Best mid-size speaker, cost no object


Hello all,

I am looking for some ideas as to the best mid-size speaker available (i.e., < 54" in height and 250 lbs in weight per speaker). In particular, I may be moving to a new, smaller residence in the near future, which would force me to part with my Genesis 300s for something a little more reasonable. So far, I have listened to, or plan to demo, the Avalon Eidolon, Vandersteen 5, and Meadowlark Nightingale. I have also heard good things about the Piega P-10 and Verity Parsifal Encore. Any other suggestions?

Rest of the system (if you are interested):
CAT JL-1s
Silver Rock Pot
Audiocom'ed Sony SCD-1
Dodson 217 MKII D
Verdier/SPJ/Magnum Opus phono
Silversmith cables

Thanks in advance for your comments.
rzado
Fmpnd - I agree with you that sonic impressions are generally subjective and often relative to budgetary and other constraints. I hope I didn't come across too absolutest - these were simply my impressions. My impressions were also not consistent with my own budget :( Oh well! Also, to be more specific on the Kharma, I liked the tonal balance of everything outside the bass range! I guess that was an apparent contradiction. Cheers, Peter
Peter, I didn't take your post as absolutist at all, just your opinion. And I also understood your statement on the Kharmas (so I hope you didn't think I was being critical). Myself, I am sad to say that I was underwhelmed by most of the megakilobuck speakers that I heard (even taking into consideration show conditions and the point of diminishing returns which I believe is inherent in high end audio) and I was actually looking for new speakers.

I am fortunate in that the Kharma Midi-Grands that were at CES are coming to my home tomorrow so I can hear them in my system and in my room. I wish I could hear the Eidolons side by side.

Ciao!!!

Frank
If you got the bucks, check out the new Talon Firebird-
picture at:
http://www.shows.soundstagelive.com/shows/ces2003/showstop1.shtml
THE VERY VERY BEST ONE İS KHARMA MİDİ EXQUİSİTE WİTH DİAMOND TWEETER AND ENİGMA CABLE İNSİDE İT MUST BE AROUND
$70.000.-İTS AS GOOD AS BİG EXQUİSİTE.BELİEVE ME ,AT THE MOMENT İTS END OF THE ROAD.