I would also listen to a pair Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1 with the Reference 3SA amplifier. They can be found for around $3000.

The Triangle Esprit Celius Esw for $3200/pair sound really good.

The Vandersteen 2Ce Signature for $1700/pair is always on my list.

And I cannot leave out the Human 88-41 for $2200/pair. I was lucky enough to recently hear these and they are definitely worth a listen if you can find an audition.

Jackfish made some good recommendations with the Triangle and Vandersteen.

You may also want to consider the B&W 703 or the Epos M22.

Quote:
I did look at the Vandersteens till I was told they had to be put a couple feet away from the walls.

At present there are few high quality loudspeakers that would not require placement away from boundary walls in order to give the type of sound you would expect from a $3k investment. If a dealer suggested the Paradigms will sound good placed against a wall, I believe you were misinformed.

Is placement a consideration? If so, how?

Quote:
I did look at the Vandersteens till I was told they had to be put a couple feet away from the walls.

At present there are few high quality loudspeakers that would not require placement away from boundary walls in order to give the type of sound you would expect from a $3k investment. If a dealer suggested the Paradigms will sound good placed against a wall, I believe you were misinformed.

Is placement a consideration? If so, how?

I own Focal, and would recommend them highly. I would also suggest warmer sounding gear to power. -Z

So, then, I take it you do have issues with speaker placement. And I suspect the Vandersteen dealer had a much better set up for actually displaying speakers than a shop where $3k speakers are lined up on a wall.

Not to diverge too far from your question but years ago dealers who were serious about this hobby displayed speakers in a "single speaker demo room". The concept still exists but has been lost on many dealers who are pressed for space. Here's the concept. When auditioning speakers it's best to listen in an enviroment as much like your own room as possible. Since a dealer can't anticpate every possible room, this means one pair of speakers in a demo room positioned to show off their attributes. Since speakers move air, placing other speakers in the room means you are really listening to all the speakers in the room, none of which then are likely to be set up properly. If the dealer is using a switch box to demonstrate speakes, you will never hear the best the speaker can do in most cases. While the offer the bring in your amp is admirable, the dealer is still not really helping you if more than one pair of speakers are in the demo room.

Read these few articles to get an idea of how to place speakers. Once you know who is helping you and who is not, you will be miles ahead in the buying market. But you will have to resign yourself to the idea that most speakers must sit away from boudaries to sound their best. Possibly smaller standmount monitors would be best for your system if you have placement issues. They can be moved in and out as needed.

I recently helped a friend set up his Gallos system in a relatively large room. We first moved the speakers to the adjacent end of the room he had chosen and then, using mostly the principles of the W.A.S.P. system, placed the speakers about five feet out into the room and four feet from the side walls. We also changed his listening position. A few other tweaks and the system has literally been transformed from a shallow, hard sounding system to one with very good depth an width to the stage and a much warmer sound that he can listen to for long periods without fatigue.

If you have decent speakers right now, try placing them according to the guidleines in the articles and get an idea what your room demands. No matter what speakers you buy, the room is what you hear. It dominates the response of the speaker due to its dimensions and furnishings. Once you find the location where your present speakers sound their best, that is most often where all speakers will sound their best - in that room. If you bring new speakers into the room and still pace them poorly, you will very likely be disappointed in your investment. If you find you can't deal with speakers placed where they sound best in your room, then you need to know this before you go out shopping for speakers which will demand that sort of placement.

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/speakerplacement.html

http://www.immediasound.com/Speaker_set-up.htm

http://www.tnt-audio.com/casse/waspe.html