$10,000 loudspeakers

Lets look at all the available loudspeakers NEW and USED, at and below $10k and figure out what are keepers at the price and what could be bettered for less money? Totally selfish thread since i'm looking for a $10k speaker investment and want to narrow down the list of contenders. New focal Kanta, Dyna C60, revel F228 be. Used Salon 2, sopra 2, 207/2, Sasha 3, etc. Obviously speakers respond to different electronics differently and rooms always present challenges, but lets see what you would spend $10k lottery money on a pair of speakers.

Focal-Kanta.jpg
 
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Totally dependent on your system, the room and the overall synergy not to mention your personal preferences.

The only way you will know what is "best" for you is to audition in your listening room. All the rest is mere conjecture.
 
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I thought I mentioned the caveats in the op but this thread was intended to compare the quality of previous headliners to new speakers at a price. does depreciation match inflation? Is new tech better that existing when properly executed? Very easy to say if you don't say "If you don't have a dedicated power supply your system will sound like crap) but that's not what this thread is going. Would you trade your Focal 1038be for the Kanta 2? would you sell your salon2 for a pair of F228 be speakers? do they provide similar value? Do new speakers that cost $10k have the same ceiling as the best used speakers at $10k.
 
Depends heavily on your priorities, system, room.

Me? Used: Rockport Merak Sheritan II; Sonus Faber Guarneri (original) + Velodyne DD18+; Quad 2905 + Velodyne DD18+; Magnepan 20.1
 
I thought I mentioned the caveats in the op but this thread was intended to compare the quality of previous headliners to new speakers at a price. does depreciation match inflation? Is new tech better that existing when properly executed? Very easy to say if you don't say "If you don't have a dedicated power supply your system will sound like crap) but that's not what this thread is going. Would you trade your Focal 1038be for the Kanta 2? would you sell your salon2 for a pair of F228 be speakers? do they provide similar value? Do new speakers that cost $10k have the same ceiling as the best used speakers at $10k.

I think determining one's taste is half the problem. What brands of speakers do you really enjoy? And what electronics are they driven by?
 
Depends heavily on your priorities, system, room.

Me? Used: Rockport Merak Sheritan II; Sonus Faber Guarneri (original) + Velodyne DD18+; Quad 2905 + Velodyne DD18+; Magnepan 20.1

+1

To that I would add--original Quad ESL's. Stacked Quad ESL's. New..I would consider Serbiin Lignea's if space is limited. Maggie 1.7's or Maggie 3.7's. The new Magico A line would also be on my list.
 
Lets look at all the available loudspeakers NEW and USED, at and below $10k and figure out what are keepers at the price and what could be bettered for less money? (...)

IMHO this question is too vague to be of any use to anyone, even for yourself. It is almost impossible to advise on used gear - Murphy law tells us that we always find the great bargains after getting what we want or on equipment we do not want! :)
 
+1

To that I would add--original Quad ESL's. Stacked Quad ESL's. New..I would consider Serbiin Lignea's if space is limited. Maggie 1.7's or Maggie 3.7's. The new Magico A line would also be on my list.

personal anecdote...i elected to do a shootout between my G originals and both the 2805 and 2905 on the basis, i was 'sure' i would end up with the 2905. I was shocked after an aftrnoon ARC Ref 250 monos...that the 2805 was out of contention quite quickly (to my ears/taste)...and i was unconvinced there was any point in the 2905.

We then turned our attention for fun to the big SF Strad...and that was when side by side, i realized how well the Strad managed to deliver so much G magic while generating scale/size/big bass and power. Sadly, we did not have the time/ability to put the G's with a big Velodyne to do the next shoot out.

In any event, a real eye/ear opener for someone who has always been a big admirer of Quads for many years.
 
Those Rockport Merak Sheritan II look stunning, always loved the sound of sonus faber tho sometimes I need my speakers to Rock. and if maggies have any of the characteristics of ML I can't do it. I honestly wasn't aware of the Rockport speakers. My current Revel Salon v1 driven by a Hegel h360 sound right, in fact sometimes I think they're still as good as it gets, but at night with the lights down listening to fall asleep... they don't image, they don't connect like nearly every other speaker i've owned has? 14 months of sliding them around the room and i'm thinking they just don't fit.
 
Those Rockport Merak Sheritan II look stunning, always loved the sound of sonus faber tho sometimes I need my speakers to Rock. and if maggies have any of the characteristics of ML I can't do it. I honestly wasn't aware of the Rockport speakers.

For the money, i was stunned by the Rockports...a few years ago, 10K. Solid. solid. solid...the sound from that system was organic and all-out unflappably powerful. Very impressive. A deep well of bass that did not hesitate under powerful loads.

I think i know where you are coming from on MLs and on SF Rock...the older maggies i have heard are different with a much, much deeper richer midrange/upper bass power than MLs in my [very] limited experience. newer ones apparently very much the same but have not heard myself.
 
personal anecdote...i elected to do a shootout between my G originals and both the 2805 and 2905 on the basis, i was 'sure' i would end up with the 2905. I was shocked after an aftrnoon ARC Ref 250 monos...that the 2805 was out of contention quite quickly (to my ears/taste)...and i was unconvinced there was any point in the 2905.

We then turned our attention for fun to the big SF Strad...and that was when side by side, i realized how well the Strad managed to deliver so much G magic while generating scale/size/big bass and power. Sadly, we did not have the time/ability to put the G's with a big Velodyne to do the next shoot out.

In any event, a real eye/ear opener for someone who has always been a big admirer of Quads for many years.

Lloyd, what you said doesn't surprise me one bit. I have listened extensively to 2805's and 2905's--compared to the GH's they all come off second best. OTOH, the original ESL's are pretty special...in the very small envelope that they operate. The Quad ESL would certainly be a speaker I would consider if I was looking for a second system, or no GH's were available. Problem with them is that they are very limited and quite fragile. BUT, if you want a midrange and upper mid to die for, well this is still perhaps the best speaker to reproduce that...and the stacked version is even better, albeit with all of the same problems as the smaller single model. Not really that practical for most a'philes, but as a 2nd speaker or a primary if you are ok with its limitations...a contender. Maybe one day I will add a pair to my system...although I would NEVER replace the GH's with these.
BTW, the GH's also LOVE the two(2) smaller REL's that I now use, clean down to about 30Hz in my room.
 
Get the Salon mk 2 if you like your current speakers.

I don't really think you can do much better than those for the money.
 
Get the Salon mk 2 if you like your current speakers.

I don't really think you can do much better than those for the money.

I hear that often and it makes sense if a bit unimaginative. My concern there is they'll do better everything I appreciate about the v1 while still coming up short in the 1 aspect mine lack. Reading all the personal reviews besides the professional reviews it appears this imaging problem with my speakers is unique to my listening room. You are right though at the price of a used pair I could get them here and see for myself if they fit. There was a pair of focal 1028 be speakers I nearly pulled the trigger on b4 hearing an average recording and how harsh they became. Even the Dynaudio forum i'm trying to gather some votes for the contour 60 tell me to buy the salon 2. this is the hunt b4 the kill and I have some time left, think i'll try and find a pair of RT's to listen to.
 
I hear that often and it makes sense if a bit unimaginative. My concern there is they'll do better everything I appreciate about the v1 while still coming up short in the 1 aspect mine lack. Reading all the personal reviews besides the professional reviews it appears this imaging problem with my speakers is unique to my listening room. You are right though at the price of a used pair I could get them here and see for myself if they fit. There was a pair of focal 1028 be speakers I nearly pulled the trigger on b4 hearing an average recording and how harsh they became. Even the Dynaudio forum i'm trying to gather some votes for the contour 60 tell me to buy the salon 2. this is the hunt b4 the kill and I have some time left, think i'll try and find a pair of RT's to listen to.

I doubt it's the speaker. Imaging encompasses many different aspects of performance, but in general increasing resolution while decreasing distortion and/or poor acoustics makes for better imaging and soundstage. IMO electronics, cables and AC power are more likely to contribute to poor imaging assuming room acoustics aren't too far off.
 
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I replaced a pair of revel F52' with the Salon because they came up locally in like new condition at a fair price and they did sound marginally better than the f52's with the gear I had at the time. The biggest difference is the imaging, the tall narrow f52's imaged like I was wearing a pair of headphones and I figured with all the r&d put into the design of the salon cabinet it would just be a bit of tweaking to dial them in, now I wonder if these are right and what i've been conditioned to are wrong?
 
Lloyd, what you said doesn't surprise me one bit. I have listened extensively to 2805's and 2905's--compared to the GH's they all come off second best. ...
BTW, the GH's also LOVE the two(2) smaller REL's that I now use, clean down to about 30Hz in my room.

Awesome...those GHs are really special.
 

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