Young audiophile metal head looking to level up speaker choice

@csmgolf I would like to stay under 3k.  

I have been researching the Polk SDA speakers, and it looks like I can find some at around 1-1.5k .  It's a really underrating vintage speaker...

While they are designed to be placed against my front wall, I wonder about the distance between each speaker and the side walls..  Each speaker would start about 20 inches from the sides walls and start roughly 50 inches from each other - I fear that would not only be less than ideal, but problematic.

Interesting to see such division over the golden ears....

@helomech @mijostyn - do I need class A/or pure tubes for Klipsch speakers?  I would worry that my Rogue Sphinx  would make them harsh and fatiguing...

For your budget and room size, consider the Tekton Electron. It is not the last word in refinement or imaging, but does a good job tonally and dynamically and should meet what you are looking for.

If you stretch your budget a bit, there is a pair of Legacy Classic HD for sale currently on US Audiomart for $3500. I am a big fan of Legacy, though I am not as enthusiastic about the Studio HD as some others here. The monitor of theirs to get is Calibre, but it is not likely to be found in your budget. As others have mentioned, with your amp I would get something with a sensitivity above 90 to 92 db.

 

@csmgolf I would like to stay under 3k.

I have been researching the Polk SDA speakers, and it looks like I can find some at around 1-1.5k . It’s a really underrating vintage speaker...

@killingforcompany The Polk L800 SDA typically goes for 6k per pair. Here’s a pair for 3500 (42%off) with a 2 yr warranty from Polk. Even if you sold it one day, you'd cut even. Don’t miss out man..this is easily the best speaker Polk ever made.

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/polkl800-brwn/polk-audio-legend-l800-pair-10-3-way-floor-standing-speakers-brown/1.html

The older SDA polks were kinda crappy in comparison to the new L800 (took them a minute to perfect the tech).

You also need to place the L800 a lot closer together than typical speakers (not too far apart from each other), which would work quite good for your smaller room.

JBL 4429's! 😎

Mike

@killingforcompany 

I think a class A amp is preferable. They are very efficient, 60 watts/channel will blow your doors off. The Pass XA 60.8 would be perfect. I prefer SS amps in general and really do not know a lot about modern tube amps with the exception of Atma-Spheres which I own. The MA 1s or 2s would be fabulous driving Cornwalls but they are hand wired and very expensive.