[swalker]

I've been working on the renovation project of my parents' new place for the last few weeks (and been completely head-fi free for that span, yay) They got a hardwood flooring done and thought a nice looking pair of speakers would go nicely in the living room. Honestly they don't care that much about the sonics but nice sounding speakers wouldn't hurt. Are there speakers under Canadian$2000(that's .. around 1600 USD these days? cheaper the better of course) with pleasing asthetics for that elusive "high spouse approval" rating? Thanks in advance for the inputs.

 

[fr4c]

a pair of Polk tower speakers.

 

[D-EJ915]

NHT towers look 'bitchin' as long as you clean them, suuuper-high spouse-approval. Check 'em out online. http://www.nhthifi.com/2004/

 

[tennisets]

How about the Meadowlark Audio Swift? That's in your price range at $1200 US and is absolutely gorgeous. It sounds nice too!

If I think of any more I'll add them, but to my taste the swift is the best looking speaker in that price range (that I can think of).

I'm assuming your parents want floorstanders for better looks?

 

[ooheadsoo]

If the dollar drops some more, you could stretch for either one of these: http://www.salksound.com/1801.html
http://selahaudio.com/id16.html

 

[britishbane]

Totem, B&W, Dynaudio,Von Schweirt(not spelled correctly) all look very nice to me.

 

[UserNotFound]

I'm a fan of the Polks, women like the slender look...or atleast my mom does.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Whatever you do, go with good sounding speakers. Why spend so much for just good looking, painted wooden boxes? With that said, polk floorstanding speakers sound like an option.

 

[swalker]

Interesting that the Polks are getting lots of recommendations. I'd have to look into them. They'd definitely prefer floorstanding models.

Quote:

Whatever you do, go with good sounding speakers. Why spend so much for just good looking, painted wooden boxes? With that said, polk floorstanding speakers sound like an option.

that's very true and that's why i'm asking question here at head-fi. I just know people here won't recommend a bad sounding pair of speakers

Still, I don't think my mom would worry so much about the sound as she is would with the look. Although I'd think the speakers will have to really impress her to warrant the full budget limit..

 

[jjcapurro]

Another vote for Totem Acoustic... The Arro sounds fantastic and the WAF doesn't get much higher...

Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[tyrion]

Totem, Spendor, System Audio are all nice looking speakers. I've heard Totems and System Audio and those have sounded very nice. Another one is a speaker that was profiled in Stereophile this month, Amphion.

 

[Len]

I'll second the Meadowlark Swifts. Meadowlark has some of the best woodworking of all speaker manufacturers. The Thiel 1.6 is a very handsome speaker too, but more expensive. Totem Arro is a sleek, simple design that should be non-offensive.

 

[tennisets]

Yeah, the Totems would probably be my next choice after Meadowlark (based on looks and not sound). I personally don't find the floorstanding Amphions as attractive as the bookshelf models, but oh well. Plus in a wood veneer instead of silver I think the Creon2, their cheapest floorstander, is too expensive. The Helium2 (the one in Stereophile this month) is $1250 with a beautiful wood veneer (either birch or Cherry), and that waveguide is soooo sexy! Stands can be very attractive BTW, so you need not limit yourself to floorstanders (in my opinion). How about Spendor, too, their speakers are very attractive, but you could only get a monitor in your pricerange, not a floorstander.

 

[cupples]

Sonus Faber Concertinos with their dedicated stands should be within your price range. They look good and sound good. Also, Opera loudspeakers are nice looking too. Those Italians know how to do style.
Andrew