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Which used speakers in the 5K range?

Hi,
I have four little kids running around the living room, where my system is, and I'm starting to be too worried about my Alto Utopias and/or any other relatively expensive speakers I might have.
In the past I've owned a few Vintage speakers: Kef 104/2, Celestion Ditton 66, JBL 250 Ti originals, etc and the memories of all of them are very positive.
I'm thinking to maybe go back down the vintage aisle for a more modestly priced pair but can that still play good music.
Would anyone have any thoughts or recommendations where to head, may it be a vintage pair or a more modestly priced modern unit?

I currently have Jadis JA80 to power my speakers.
Room size is about 5x8x3.5 meters and listening point is about half way through the long side of the room.
Speakers are located about 1m from the back wall.

Thanks a lot for your advice.
amuseb
bmwmcab
63 posts
 
Check out the avantgarde uno's. High's and midrange are excellent. Bass is awesome.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Well, little kids might not be able to poke dents in the horn drivers, but they
could easily use them to store dolls and stuffed animals.

I just thought of another alternative. It's a bit of a paradigm shift from your
Alto Utopias, but you can get a brand new warranteed pair of Mirage OMD-
28s from Vanns.com for as little as $2600/pair. These were originally
$7500/pair and considered a bit of a bargain at that price.TAS reviewer
Chris Marten (seearch www.avguide.com) liked them so much he bought the
review pair and made them his reference. They easily reach down into the
20s, and they energize the room in a way that makes the entire listening area
usable.

When I went to Mirage bipolars in 1996, it was because with young kids I
could no longer sit in the sweet spot for any length of time; I was always up
and down for something. The Mirages maintained the same tonal balance
whether I was sitting down or getting one of the kids a snack or drink. I didn't
lose the soundstage when a dog walked in front of a speaker. The Mirage
grills over the mid/tweet assembly are perforated metal, held in place by
magnets, and they are very difficult for kids to remove. The speaker is ported,
but the port is not accessible to curious little hands--it fires downward into a
narrow space supported by a plinth.

These would give you a big very natural, room-filling sound, good
transparency with drivers made of light, stiff materials, and a very pleasant
presentation for not a lot of money. Even includes free shipping, a return
period, and the full factory warranty. I have had the OMD-28's little brother,
the OMD-15 for 4 years and like them *a lot*. Very easy to live with, yet
detailed enough to be able to draw you deep into the music.
amuseb OP
81 posts
 
Thanks again for the many interesting comments. I'm looking into them all carefully.
One important point I didn't mention was that my poor self lives in Paris (France, not Texas) and a few of the speakers you mentioned are US manufactured with no representation on this side of the pond which makes it more difficult to own namely from service perspective but not only (reselling, cost including shipment and taxes, etc).
It would make more sense to either stick with one of the European manufacturers or any larger distributed non-European brand (Verity, Rockport, ML, JBL, Avalon, etc).

Thanks again for your help and regards from a sunny Paris.
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