Make sure you audition one of the Brystons. The A2 or A3 might be suitable.

Given your budget, you can't spend too much time auditioning equipment and listening to speakers. I would strongly encourage you to pick out 5 or 6 really dynamic recordings to use as a baseline. I have a couple tracks I use as a screener that if they sound awful or bright I don't move forward. I use the same tracks on every system.

To power any of those speakers properly you are going to need 150 to 200w minimum and be rated for 4 ohms so you aren't going to find an inexpensive amp that is going to do a good job.

I own the Revel Bookshelf speakers and spent some time listening to the F206s and F208s and I am a huge fan. I would try and listen the Dynaudio Excites which are an awesome speaker with a different sound profile. I would also check and see if you can lists to the Acoustic Zen Adagio's. They are my favorite speaker in this price range.

Choosing your speakers first IMO is the right thing to do then you can select the right preamp and power amp to drive them.

Since you don't have a power amp and preamp you are going to be in a position to do an in-home demo. This means taking notes on what hardware you like with each speaker will be critical. Unfortunately, no matter how something sounds in a showroom, it will sound different when you get it home in your room. The more time you take now, the more likely you are to be happy on the back end. It is very easy to buy $18k worth that will not sound good to you and the thought of that horrifies me.

I listened to at least 10 or 12 speakers and at least 10 or 12 preamps before I settled in on what I like and don't regre the time I took at all. I even paid more for the speakers so I could get them in home and listen to them on a return policy.

For hardware, make sure you visit an Ayre, Rogue, Bryston, Manley, Cary, NAD for their Master Series, Classe, Audio Research, Parasound and Musical Fidelty (though displaying dealers are uncommon) dealer. I would also try and find a PrimaLuna and Mystere dealer specifically for their preamps Each dealer will likely carry a variety of wonderful speakers that are not listed above that you will get a chance to demo. It is a healthy mix of solid state and tube offerings with different sound profiles. Several of these companies also make integrated amps that would be capable of driving floor standing speakers (Rogue, Musical Fidelity, Krell for an integrated). The one brand I would be wary of in your price range is Conrad Johnson. Their GAT at $20K is an amazing preamp but some of their entry point units have interesting feedback

Full disclosure, I have the Revel Performa3 M105s with an Ayre K-5xeMP preamp and a Rogue Audio Hydra(you would need a Medusa) power amp. I am ecstatic with the performance I am getting for my taste. That is key. You might not like the sound I am getting.

Again, take your time. Take lots of notes and don't jump at a deal unless it is on a unit you are certain you will like. One side note, the more demos you do, the easier it will be to interpret reviews so do plenty of reading as well.

Given your budget, my first two speaker choices would be the Vandersteen Treos (which I have) ($7000) and the Focal 936 ($4000). Both of these speakers have had recent reviews (2014) in Stereophile, which can certainly help you to decide.

Both are superb-sounding speakers, but if you can afford them the Treos are sublime.

You will want to get an amp with plenty of power to drive any speaker. I recommend the Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amplifier, which is rated for 220 watts at 8 ohms, and will deliver well over 300 watts per channel into 4 ohms. It also has one balanced input and a USB input, as well as 4 other inputs.

This is available for only $3000 at Music Direct, and is an incredibly fine-sounding unit; directly comparable to some of the best ones at two and 3 times the price from Krell, Bryston and others. The price is really a steal; it is incredibly good.

You may want to get the amplifier from Music Direct first so you have it with you when you audition speakers. That will help you to make good comparisons without the variable of various amps in the mix.

Your local Vandersteen dealer in Houston is Timbre on Portsmouth Street, phone #713-523-0494.

make sure you audition Martin Logan electromotion electrostatics. You can get a pair for about 25 hundred, and they blow away every other speaker anywhere near the price. Everything else sounds like a wooden box. Monkey coffins.

OP_

where are you driving to demo this gear? Dallas? San Antonio?

David Harper wrote:

make sure you audition Martin Logan electromotion electrostatics. You can get a pair for about 25 hundred, and they blow away every other speaker anywhere near the price. Everything else sounds like a wooden box. Monkey coffins.

If you like large-panel speakers, for $1995 you can get Magnepan 1.7 speakers, which sound far better IMO than the Martin-Logans.

Hello Amrogers3, just curious, will you be going analog or digital front end or both? So, does your budget of $16k to $18k include the source component(s) eg turntable + phonostage or/and streamer/DAC or cd player etc? That would make a difference when allocating the budget.

you may be right, I have not heard the maggies. I did some research on line and opinion seems to be divided between the maggies and Martin Logan.
I think they're both better than dynamic drivers in a box.

Hello Amrogers3, I have couple recommendations for you if you have access to audition to them. Given your budget of $18k for a complete setup I would look at the Devialet Le 200 for $9500. This is a very great sounding integrated amp/DAC/streamer in the same chassis. The Le 400 ($17,500) would be a much better choice if you can find it used on Audiogon or somewhere. You might be able to find a used Devialet Le 400 for around $11k or perhaps less. The Le 400 is a dual mono configuration. But if you can't find a used Le 400 you should give the Le 200 a listen. Devialet makes awesome components. They are French and everything are built and made in France. You wouldn't need a separate streamer/DAC if you get the Devialet.
As for the speaker choices, you might want to take advantage of the massive discounts offered by B&W dealers on recently discontinued B&W' entire 800 Diamond series lineup. You can easily get a pair of B&W 804D ($7500 msrp) for around $5k or less. This model is being discontinued recently and is replaced by a newer edition of the 804D. Actually B&W has just released a new edition of their entire 800 series lineup. All the B&W dealers are now massively discounting the entire 800D series speakers. Or you can get a pair of B&W 803D ($10k msrp) for around $7k or less. Again this is the one that is being discontinued but most B&W dealers throughout the country should still have these leftover stocks. Work something out with them to get a great deal. Fyi, the 800 Diamond series is the top of the line series of B&W speakers. Abbey Road studio in London and a lot of other best and well known recording studios worldwide use the B&W 802D or 800D speakers due to their flat frequency responses and accurate harmonic musical reproductions. This series of B&W are made in the UK but the CM series and the 600 series are made in China but designed and engineered in the UK.
The other option would be the Simaudio Moon Evolution 700i integrated amp for $12,500 brand new or unless if you can find it used somewhere for around $7500 or less. This is a great sounding unit but you would need to get a separate external streamer/DAC because this unit is a straight analog integrated amp. And I would recommend a Naim DAC V1 which retails for about $2k new or Naim DAC Classic series which retails for quite a bit more unless if you could find a used one. You can get a discontinued model of the B&W 804D speakers with this option in order to not go over your $18k budget. Give them a listen if you could.
And lastly, do not skimp on audio cables eg speaker cables, interconnects, etc in order to fully optimize the performance of your system as a whole. Audiogon is a great place to find pre-owned or used good quality high performance cables, interconnects, ac power cords etc for really great prices. Upgrading the ac power cords would also help optimize the performance of your components. Especially if you have high performance or high end hi-fi components I wouldn't skimp on the cables. They do make a difference sonically especially given the budget that you're willing to pay for your setup and the quality of the components.

Hello again,
Alternatively you can also get the Classe CP-800 stereo preamp. This preamp has built-in DACs so you can hook it up to your laptop. This unit retails for $6k new. It is a great sounding preamp and the DAC is dual differential configuration, meaning that it uses 2 DAC chips per channel. As for the power amp, you can either get the Classe CA-D200 amp or a used Classe CA-2300 amp. The CA-D200 retails for $4k new and this amp uses a class D circuit design (switching power supplies). It's a great sounding amp especially for the price. Its power output is rated at 200 wpc into 8 ohms and 400 wpc into 4 ohms. You can get a pair of discounted B&W 804D speakers (discontinued one) with this. Or alternatively, you could get the Classe CA-2300 power amp which retails for $7k brand new. I would look for a used one for maybe around $4k. It is a great amp. Its power output is rated at 300 wpc into 8 ohms & 600 wpc into 4 ohms. With this amp you could get a pair of recently discontinued B&W 803D speakers at discounted price. Classe electronics and B&W speakers usually have great synergy together. Fyi, both Classe & Rotel are part of the B&W Group. B&W owns and distributes their products. Usually the Classe components are voiced and fine tuned using the B&W 800 series speakers and vice versa. The B&W 800 series speakers are usually voiced using the Classe components. However, the Rotel components are voiced using the B&W CM series speakers and vice versa. The B&W CM series & the 600 series speakers are voiced using the Rotel components. Therefore, both Classe & Rotel have great sonic synergy with the B&W speakers. They share the same audition and listening facility.
I myself do have Classe components driving the B&W 800 diamond series speaker systems in my dedicated home theater room. They work great and have great synergy together.
Fyi, you have to use the XLR balanced connections with all Classe components because all Classe components are fully balanced circuitry. Their circuits are truly and fully balanced. So you have to use the XLR balanced interconnects in order to get full optimal performance. Otherwise it would not give you with optimal sound quality if you use the rca unbalanced connections with the Classe.

Keep me posted amrogers3.

Hi, OP.

I have also auditioned Revel Performa F208 with Naim Nac N 172 + Nap 155 XS, and I thought the combo sounded brilliant. With your budget, I think you can fit Naim Nac N 272 + Nap250 DR with the Revels.

Classe + B&W should also be on your audition list, it's a cracking combo.

Anyway, have fun auditioning. Naim + Revel have my vote, they make great music together.