Audio Systems: A good pair of speakers, audio mirage, martin logan

Question
Hi,

Could you suggest a good pair of speakers between 500 and 1000 dollar, that are suitable for both pop music (genre Tina Turner, elton John, toto...) AND classical music.

Thanks in advance

Answer
Dear Koen,

The best speakers I've heard in that rather large category are the PSB Image B25, US$450/pair. Dealers at www.psbspeakers.com.

However, their capabilities depend very much on the size of your room. If your room is any larger than 5 x 5 meters, they're going to need a subwoofer. Otherwise, especially for near field listening (within 2 meters), they generate enough mid-bass so a sub IMHO isn't necessary. The B25s are "shelf" monitors, that is, they need stands. You may want to listen to PSB's Image series tower models as well. Some classical music benefits from the extra bass that a tower will have over a shelf monitor.

I recommend that you audition as many speakers as you can in your price range. There are many manufacturers who make excellent product at or less than US$1,000/pair: JM Labs, PSB, NHT, Celestion, Legacy, B&W (tho' I don't like their voicing of late), Polk Audio, Mirage, Vandersteen and if you like electrostatics Martin Logan and Magnepan.

When you audition in a dealer's showroom, bring along your own CDs, ones that you know intimately and how they should sound. Try to buy from a dealer which has a no-hassle, trade-in policy: if you get the speakers home, and they sound like crap, you can take them back and exchange them for something else. All speakers will sound different when you get them home. The trick is finding those that will sound as good at home as they do in the dealer's showroom.

Above all...take your time. You'll know when you've found the speakers you want: your ears will tell you.

Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!

Kindest regards,

Kevin