the big one: how do you choose speakers? By what features, data?

For me, I have purchased my speakers based on reputation and read as many reviews about a speaker I am interested in. i rarely by new, so if the speaker has generated a lot of interest, easy to sale if I don’t like it. Since my audio system is in a small room, I am limited to bookshelf speakers. I have serval speakers and amps. The only mistake I made was to purchase a pair of Quad z2 or 1. Worst speaker I ever heard for my ears. My hits, Kef LS50 metas, Dynaudio special 40’s, Buchardt 400 special edition,Goldenear brx, Dali menuets se, NHT c3. All great speakers with different presentations. I don’t know if this is the best way to buy speakers, but it has worked for me.

Hi @dwest1023 how does the Dynaudio special 40’s compare to the Buchardt 400? Looks like you have a lot of similar speakers (but may sound very unique each)

This the most commonly overlooked opportunity by fellow forum users.

GB asking for help but holding back his location. Perhaps some

of the best speaker matches for you are within 50 miles?

If you can reach a computer you can Zoom in to the Friday Happy hour.

Free. Live in Euphrata? No problem!

Hard to go wrong with the much appraised $3.7 Mofi Sourcepoint 10 by the speaker guru Andrew Jones, but may have to wait for used ones to show up on the market.

Just from personal experience, in the price range you’re looking at, the KLH Model 5s are a great speaker for the money, and used would easily be affordable.  I replaced mine with Harbeths, though I have no intention of letting the Model 5s go, and honestly, they really held their own against the SHL5+ XDs.  The Harbeths sound better, but the KLHs certainly don’t have anything to apologize for.  That said, the Harbeth P3ESR XD also seem like a really good option, though I don’t have any personal experience with them.  I was considering the MoFi Sourcepoints before I bought the KLHs, and would still like to hear them, though I doubt the Harbeths would have to worry about being displaced.  Good luck with whatever you decide on!