3-way under 1000 new.

777, it seems to me that you pretty much have decided where you want to go, and are looking for others to help justify your decision. All I can say is , that I gave you my best opinion on the matter, and some figures to back it up.

I agree with Unsound, that if you can't build cabinets, then good condition used speakers like Vandersteens could get you good sound for your price.

Adding different drivers to a box without knowing what you are doing is a recipe for disaster. I've been building and designing speaker systems for going on 30 years now. Take my word for it.

Twl,

I have heeded your advice and have put Vandersteen on my short list. I just wish they wern't so dogon big :)

One of the things I have found on this forum, is that the Vandersteen speakers are widely recommended from all kinds of different audiophiles with different viewpoints. Any speaker that gets that kind of consensus on these pages must have something going for it. I think you will find it good sound for the money.