I’m very partial to Dynaudio musically, also great for HT. You can always look at the outgoing Excite X38 $2800 and a receiver from accessories4less.com I like Marantz. I have 2 setups, one just 2.1 and the other 3.0 with Dynaudio, the first is 80 music and 20 tv, the other is 90 movies and video games, 10 music.

https://www.accessories4less.com/ma...ore/item/marsr6013/marantz-sr6013-9.2-ch-x-110-watts-a/v-receiver-w/heos/1.html

https://www.dedicatedaudio.com/coll...o/products/copy-of-dynaudio-excite-x38-floor-standing-loudspeaker-pair-rosewood

I also like Dali, Totem, Focal and Monitor Audio

 

Totem .... Anything. Sky or Tribe towers, if you can get a discount! Tribe III on-wall ...

 

Honestly if you are planning on subwoofer use, you don't really need towers unless you need the higher sensitivity for high SPL, or would otherwise choose bass-shy standmounts. But, there are standmount speakers that, when paired with sub(s), are not distinguishable from towers. In fact, you can use the money saved to move up to a higher line of standmounts, increasing sound quality. Moreover, the standmount + sub combo will sound better for a couple of other reasons: 1) optimal subwoofer placement - let the sub work where it works best rather than being stuck with bass under your towers that can't be moved to better locations 2) your amplifier will run a lower duty cycle.

AVR: NAD T758 v3 or Denon X4xxx series

Standmounts under $2k:

Buchardt S400
Ascend Sierra-2EX
KEF R3
Revel M106
Dynaudio Evoke 20

Sub: Rythmik L22, and get a 2nd one later. If priority tilts toward theater, Rythmik FVX15, HSU VTF-15H MK2, PSA V1510

If you must have towers, under $2k:

Paradigm Premier 800F
Klipsch RP-8000F
Revel F36
Ohm Walsh 1000
Spatial Audio M3 (just for kicks)

 

Alright here’s my idea, and it’s going to be a little different than the others.

Denon X3500H (Or even X4500H)

Since these have preouts, you have the option to buy a separate power amp of your choosing to increase your 2 channel listening (since you are 60% music) enjoyment. Tube, Solid, Hybrid, whatever. This would be pretty cool IMO.

And since it’s a surround receiver you can still expand without having any constraints.

Boom. Time for speakers.

You have about $2500 left, give or take.

SoulBurner put some good options on the table. I’d take a hard look at those, avoiding (however) the low efficiency stuff. 90dB+ is my suggestion (or around there). Measured. Not specced from the manufacturer. Klipsch is usually 6dB overstated, others closer to 2-3dB. Some are extremely accurate. Their specs are correct across the board (take a look at Ascend Acoustics).

Now for subs. Rythmik, HSU, Monolith. About the only brands you should be looking at. Sealed for more compact cabinets with less extension down low, ported for bigger enclosure, more boom for your buck. All of those brands are awesome value for the money, can’t go wrong with any of their products. Larger woofers are always better.

1 is nice, 2 is double nice. For many reasons. But stick with 1 for now (IMO) and get the second later if needed.

Anyways good luck. You have a really nice budget to have a great system cooking.

 

If you have a chance to do so, go out and listen to as many speakers as you can. See what you like and like among the different speakers. The list of contenders is quite long and having an idea of what you're looking for would narrow down the list considerably.

 

The Denon x4400h is still available on clearance at Acoustic Sound Design and Sound Distributors, but probably not for much longer, looks like the other online authorized dealers are sold out. Crutchfield (and probably other places) has the Klipsch RP280f on clearance at a very attractive price. Not saying they're the best, but I like them, and they reviewed well. That's about $1800, spend the rest on subwoofers or more speakers.
The Denon can be expanded to 7.2.4 atmos, so you're covered there. Since you're more music than theater, I'd probably look hard at Rythmik and Monoprice for subwoofers. The matching center is also on sale for the same price (RP-450c), as are the rp160m for slightly less, which you could use as surrounds, and still leave over $1000 for a subwoofer.

And, yes, I use the RP series with Rythmiks, and I love the combo for music.

So, for your budget, you can get the X4400h, the front 3 speakers, and a Rythmik FV15HP, and a little over, add RP160m for surround, you have a quality music/movies setup for about $4000, and all you need to add later is an inexpensive stereo amp, 4 Atmos speakers, and there you are.

 

I would go with NAD T758 if you can get by with 3 HDMI in and no on screen display on the TV I went with the ANTHEM 720 and the difference in sound quality is very noticeable over Marantz and Denon. The NAD 758 V 3 VS uses Dirac live so it may sound better in the end than my Anthem cant say. Also many have said that for music the Nad is very good but dose not have all the bells and whistles that Denon marantz and Yamaha have

 

Are you located near any of these folks?

ACCESSORIES 4 LESS*** NEAR ORLANDO FLORIDA
APERION* NEAR PORTLAND OREGON
ASCEND** NEAR LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA
CHANE TAMPA FLORIDA
CRUTCHFIELD*** CHARLOTTESVILLE VIRGINIA
DEEP SEA SOUND SUBS NEAR KNOXVILLE TENNESSEE
DIYSOUND GROUP CINCINNATI OHIO
EMOTIVA NEAR NASHVILLE TENNESSEE
HI FI HEAVEN*** GREEN BAY WISONSIN
HSU NEAR LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA
HTD* NEAR DALLAS TEXAS
JTR NEAR MILWAUKEE WISCONSIN
MONOPRICE NEAR RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA
MUSIC DIRECT*** CHICAGO ILLINOIS
NHT NEAR SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA
OHM BROOKLYN NEW YORK
PSA NEAR YOUNGSTOWN OHIO
RBH NEAR SALT LAKE CITY UTAH
RHYTHMIK SUBS NEAR AUSTIN TEXAS
RSL* NEAR LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA
SALK AUDIO PONTIAC MICHIGAN
SATURDAY AUDIO--- CHICAGO ILLINOIS
SEATON SOUND NEAR CHICAGO ILLINOIS
SELAH AUDIO NEAR RALEIGH NORTH CAROLINA
SVS* YOUNGSTOWN OHIO
TEKTON NEAR PROVO UTAH
TYLER ACOUSTICS NEAR LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
WORLDWIDE STEREO*** NEAR PHILADELPHIA PENNSYLVANIA

CANADIAN MANUFACTURERS
AXIOM NEAR TORONTO CANADA
FLUANCE NEAR TORONTO CANADA
FUNK AUDIO NEAR VANCOUVER CANADA
PARADIGM NEAR TORONTO CANADA
PSB NEAR TORONTO CANADA
TOTEM NEAR MONTREAL CANADA
* free return shipping
**Ascend also carries Rhythmik subwoofers on site
***retail outlet of many brands

 

Let's see, $3k budget...here's how I'd do it:

NAD T758, $1400 shipped from Crutchfield.com

Emotiva T2 towers, on sale for $800 shipped
https://emotiva.com/collections/loudspeakers/products/airmotiv-t2

Hsu VTF-3, about $900 shipped --- probably overkill but if you ever move to a bigger space and/or your 14 x 11 room opens up to adjacent rooms, it would be a solid investment unless you never watch big budget action/thriller movies.
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-3mk5HP.html

 

Thank you, that Marantz is definitely on my list. I did have the ability to listen to a few speakers:
Martin Logan motion 40 and 60- really liked the accuracy and detail
Martin Logan ESL- loved the sound stage but very narrow seating position
Definitive 9060 - didn’t really like much
BW 6030 - didn’t keep up with the Martin Logan’s
Golden ear triton 3- not bad but wasn’t blown away
Kef R5- too bright and fatiguing
Monitor silver 200 - also very bright and fatiguing
Dali optics 6- liked these very warm and accurate

I seem to be gravitating to speakers with ribbon tweeters?

 

Martin Logan motion 40 and 60- really liked the accuracy and detail
I seem to be gravitating to speakers with ribbon tweeters?

Welcome to the club! I hate "bright" speakers, but always wished that "warm" speakers could have similar or better detail especially in the higher frequencies---to my ears, ribbons provide the best of both worlds.

The Emotivas have a slightly smaller version of the same AMT tweeter as the Martin Logans. I loved their B1 and C1 speakers, which I owned before upgrading to the Philharmonic BMRs (sadly these are no longer available from the original manufacturer).

Another company that has a similar design, but apparently an in-house version (I forget the exact specifics) would be Chane, which also gets overwhelmingly positive feedback on this forum, and whose owner Jon Lane is quite active/helpful on these forums...do a search for the Chane Owners Thread. This is their tower, just a little bit more than the Emotiva T2 and in a more conventional-looking (non-Batmobile style) cabinet:
https://www.chanemusiccinema.com/A5.4

Widely considered to be THE best-available and "true" ribbon tweeter though would be the RAAL tweeter, one very well regarded version of which is available on the Ascend Sierra 2, 2EX, and Sierra Tower speakers:
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM2EX/srm2ex.html
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRT/srt.html

 

These are all great suggestions
Overall looks like the NAD t758 is highly regarded and if I want something cheaper the Denon 4xxx series
For sub , rhythmik, hsu and monolith

Speakers are the tough one . Although I’ve listened to quite a few speakers, it was in different stores and different tracks so not apples to apples comparison . I’d love to listen to them in my living room but I can’t imagine being able to do more than 2-3 different speakers as returning cost will become great.

Can I swing a anthem avr with my budget?

 

Where are you located and are you just interested in towers?

 

I'll suggest the 4-way NHT C-4 towers. https://www.nhthifi.com/products/16544-c-4-floor-standing-tower-speaker?category_id=1968128-c-series
I'm not aware of any published reviews of the C-4. The NHT C-3 is a bookshelf speaker that uses similar drivers to the C-4 so I would expect performance for the C-4 to be somewhat better but similar in timbre.

Here is a review of the C-3. https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/speaker/bookshelf/nht-c3-bookshelf-speaker-review/

Since you are looking forward to upgrading at some time, you might consider the C-3 now (available on Amazon for about $325 each) and when you upgrade move the C-3s from primary to your surround positions. I'm using the C-4s and love them and have the NHT Classic 3s as my surrounds. The Classic 3 is the predecessor to the C-3. These speakers are all acoustic suspension designs (sealed box) and are especially good for music.

 

+1 on auditioning the standmount variants before towers due to cost and ease.

I will add one caveat, though. All standmount speakers will experience a floor bounce cancellation, just like they do from the walls. Towers do as well if their bass drivers are up high. More on that here: http://arqen.com/acoustics-101/speaker-placement-boundary-interference/

This tends to occur in the 100-300 Hz range and depends on the height of the speaker from the floor, the height of your ears from the floor, and your distance to the speaker.

The closer you can get a bass driver to the boundary, the higher in frequency you move the cancellation. So, a tower with a bass driver mounted low can provide better upper bass for 2 reasons: avoidance of a floor-bounce bass cancellation, in addition to having more drivers.

But you should not worry too much about this at the moment. There is also a ceiling bounce, wall bounce...tough to avoid them all.

A good example of engineering your way around the floor bounce problem:

 

 

Really hard to say.

All I could say is my order of interest in wanting to review them:

1. Buchardt - S400
2. Revel - M106
3. Dynaudio - Evoke 20
4. Monitor Audio - Gold 100
5. Kef - R3

One thing is for sure - this is one sexy group of speakers! :grin:

 

Might as well add in Paradigm Prestige 15B.

 

Dynaudio should top the list. Decades of excellent speakers.