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Floorstander: Wharfedale Diamond 9.6. Bookshelf: Dynaudio Audience 52.
Dave in Dallas says, "Ask your readers to recommend a product within a specified price range they would buy today and why they would consider that product."<P>So, here goes: What speaker would you recommend to someone for up to $1000/pair—and not a penny more?
At $1K per pair very it's difficult to get full range coverage and realistic overall sound reproduction. However, based on my experience with Totem's Forest model, I'd consider the Totem Rainmaker. With good quality electronics and cables & sturdy speaker stands, the Rainmaker should provide good music fidelity thru most of the audable range and a great soundstage—assuming proper placement in an appropriate room and, of course, high quality recordings. But a good subwoofer optimized for accurate music playback (not video sound effects or rap booming), may be desireable for many listeners.
Audio Nirvana Super 8. I have Fostex FF85K and they sound so clear & dynamic. Audio Nirvana Super 8 have a fairly similar frequency response and would probably go much louder, and have higher rated input. Hemp Acoustics have the FR4.5C which has a somewhat similar curve to Lowther PM5/PM2A. If Lowthers are the best, the FR4.5C should sound great.
Won't make any friends here, but Def Tech's BP 8b's easily offer just about all you could hope for out of a $1000 pair of towers. Great soundstaging, better than average extension, solid midrange, and very reasonable upper-end for its price-tag. Value. Value. Value.
In that price range, careful consideration needs to be given not only to room size and associated equiupment, but also to type of music most often listened to. That being said, both PSB and Focal have several fine sounding speakers under 1k.
Ohm Micro Walsh series. The Talls are $1000-$1100 depending on finish, so they just make the cut. Coherent, omnidirectional (no head-in-a-vise "sweet spot"), smooth response, decent bass once they're broken in. The review on 6moons.com says it all.
Light Roast speakers from ARE Audio. They sound immaculate, and for under $1000 (paid $500 a pair to be exact), you absolutely can't beat it. They produce the truest sound of any pair I've heard. Great for studio monitors as well as home theater listening. Definitely pick up a pair, and keep an eye out for ARE audio. As far as I know, their website is in the works, but give Ross Connolly a shout at rdcnnll@mta.ca for more information and pictures.