Floorstanding Speakers from $4000 to $6000

Print
Category: Reader Feedback Reader Feedback
Created: 18 January 2015 18 January 2015

To Doug Schneider,

I have been researching review articles on floorstanding loudspeakers in the $4000-$6000 range. It is a very crowded field with every manufacturer declaring that his loudspeaker is the best.

I want to purchase a new set of floorstanding loudspeakers for my listening room, which measures 14.5’ x 15.5’ x 9’. They will be powered by a 200Wpc McIntosh amplifier. My source component will be a McIntosh CD player. I also will play ripped CDs via USB into a McIntosh DAC. My top two priorities are accuracy and quality bass.

I have read many of your loudspeaker reviews going back several years. Two speakers that you were impressed with were the PMC twenty.24 and Revel F206. Do you have a favorite between these two loudspeakers? Do you recommend I consider any other loudspeaker in my price range?

Thanks,
William
United States

You’re right, there are many speakers in the $4000-$6000 range right now; in fact, this market segment is downright hot, given how much there is out there to buy. As a result, I’d look at those two speakers you mentioned, but I wouldn’t stop there.

If bass accuracy and quality are what you’re after, I wouldn’t only look at Revel’s F206, but also the company’s F208, which is better in the lower frequencies due to its bigger woofers and larger cabinet. At $5000 per pair, the F208 is more expensive than the F206, but less expensive than the twenty.24. I’d also add to that list KEF’s R700 and R900, PSB’s Imagine T2 and T3, GoldenEar’s Triton One, and Definitive Technology’s ST-L. Last, but certainly not least, are Paradigm’s new Prestige speakers, particularly the largest one, the 95F. Hans Wetzel has it in right now and says it has the most powerful bass he’s heard from any passive speaker that sells for up to $5000 per pair -- his review of it will appear on SoundStage! Access on February 1.

Likely, by mentioning all those speaker models, I made your shopping more difficult. On the other hand, if you listen to all the speakers I mentioned and settle on the one that suits you best, I have no doubt you’ll be rewarded with truly outstanding sound, since every speaker I've mentioned is very, very good. . . . Doug Schneider