New Speakers 1k

Hi, Wiley!

Try some Triangle loudspekers! They mate fabulously with tube amps - especially with Conrad-Johnson amps("meant to be married" as one reviewer said)!
Don't underestimate them for being so reasonably priced!

Best regards,
David.

Von Schweikert Audio has introduced a new monitor speaker at $995 nominal, with 'introductory' pricing. They intend it to be a world-beater, and it's worth checking. Not very tall, sort of stout in proportions, but nice looking and with a superb wood finish for this price range. The single most impressive 'real world' speaker I heard at CES was the new column from IMF Audio. It's $1500, and still 4-6 weeks from availability, but I have to mention it, because it was stunningly good, and gorgeous looking. About 4' tall, made from 6" PVC pipe with a 6" heavy aluminum full-length plate inserted as the face, with MTM drivers. Very nicely finished in veneer or leather. Elegant! This is a seriously good speaker from a new guy who has purchased the remains of Bud Fried's company. This speaker (all Muse front end, including new Model 10 multi-format player) stripped so many veils from the music, it was awesome! imfaudio.com.

Anything by Triangle..

Triangles are a bit too bright, even to a fellow frenchman.
For around $1k I prefer the Spendor S3/1p or even the phenomenal SC3 centers turned sideways (think of them as S3/5 with a second mid/woofer, and thus 89 dB/w instead of 84! Too bad Spendor doesn't have the sense to market them as a left-right pair! At $1400/pr list I prefer them to the S3/1p somewhat as they seem faster. Cheers.

The S3/5 does work very nicely close to a rear wall. Its limited bass and lack of port gives a very nice bass response even when placed directly on the wall. I'm not sure you can beat it. I'm not sure if the harbeth is significantly better for the money but between the two I'm sure you'll find a winner.
Of course imaging dissapears as the rear wall gets close, which is too bad.