Speakers vs Headphones: How much do I have to spend to get great speakers?

B&W 685's might be to your liking.

It depends on what overall SQ is to you :-)

 

The electrostatic Stax has some fine qualities especially regarding resolution and details, that I think is very hard (or expensive) to match in a full size speaker. You could look at for instance Martin Logan (also electrostatic) or Magnepan, but I'm not sure if you can find them within your price range.

 

There are probably exceptions, but in general I don't think you can get the "Stax sound" in a dynamic speaker. But they have other qualities, as you mention yourself.

 

And remember when it comes to speakers, you haven't really heard them until you hear them in your own room.

 

 

Edited by Buyer no 1 - 6/3/11 at 1:25am

$10k speakers setup would lose to headphones if they have a bad room acoustics...

Edited by heavytwenty - 6/3/11 at 9:58pm

Resolution and detail? The Magnepan MMG resolves well for $600 new, about $400 used. You can also find a used MG12 around there. If you want to stretch to $1,000, find a used 1.6. If you want killer resolution from a Magnepan, you'd want one with a true ribbon. The new 1.7 has a ribbon, but they're out of your budget. You might be able to find a 2.5 or 2.6 around $1,000.

If you want to hunt a little more, see if you can find a used ESS AMT. I found the AMT-1 for $300. The AMT resolves as well as just about anything I've heard. The problem is the woofers. You can drop modern ones in and also upgrade the crossover with modern parts. Damping the cabinet will help, too. If you really want a project, you can find a number of projects where people mated AMTs to different woofers and cabinets.

It'd be several years down the line, but one dream project would be combining an AMT on each channel with servo-driven woofers firing front and back (so the bass becomes dipolar) with an active crossover and dedicated amps for each AMT and woofer. Easier said than done, but if the stars aligned, it'd be wonderful.

You might also consider the Linkwitz Pluto. The drivers are $200, and I think you could build them for $800. Interestingly, the cabinets are PVC pipes for plumbing. Easier than cutting wood/MDF. They have built-in amplifiers so you only need to connect them to a preamp. Might be a fun project.

Still, the king of cheap resolution is the AMT. Deal with the woofers and you'll get loads of detail. Quad ESLs would make you happy, but $800 would only get you ones that need new diaphragms. But if you're up for it, they blend detail with tight bass like few others.