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

OK, all you B&W, Wilson,etc lovers get out the flame throwers, but I can easily recommend a brand new pair of Von Schweikert VR4 HSE MKIII. They really do, IMHO outperform all the above in sheer musicality, spatiality (transparency), tonality, dynamics, and, they have bass extension down to 16hz (-3db), and are flat to 20hz in a room which can support that kind of bass. It seems odd to say this, but I too, have been on the quest for that perfect speaker for 25 years, and actually worked for a mighty good speaker manufacturer. I also, previously owned my own High End Audio store for 11 years. The question here is, are you buying the name or the best "sounding" speaker? I realize that this is completely subjective, but for me, nothing I have found, sincerely, is quite this much fun, or musical. Electrostatic clarity, horn dynamics, and better than most subwoofer, bass.
They list for $5995. new! One issue, they don't have a fancy wooden cabinet, they are cloth covered, but, depending on your taste, the black cloth with the Hazlewood (kinda looks like rosewood) top plates, and accents are attractive, in a speakery kind of way. It is a must, must hear for you, especially in your price range. You can save money and get a speaker which, again,in my humble opinion, is very, very close to, and in imaging specificity exceed the Nearfield Acoustics Pipedreams, touted as the, "Best speaker in the world", at least, according to the Absolute Sound's Johnathan Valin. BTW, did I mention that the Nearfields also list for @$30K? The Vons Schweikerts are, for the price, a remarkable find. On the other hand,finding a dealer may be harder to do than finding a Wilson, or the B&W's, or the others: plus they do very little advertising. It is definitely worth your time and effort though.
Good luck in your search,
Larry

Ehider,
I found your comments about the GR Research to be interesting. I sold quite a few pairs of Nearfields during 2001 @ $250K worth, so I am very familar with them. I really like the idea of line source speakers, and redundancy of drivers, limiting excursion, therefore distortion. But the inherent problems of lobing are at odds with their fulfilling promise usually. The Nearfields use a series/parallel, (patented, or patent pending) wiring scheme which ameliorates this issue. Do you know what they do with the GR's? I looked at their website, and I don't think they talk about that.
Also, did you hear the four sub, 21's, the largest Pipes, or the smaller? Not that it matters, they really sound, as you might expect very similar, just more dynamic, and more detailed also. Any input is really appreciated.
Thanks for sharing. I had not heard of these before, and they look like a good value, especially in kit form. Hell, they look like a good value regardless!
Larry

Out of the Revel, B&W, and Wilson, I would go with the Sophia's. I have not heard the others but I have owned the N802's, listened extensively to the Revel's and Sophia's, and now own W/P 7's.

Larry,

The Pipedreams I am familiar with are the big ones as I have a friend who owns them. These speakers are far from perfect though. He is having to re-engineer everything from the crossovers to the electronics in the subs! I think many audiophiles who gush over the Pipedreams are only hearing their positives. There are many little things amiss with these speakers that need to be addressed before I could declare them a complete and successful design.

Regarding GR Research's crossover design and their inherent dispersion characteristics; I suggest that you contact Danny Richie himself. He is NOT secretive about his design decisions or how he arrived at his topology choices. As far as I'm concerned Danny waaaaay above most other high end speaker designers.

Disclaimer: I am a Talon dealer.

Jtee...The Talon Raven-C is going to be VERY difficult to beat in the $5-$10k price range, IMHO. You can purchase them NEW with your given price range. A used pair will of course be even less. Obviously take my opinion with a "grain of salt", but I highly recommend the Raven-C. If you can find a pair of TRUE Khorus X MK2 (there are a lot of pseudo-MK2 versions floating around) for $7-8k, then that is a STEAL and you should jump all over it (around $12K for a used pair of true Khorus X MK2 is much more realistic and still a steal, IMHO).

Of the speakers others have mentioned, I like the Sophia (never been a Wilson fan, but I do like the Sophia) and the Verity Parsifal. You might also want to look into the Dali and Meadowlark lines. The only speaker in your list that I would avoid would be the B&W N802 (or any B&W speaker for that matter). Others will obviously disagree, but you can do MUCH better than B&W for usually much less money.

Best of luck in your search and don't hesitate to let me know if you have specific questions.

Best Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio