HELP Best speakers btw 1000$ and 3000$. Real tests


anybody here have compared the Eminent technology LFT-16a (1000$) to other speakers like psb mini etc...

that planar push pull midrange with no crossover btw 250hz and 7.5kz is really really keeping me from looking elsewhere right now.... the others i'm looking at are ERAudio electrostatics mini panel(500$+shipping from autralia, but need sub and matching amp) or evolutions acoustics MMicroOne :)

the amps that i'm interested in right now in order are musical paradise mp-501 kt120 paralllel single ended no negative feedback tube amp (1300$), parasound a23 (1000$), bryston b60r (700$)...

for dac i'm looking into schiit gungnir (750$ without usb) or musical paradise MP-D1 with usb (550$ + better tube (30$)) (tube stage with AK4399 dac)
I really need advise please anybody :)

lets say btw 1000-3000$ for the speakers less $$$ is better
btw 400 and 1400$ for the amp less $$ is better
btw 500 and 1000 for the dac less $$ is better...

in total i dont want to go over 3500$ and i don't mind if i need to upgrade later some parts like the amp.

If i choose lets say the evolutions acoustics mmmicroone at 2500$.. i will of course buy a lower cost 400$ amp and maybe wait for the dac..
sinae
Phase aligned can mean many things. Linkwitz Riley 2nd and 4th order two ways are phase aligned in the crossover region by definition, even if the baffle is not time aligned. But LR2 system response requires the tweeter to be wired out of phase with the woofer in order to produce proper summation in the crossover region. Many folks prefer 2nd order systems for their more gradual overlap which can allow the drivers to be harder to identify as the music gets handed off from woofer to tweeter; a better blending of the sound.

Minimum phase system response is another matter altogether, and very difficult to achieve over the entire audible range with multi-way systems. A true first order crossover, one with 6dB/octave acoustic slopes over a couple octaves around the crossover can produce a minimum phase system response. But getting quality drivers with smooth response in the overlap region is a tall order.
sorry, I have not listened to some of the speakers listed here & some I have... ( don't want to start a fire ) but i have to put a plug here for the evolution micro ones. dollar for dollar & then some, you owe it to yourself to audition these. please reads the reviews, their praises are not to be ignored.
Sinae,

If you look at the Reference 3A site, the line is described as "phase coherent," and the baffles are raked (and the tweeters offset) to allow for time alignment of the drivers. Whether the Reference 3A line is more phase and time coherent than other speakers I cannot say as I'm not a physics whiz and don't understand all the theory. Hope that helps a little.

Luvstolisten makes a point that I've heard elsewhere, that is, that 1st order crossovers require drivers that can cover a wide frequency range because the handoff "slope" between the drivers is not as gradual as higher-order designs. This is one reason that Ref 3A builds their own mid-bass drivers in house. In theory, they are able to work mechanical kinks out of the driver design through all kinds of mechanical tweaks, rather than having to compensate for driver misbehavior with crossover complexity. Hence also, a mid-bass driver directly coupled to the amplifier, and only a single capacitor to protect the tweeter.
Luvs2listen,

"Minimum phase system response is another matter altogether, and very difficult to achieve over the entire audible range with multi-way systems. A true first order crossover, one with 6dB/octave acoustic slopes over a couple octaves around the crossover can produce a minimum phase system response. But getting quality drivers with smooth response in the overlap region is a tall order."

Very good description. Those type of speakers are extremely difficult to design. That's why I recommended Vandersteen in my first post. No one does it better. When I say that, though, I'm not implying that one has to like them. I'm just saying that they are the best at getting phase and time correct speakers right. Everyone has different tastes.