advertising. Too large for the apartment where I was living. 

jjss49
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649742043-spendor-sp91-floor-stand-speakers/

^^^ these would be absolutely wonderful ^^^

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649643178-spendor-fl10-speakers/
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa733i-proac-dt8-floorstanding-speakers-full-range
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa96da-proac-response-2-5-full-range
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649747501-devore-fidelity-gibbon-88/

^^^ any of these would be quite good but not nearly as good as the 9/1’s ^^^
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,974 posts
 
Holy sh*t --those Spendors. 1/3 the MSRP and dynamite product. I'd buy these in a heartbeat. @jjss49 has got great ears and lots of experience. Listen to him.
dfwbach's avatar
dfwbach OP
7 posts
 
I wish I could audition the Spendors as I've never heard them before. I've heard Harbeth is great, but I had to chance to hear them in Japan and they were too warm for my taste.
jperry
2,450 posts
 
The Spendor 9/1 is effectively a floor standing SP 100. The SP 100 retails for about $12,000, plus you need to buy stands.

If you don’t like that resell them. These do not come up for sale often. The Rosewood finish is stunning.

I used to own these and I agree that the Harbeth are too warm.
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