New Speaker for Under 5K


I recently posted a discussion called, "New Cart for Under 1K". Throughout the many responses it had been concluded that the real issue with my system is my current speaker setup. Rather than continuing a conversation about speakers in a subject about cartridges, I decided to start a new post to stay on topic.

I've been listening to a bunch of new speakers lately and have given myself a budget of 5K or under. So far, I've listened to Atom, Monitor Audio, Spendor S3/5R2, Dynaduio Focus 260, and the Devore Orangutan 0/93 - being the only one priced above the 5K mark just for comparison measures. Here's what I found:

Atom: Something was missing, they were very forward, had nice highs, but just didn't produce music correctly.

Monitor Audio: Beautiful speaker, a little to accurate for my tastes.

Dynaudio: Did everything very well and nothing perfect. Since I listen to a diverse array of music, these were the best so far. Bass could be a bit improved, but not thin.

Spendor: Amazing with jazz and vocals, boring and dry with rock.

Orangutan: Amazing punchy bass, but very much like the Spendor's where the treble rolls off and lacks excitement with rock.

My focus is to find a speaker manufactured by a speaker company that only makes speakers. Therefore that companies bread and butter where other products cannot pick up the pieces financially should a certain product line not be successful. I'm also staying away from all metal based tweeters since for whatever reason harshness in the highs and sibilance is a major issue with my current Focal 936's (which I'm selling). My original thought was to buy a new cart, but I have come to conclude that I simply do not like my speakers.

The posts under, "Analog", "New Cart for Under 1K" was my original posting which was tremendously informative and helpful. Take a look there to understand the history of this new post.

Any recommendations on top of the speakers mentioned above?

David
davidlillis
The best speaker I heard at the Newport Audio Show was the Prana fifty90. It had the most coherent and compelling sound I've heard. I don't know if it goes low enough for you but if I had $4000 I'd seriously consider getting a pair.

Todd Garfunkel of MA Recordings was sharing a room with the designer, Steven Norber, and I could have stayed all day in there. I never heard of them before but the sound was addicting.

There are two toggles on the back: one brings the midrange forward just a bit and the other takes the natural roll off from 18Khz-20Khz and flattens it instead which seems to add a touch more emphasize that probably helps on some recordings. I preferred the natural roll off.

Of the two CDs I bought from Todd, there was natural decay and ambience that recreated the venue on my system but with the Pranas, it was like being "in" the venue.
I don't know how else to describe it. Both portrayals sounded great and I could easily live with either, but the Pranas are doing something that I can't quite put my finger on.

All the best,
Nonoise
I'd suggest taking a look at the Tekton Pendragons or perhaps a pair of Zu Definition Mk IIIs (if they have any available, you might come close to your 5K budget). The Tekton's are a real full-range speaker, sound great with all types of music, and are not that fussy about placement and other components. I owned a pair for several months and never found them harsh sounding at all. The Zus are similar but take tone and dynamics to an even higher level.
Check out the Tempesta's by Selah Audio, one of the best monitor speakers, the drivers are all first class and very well designed. Best of all this speaker is around 3k.