Best Monitors under $10,000

RDSChicago said:
I love monitors. What are your favorites under $10,000 and what makes them so??
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maybe check out the, Marten "Duke 2" heard from others they are fantastic, you probably have some good choices in that range.


if you live in Chicago, there is a dealer in the area (not sure if they have the Duke 2) the dealer "Kyomi audio" he is one of the best setup guys in the Biz.......


many good speakers in that class, always best to demo with your gear----have fun:audiophile:

Cheers
 
I guess it all depends on what you're looking for.

In terms of physical beauty, I absolutely adore the Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento. In terms of balancing transparency AND tonal/timbral accuracy, I'm pretty fond of the Rosso Fiorentino Fiesole. Various monitors from Totem Acoustic always leave me satisfied. The Joseph Audio Pulsar makes for a great listen, and the Klipsch Heresy III's bring a lot of fun to the table at a very affordable price.

That said, I'd love to hear the best efforts from the likes of Vapor, Focal, Dynaudio, the Harbeth 30.1's, Wilson Benesch, Lenehan Audio, Audio Note, etc...
 
Wow Zero, those are all awesome examples! Definitely some amazing speakers to aspire to, or at least demo! The Rosso Florentino brand is new to me. I will go look them up now.
 
Not mentioned above but worth the research/listen...

Dynaudio C1 Signature are up there
B&W 805Diamonds
Harbeth 30.1

Used <$10K:
Maybe a bit of a stretch for your budget but sometimes close to $10K...the Magico Mini IIs
Focal Diablo
Wilson Duette II
 
Zero said:
I guess it all depends on what you're looking for.

In terms of physical beauty, I absolutely adore the Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento. In terms of balancing transparency AND tonal/timbral accuracy, I'm pretty fond of the Rosso Fiorentino Fiesole. Various monitors from Totem Acoustic always leave me satisfied. The Joseph Audio Pulsar makes for a great listen, and the Klipsch Heresy III's bring a lot of fun to the table at a very affordable price.

That said, I'd love to hear the best efforts from the likes of Vapor, Focal, Dynaudio, the Harbeth 30.1's, Wilson Benesch, Lenehan Audio, Audio Note, etc...
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Lot's of great speaker suggestions; the Joseph Audio Pulsar sounded great at different shows driven by Rowland or VAC amplifiers. Play a lot bigger than their size.
 
I owned Joseph Audio Pulsars (7,700) with stands you're close to 10k. They are superb and I would still have them if not for a sudden attack of audiophilia nervosa.
 
I really like the Diapason Astera/ADAMANTES III 25TH speakers :)

astera_sx.jpg


 
My question is if you have $10k to spend on speakers, why buy monitors unless you absolutely have to? I would spend $10k and buy a pair of Nola KO speakers which are floor standing line arrays and have 10 drivers per cabinet which will move lots of air in your room and greatly enhance the sense of realism from well recorded music that most monitors just hint at.

Oh, and I do own a pair of Nola KOs. :)
 
mep said:
My question is if you have $10k to spend on speakers, why buy monitors unless you absolutely have to? I would spend $10k and buy a pair of Nola KO speakers which are floor standing line arrays and have 10 drivers per cabinet which will move lots of air in your room and greatly enhance the sense of realism from well recorded music that most monitors just hint at.

Oh, and I do own a pair of Nola KOs. :)
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WAF, small Manhattan apt., etc.
 
Myles B. Astor said:
WAF, small Manhattan apt., etc.
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You live in a Manhattan apartment and you don't have monitors. ;) And what good is a wife if she won't let you have a pair of floor standing speakers?? If you live in a small place, does she cut down on the number of pairs of shoes she owns? Didn't think so. Sometimes you have to man up, put your foot down, open up her top drawer and take your onions back that she cut off when you got married. If you told me you were shopping in the less than $3k neighborhood, this would be a different conversation.
 
mep said:
You live in a Manhattan apartment and you don't have monitors. ;) And what good is a wife if she won't let you have a pair of floor standing speakers?? If you live in a small place, does she cut down on the number of pairs of shoes she owns? Didn't think so. Sometimes you have to man up, put your foot down, open up her top drawer and take your onions back that she cut off when you got married. If you told me you were shopping in the less than $3k neighborhood, this would be a different conversation.
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Mark...are you married? :D
 
mep said:
You live in a Manhattan apartment and you don't have monitors. ;) And what good is a wife if she won't let you have a pair of floor standing speakers?? If you live in a small place, does she cut down on the number of pairs of shoes she owns? Didn't think so. Sometimes you have to man up, put your foot down, open up her top drawer and take your onions back that she cut off when you got married. If you told me you were shopping in the less than $3k neighborhood, this would be a different conversation.
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You don't know Manhattan especially Upper East Side women Mark! :) You don't mess with 'dem!

Or you might have to go the Kobe route.
 
Mep,

I hear where you're coming from. Hell, I even agree with most of your points. Especially when it comes to the fellas who willingly divorce themselves from their hobbies as soon as they utter the words; "I Do". That being said, it doesn't take a whole lotta brainpower to understand why some people would prefer a set of 10k monitors over a pair of 10k floorstanders.

For many audiophiles, it's a matter of practicality. Not everybody has the space to accommodate a pair of Nola KO's. If your system is relegated to a small space, the last thing you want is a giant set of speakers that boast of a couple feet worth of radiating surface area. You've been around the block long enough to know this already... so let's focus on the more controversial reasons....

When you get right down to it Mep, some audiophiles simply *prefer* the sound of monitors. Even though my bias errs towards floorstanding loudspeakers, I totally get it. There is an aural simplicity to a good (usually two-way) compact loudspeaker that's easy to enjoy. While most compact loudspeakers will fall short of delivering the kinda scale, dynamic heft, and low end that it takes to recreate the sensation of a live musical event, some people don't care about all that stuff. They simply want something that features superior driver integration, great macro dynamics, speed, and a problem-free listening experience.

And then lastly, there's value. Even after you factor in the cost of a pair of good stands, a compact system that retails for around 10k should be able to deliver the kinda midrange and top end performance that you'd normally find in floorstanders that retail for around 15k. Provided you can live without some of the things that towers do well, there's a good chance that you'll reap dividends when it comes to overall sound quality.

That's my subjective take on the matter.
 
Myles B. Astor said:
You don't know Manhattan especially Upper East Side women Mark! :) You don't mess with 'dem!

Or you might have to go the Kobe route.
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I married a woman from south Jersey so I know all about attitude, trust me.
 
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