Best new/demo/used value for $7.5K range

Jtee,

1. B&W Nautilus 802's. I may get flamed here, but I have never cared for the B&W sound. Tweeter sounds a little too metallic sounding for my tastes. May not match up too well with Levinson amp either.

2.JM Labs Mezzo Utopia. I love Focal drivers, but have always felt that tubes were the way to go with focal drivers. Others have used SS equipment and have gotten
great results.

3. Revel Studio's Cant comment on them. I have never heard them. I was blown away by the Ultima Salon.

4. Dynaudio Confidence 5. Great speaker and hard to beat at the price point. Matches well with SS gear but may sound a bit too analytical with Levinson???

5. Wilson Sophia. Great speakers that should work well with your setup. A bit expensive for what you get though.

6. Wilson WATT/Puppy 6 Same as above.

Wildcards. I would listen to Thiel CS 7.2's, CS 6 or the new 2.4. I would also listen to the Von Sweikert line as well.

Hope this helps. Remember your taste is the only thing that matters!!!

I purchased a demo pair of mezzo`s about 4 months ago from a jm lab dealer for $6500. w/ full warrenty.Im using a Mcintosh mc-352 with I would say great results. Ive been seeing used mezzo`s for 6500./5700. It does confuse me with the warrenty you will hear some say warrenty is trasnferable but the dealer said it is not. The US dealer is Audioplus out of NY and their site says it is not transferable. The B&W will suck the life out of your amp. Chuck did mention Dynaudio confidence 5 amd I agree for around 5 K its very hard to beat. David

Used Avalon speakers. There are few available right now on Audiogon.

For this price range, I would recommand to have a local purchase if possible. All of the speakers you mentioned will be a large purchase in term of size, weight and money. Demo them locally and pick them instead of shipping would be most important.

Don't forget to budget for well matched speaker cables as well. Some of the speakers might require bi-wire or tri-wire.

I have demoed Dynaudio Confidence 5 speakers extensively. They are great speakers but somewhat lacking in bass extension. Maybe 35Hz in a small room. Might want to check out the new Dynaudio Contour speakers as well.

There are also a few Sonus Faber speaker in your price range that will match great with Levinson 27.

Eric

What is your tastes? What kind of music do you listen to mostly? Do you listen loud? Are you going to sit in the nearfield or farfield? How big is the room? Each of those speakers were designed to work in a specific way. For instance the two Wilson speakers you mentioned are redically different designs of Dave Wilson's. The B&W and Revel speakers are wide dispersion designs that will sound just okay if placed close to side walls. If you're room is normal I can't see you going wrong with any, but your speacial circumstances would dictated the decision. Me personally, I'd go with either the B&W's, or the Revels as they both have very good power responce's. However, if you listen at lower volumes the Revel's will sound fuller.
Have Fun,
Keith