You need to get out and listen to these speakers and take into account what amp they are being driven by. What amp do you have and can you describe the sound profile that you like. I have demo'd the PM-1s, the CM5s and the CM6 S2 and a bunch of other speakers in this price range over the past 3 or 4 years.

For instance, I listened to the PM-1s driven by a Classe preamp and a McIntosh solid state power amp and found them to be unbearably bright. The other thing to note is they are extremely inefficient with a sensitivity of 84dB I think and I think they have a very modest power handling ceiling. I prefer a warmer sound and Classe and Mc's solid state stuff tends to be forward. Paired with a forward speaker like the PM-1, acoustic guitar was like nails on a chalkboard to me. Paired with a different power amp like maybe one of McIntosh's tube units, I may have have had a different opinion.

Alternatively, I listened to the CM6 S2 driven by a Rogue Audio RP5 and Medusa power amp and they were forward but it wasn't unbearable and I thought the combo reproduced piano better than maybe any speaker I have ever heard. I really liked the CM6s but choice in subwoofer really matters as it is highly refined.

My experience has been every time I hear the 800 series from B&W, it is in a completely different league in sound. It is like listening to Revel's Ultima Salon line or Wilson. If you can afford it and have adequate quality amplification where the speakers aren't so revealing they are going to expose the shortcomings in your hardware, they are truly exceptional.

Not sure if you have a dealer near you (there aren't that many), but I would try and get out and listen to Acoustic Zen Adagio Jr which I think is an amazing speaker at $3500. You might also want to check out the Monitor Audio Gold 100s at $2200, honestly the Kef LS50s at $1500 and the Revel Performa3 M106s at $2000. I have listened to all of these for at least 2 or 3 hours and each one is truly outstanding in its own way.

There was another listener out here who ended up getting a really high end pair of speakers to replace is Kef LS50s and said that the Kefs in certain cases sounded better. Read the review comparing the Kefs vs the Revels, the net take away was that it depends on the room which speaker is better.

I have spent hours listening to all of these and I personally landed on the Revel Performa3 M105s but that is what was right for me (partially because I have a rather exceptional Sunfire Tru subwoofer) and I selected amplification that fits those speakers and my taste. I have an Ayre preamp and Rogue Hydra power amp. Think about the system holistically including your room and you will arrive at the right choice for you.

aque wrote:

flexible budget ~2-4k, thinking of a used excellent condition speakers, such as pmc twenty.22, b&w pm1, cm6 s2, or even 805d2,d3 (if it really makes the difference).

would like to know your opinion on the possible best performance/price ratio speakers.

thank you very much.

Personally, I question the concept of "used excellent condition speakers".

Will you go personally inspect and listen to them before you buy them?

What other way is there of ensuring that is what you are getting?