$8k for speakers - new or used


With an $8k budget, what floor standing speaker would you recommend?  Currently have B&W 804 D3.  Levinson #333 amp, McIntosh pre amp.  Thx

goducks44

Asking other people to pick out a speaker for you is akin to asking us to find a girlfriend for you. Speaker choice is more personal than any other component. You really need to go to an audio show and listen for yourself. 

Here’s a pair of Joseph Audio Perspective 2s near your price point (they do have some minor damage that is what brings them to your price level).  I got to hear the smaller Pulsars and your 804 D3s in the same system and hands down thought the Pulsars were better all around.  Amazingly bass was comparable and the Pulsars were the equal on detail but sounded more natural, musical, disappeared and imaged better, and threw a bigger and more expansive 3D soundstage.  The Pulsars were just more effortlessly enjoyable and believable overall whereas the D3s called attention to themselves while showing their relative limitations.  It’s not that the D3s were bad — in fact I liked them more than any previous iteration of the 804s, but the Pulsars were just flat-out better overall. No contest in my book, and obviously these Perspectives would give you even more in terms of bass impact/depth and overall dynamics than the Pulsars and the D3s.  Just another option, and best of luck. 

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650134918-joseph-audio-perspective-2-graphene/

I would pick a speaker for someone much rather than a girlfriend. I have a devastating track record in the latter.