Up to $4000US tower speakers for Jazz and Classical Music


Hello All!

My wife and I are musicians who happen to also love listening to music! Last 3 years we have used a pair of Q acoustics Concept 40 tower speakers powered (now) by and Audiolab 6000A integrated. We listen to 90% of our music on CDs (Audiolab CD transport) or vinyls (Audiotechnica turntable). Mostly jazz and classical music in our roughly 53 square meters (550 sq ft) living room. Some other speakers came and went but we have so far liked the Q acoustics more than any other. We like their honesty with a tinge of warmness, but they are also engaging, open sounding, dynamic, airy! We love how chamber music sounds on them: string quartets, piano trios (jazz or classical), voices, big bands, etc... but we do miss a bit of that lower octave the Q acoustics simply don't have. A friend lent me a pair of Elac Adante AS-61 but did no like them much. lots of transient attack (which was good for percussion instruments) but it somehow changed the color/timbre of other instruments. I work also as a mixing engineer and have a pair of Neumann KH310 monitors in my treated room so I can say I'm picky with sound. Of course we don't want the analytical sound of the Neumanns in our living room (completely different beasts) but we want speakers to still be honest, but engaging, open, dynamic, airy. We are looking for a pair of tower speakers around $4000 that will provide us with a more believable orchestral crescendo, pianissimo, fortissimo, and that lower octave of a double bass the Concept 40s can't provide (by the way, we don't want a sub; tried several and simply did not like the overall presentation). We are looking at possibilities in Crutchfield, Music Direct or Amazon in case we need to return them (we live in the countryside and can't audition any speakers nowhere near!). Our list includes: Klipsch Forte III, Definitive Technology Demand D17, Kef R7, JBL HDI-3800, Dali Opticon 8MK2, Revel F206 and B&W 703 S2 or 704 S2. They will have to be efficient as the Audiolab does not have a ton of power! Any suggestions, greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

langelo68

Overlooked truths about Magnepans: 1) As a line source dipole their power doesn't fall off like the usual inverse square law, 2X distance = -6dB level, it's more like -3dB so while still not efficient, in a 550ft2 room they will fill it better than a monopole box. 2) Properly bi-amped with a high-pass/low-pass crossover you will gain up to 6dB dynamic range (equal to 4X the amp power) just from splitting the load. No magic, It's in the math of adding signals. 

A pair of REL r/7 and Magnepan 1.7s can likely be sourced for $4K. Your concern over subwoofer 'presentation' is well founded. Many subs are designed for high SPL boom, not definition. REL doesn't hide this, they make different lines of subs for home theater and hi-fi.

Below Magnepans, they're all boxes, some very good, and I would consider KEF, Monitor Audio, and Golden Ear. I think you'd tire of the Klipsch lack of LF  control and 'blattiness', but not their dynamics. 

We last saw the OP on the 13th. I think he may by now have received enough suggestions.

OP and his wife. Let us all know what you ended up getting. Hope it suits you both..

Thanks again to ALL! There are so many wonderful suggestions, is quite overwhelming. It seems Tekton is definitely an option, as they offer returns and their speakers are very sensitive. The Tektons Moab some of you have suggested are out of the question as they are too big and imposing. The Double Impact or Double Impact SE are options. The Ohm Walsh 2000 is also interesting, as well as Vandersteen 2CE Signature III that Music Direct offers. We might look further into the BMR towers and see if they offer a trial period. Golden Ear Triton Two and Three have high sensitivity so will also find out  if they offer a trial period. We are also considering the PMC twenty.24 available in "The music room" and more conventional options as the B&W 703 S2 or Dynaudio Evoke 50. Wish we could extend our budget to the Q Acoustics Concept 500, as we are pretty sure we would like them a lot, but that's not happening. Again thanks to all for your input and passion!

Monitor Audio Silver 500 7G.  (this exact model- no others)  

Read the reviews!    $3200, stereophile Class A.