Looking for loudspeakers under $4,000

hey, aren't monks supposed to be poor? and un-married? ;~) look into newform research nhb645's or r645's- uglier than the maggies, but much narrower, & easier to place. these are ribbons, sothat should make you happy. check their www, & check the user-reviews on audio review. w/the money left over on your $4k budget, you can afford a pair of vmps subs, an active x-over, & an amp to drive 'em with! good luck, doug

I'd look at the Dynaudio Contour 1.8 - lists for about $3500. Obviously a different approach than Maggies, but very transparent, very nice low end. Just curious - why are you limiting yourself to $4K speakers with a $6K CD player and $20K in amplification?

For what it's worth, the 1.6 Magnepans are much less obvious looking in a room...and with the Carver sub-woofer, are just superb. I also own or have owned the Magnepan MG-20 and 3.6, and it is very difficult to go to another type of speaker after living with current generation Magnepans. I have tried Thiel 1.5 and 6, Various Kef, B&W and Vandersteens....and they were all super box speakers....but none were as much a pleasure to listen to as the Magnepans. If your mate just will not consider the smaller 1.6...then you will have quite a search ahead of you.

The new Martin-Logan Ascent (replacing the SL3) is supposed to be coming out this month at the price point and using some of the technology from the Prodigy. The sound should be similar, the bass better, and it all depends on your wife if the SAF has changed. Enjoy!

I agree with Sedond. The Newform Research speakers are hard to beat at their price. Plus their is I believe a 30 day home trial period offered. The transparency, open sound and soundstage are great. I don't know about the wife approval factor though. They are quite unusual in appearance.