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What speakers have some of the best value in the $2-3k price point?

JRS

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I'm so sad about RMAF. I never got to go.
The first two years were awesome[--as many die hard hobbyists as commercial rooms--first time I saw field effect transducers, humongo folded horns for bass, even laptop as a source but novel and even a bit risque. With time it became a zoo.
 

JRS

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If you go back 35 years Rookie, does that make my 50 years a sophomore slump? Seriously, this site has opened a can of worms for the high end over priced audiophile industry, and they know it. Could have saved a lot of money if this info was available back then.
That's 35 years "high end" audio, I have 15 before that; even though I was using AR LST speakers for most of that time I didn't count it. As to saving money--no kidding. I was on that train for while buying the Thiel's, Dunlavy's, Newform ribbon hybrids, and Infinity Preludes within about 7 years of one another. They all did some things superbly but all had a fatal chink that could have likely been easily repaired with DSP. It was then that I discovered DEQX and never looked back. And one of the reasons I seldom go to audio shops anymore. But now looking at and even welcoming some future flail here as I take the plunge into an AudioLense/DAC based system. Cheers.
 

steve59

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Dali Oberon 9 is the speaker I would buy
 

Piranesi

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The Ascend Acoustics Sierra Ribbon Towers are another great value in that price range. If you can find a gently used pair, the value is really hard to beat.
Sorry to derail the thread a bit. Are there objective measurements for these in terms of directivity? AFAIK nobody seems to have properly measured that yet. Combined with the fact that the woofer/midrange drivers used are a couple generations older than the Sierra 2EX, makes me wonder if these are genuinely any better than the latter.
 

Shazb0t

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Sorry to derail the thread a bit. Are there objective measurements for these in terms of directivity? AFAIK nobody seems to have properly measured that yet. Combined with the fact that the woofer/midrange drivers used are a couple generations older than the Sierra 2EX, makes me wonder if these are genuinely any better than the latter.
Amir reviewed the Sierra Horizon RAAL Center which has the same driver assortment, internal cabinet volume, and crossover points as the Sierra RAAL Towers:

I expect that it measures quite similarly to the towers. As for your directivity question, of note is the level of the horizontal off-axis response out to about 16kHz+ without dropping off significantly even out to 90 degrees and the ~2kHz clean directivity matched crossover from the dedicated midrange to the larger 70-20xr RAAL ribbon. The ribbon is also well behaved in the 96dB THD graph compared to some of the other smaller ribbons/AMTs that have been measured. Sensitivity of ~90dB is nice as well, although subwoofers are recommended.
 
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ROOSKIE

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I can't tell you. They were bookshelves and it might have been even more than $5k. It was in the big boy expensive room that I wasn't directed to when I said my price range. I should have asked. As for the M106 I haven't heard them but based on what I've read in this forum the people who have heard couldn't tell a difference and a good chunk of people preferred the M16's. I should give them a listen though.
From your original post you seemed to imply you have listened to many speakers. I was surprised to find out you can not even name one. I don't mean to be anything more than honest.
What would be helpful is if we knew what speakers represented your $5k gold standard and a list of the speakers you have heard and liked in the $$$ price class.
The other big point I have is what is the "more", that you want here? What are you looking to better by upgrading? Speak of those traits that you find are important, and what is missing in M16's.

The other thing to consider is something may hit a sweet nerve that you can not predict. My preference of the JBL 530 over the Revel M105 was unexpected. You just never know when something just has a special treat for you and maybe you alone.

Someone mentioned the JBL L82. While I wait for my JBL 4309's, I have a pair here of L82's that I borrowed unexpectedly from the universe. They are good, like real good. I'd honestly give those a try if I was just about anyone, especially if you like to turn the volume up as these can boogie without strain. Man can they, stunning IMHO. Of course I'd still want to know what you believe is missing in your current speakers.

I was so disappointed with the Aria 906 that I've never tried anything else from them. Probably irrational though.
What was it you did not like about them? Really nobody can help you unless they know more about this and your listening habits.
 

Mikko Dee

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I know you haven't been around here long, but this doesn't amount to a hill of beans.
This site is the ultimate in cherry popping. Then again, the last time I took any audio rag seriously was way back when Absolute sound was run by HP. Nowadays these reviewers are mostly cable / interconnect pimps. How we went from “lamp cord” to $10,000 .5 meter wire is still both amusing and disappointing.
 

617

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Amir reviewed the Sierra Horizon RAAL Center which has the same driver assortment, internal cabinet volume, and crossover points as the Sierra RAAL Towers:

I expect that it measures quite similarly to the towers. As for your directivity question, of note is the level of the horizontal off-axis response out to about 16kHz+ without dropping off significantly even out to 90 degrees and the ~2kHz clean directivity matched crossover from the dedicated midrange to the larger 70-20xr RAAL ribbon. The ribbon is also well behaved in the 96dB THD graph compared to some of the other smaller ribbons/AMTs that have been measured. Sensitivity of ~90dB is nice as well, although subwoofers are recommended.
The towers do not use a horizontal woofer array but rather place the two woofers one on top of the other. This will improve dispersion immensely. The directivity mismatch of the relatively large midrange and narrow tweeter is potentially an issue but I'd expect these speakers to measure fairly well.
 

mglobe

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+1. Assuming OP has M16s with a reasonable amp & source, adding DSP & 2-3 subs is probably the best upgrade available. Could even throw in a few acoustic treatments for $3k, probably with some cash left.
This. A pair of subs plus DSP would be a big upgrade at a good value point.
 

MarkS

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Shazb0t

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The towers do not use a horizontal woofer array but rather place the two woofers one on top of the other. This will improve dispersion immensely. The directivity mismatch of the relatively large midrange and narrow tweeter is potentially an issue but I'd expect these speakers to measure fairly well.
I'm not sure why you've quoted me here, but I'll do my best to attempt a response to your points.

Yes, I agree that the bass woofers in the tower are not horizontally mounted :)

They are bass woofers though, so the dispersion at the lower frequencies they are reproducing along with being identical woofer pairs with the same crossover points and internal cabinet volumes should result in similar sound profiles. I also don't see anything in the spins of either speaker which suggests that there is a dispersion discrepancy issue between them.

The crossover point between the midrange and the RAAL tweeter is ~2kHz. I don't see a directivity mismatch in the spin data of either speaker. The directivity actually looks well controlled between the midrange and tweeter to me. Do you interpret something different? The good thing is that both speakers have been measured on a Klippel NFS so we don't have to guess anymore!
 
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Sancus

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Quite to the contrary, the Triton Ones have outstanding objective measurements.

Not horrifying but for $10K/pair(actually $7.5K, so I'll upgrade to "average") I would call that mediocre. The ribbon tweeter is making a mess of the treble, especially off-axis. There are a lot of better options at that price point.


Same story pretty much.
 
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Chromatischism

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Triton One.R listening window:

fr_listeningwindow.png
 

Sancus

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Triton 1.R (current version) is $7500/pair at Crutchfield.
Ah my bad, I was looking at MSRP on their website. Considering that and they basically come with subs built-in I'd say I was a bit harsh, they're decent. Certainly wouldn't be my choice, but could be worse. Probably depends on how annoying you find ribbon tweeters, I find them very annoying because poor vertical dispersion is a pet peeve. And the ones in these speakers seem poorly integrated.
 

MarkS

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Just realized this is a zombie thread, bumped today from almost a year ago ...

Anyway, I have baby Tritons (the Sevens, purely passive, currently $1800/pair list) and I think they sound terrific. I don't hear over 10Khz though, so that peaky high treble doesn't bother me ...
 

Chromatischism

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Almost one year later, there are a few new speakers on my list. For $2-3k:

Buchardt S400 MKII
Arendal 1723 Monitor
Focal Solo6 Be
JBL 4305P
Paradigm Founder 40B
KEF R3

There are some that punch above their weight class:

Philharmonic BMR
The latest Ascend Sierras

There are some good towers in this price range as well:

Arendal 1723 Tower S
Monitor Audio Silver 300 7G
Polk Reserve R700
Paradigm Premier 800F
 
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Open Mind Audio

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Not horrifying but for $10K/pair(actually $7.5K, so I'll upgrade to "average") I would call that mediocre. The ribbon tweeter is making a mess of the treble, especially off-axis. There are a lot of better options at that price point.


Same story pretty much.
I have the original Triton Ones, bought in 2016 for $5,000 for the pair. When they came out, they had one of the flattest measurements up to 10k Hz that NRC had ever posted for a full-range speaker that was within reach of average consumers. The moderate action above 10k (above my hearing) has never been a noticeable issue for me, and there were larger trade-offs with all the speaker options at this price point, at least for my tastes. The Triton Ones stood out, and still do, for combining excellent bass dynamics and low-end range throughout the listening spectrum with detail, dynamics, and flat response. Being fairly efficient at 92 db is another plus, since they are easy to drive. There are more speaker options to choose from today that deliver decent bass and measure well throughout the listening spectrum, but these things still hold up. They will not, however, win any beauty contests.


fr_listeningwindow.gif


I get how the ribbon tweeter's vertical dispersion will not be to everyone's liking. The dispersion does not affect me, since I do all my critical listening seated within the optimal vertical axis, and I really like the sound.

For sure, though, thanks in part to the objectivist movement, there have been strong developments in this price range since 2016. (Allowing for inflation, I'd bump the price range up to $8K.) If I could afford to, I'd buy new speakers every 2-3 years, just to check them out. Very very happy with my Triton Ones, however.

One note -- on Tritons or any full-range speaker, a challenging thing is making sure you can find a placement that will suit both the bass management and your higher ranges while fitting reasonably into the listening room. Bass management is clearly easier when you are dealing with separate subwoofers that can be moved to ideal locations. So anyone looking at a full-range speaker will want to make sure they will be able to place them optimally. If you can't, there's no real point to going full range and you're probably better off with a satellite-sub arrangement.
 
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