Best small Floorstanders

In terms of size the Twenty5.23 is undoubtedly going to be a winner for the slim build and lovely wood finish. But at 3K you may be looking for something more. However, I don't think they will be outclassed by the electronics,

If the money is burning a hole in your pocket Twenty5.26 or Fact.8 but of course they will be considerably larger. I use the older 23s and they are by far the lowest cost part of my system but in no way outmatched by the source or amplification. I also had budget for around 5K+ on speakers but given the size of the listening area and placement, the 23s were right irrespective of being far below my budget.

I have 6K available again for speakers but as circumstances haven't changed in the listening area, I'm likely to be going for the newer Twenty5.23s.

I'm thinking more for something that has some character. More transparent to be the music than sounds of instruments. Not really that bothered by ultimate bandwidth of course. 

Yeah and something that'll make those torch songs shimmer.

TobyJug. How about Tannoy's Prestige Grand Reference range? They have released a new GRF 90, which sounds and looks amazing.

ATC SCM40A ( for active ) Just add source and a preamp directly to the speaker.

If I were in the market for smallish floor standers, these are it for me.

+1 active scm40a - and you'll save on power amp as none needed. highly recommend you try these with a good preamp/dac direct. very transparent (doesnt add or take away character) and will certainly enlighten you with music.

From what you've said about about liking the Reference 3A Veenas, you may like to consider something that uses a single wideband driver and then use a sub to fill in the bass.  This has the advantage that there's no integration issues in the midband where the ear/brain combination has greatest sensitivity and discrimination.  It's a very different type of speaker system and as you don't seem to have found your touchstone yet, it's 'just a thought' that you might like to consider.  It's an alternative approach and you may suddenly find that this is the particular set of engineering compromises and the sonic signature you've been looking for, but not yet found.

Electrostatics may have been a possibility sonically, but for you they're certainly not acceptable aesthetically!

Shahinian Compass.

Kudos make some floor standers that work well with Naim - worth a listen if you have a dealer nearby.  I use Super 20's on my Olive system.

gary yeowell posted:

Shahinian Compass.

These look perfect.

Good thing is they can be pushed up against a wall for storage, and moved out a little when playing, as they don't have spikes or any such nonsense, just four hard plastic feet. They can be run from lowly amps but thrive on a bit of power. Mine are used on a Supernait2 as a pre, and then a CB 250 power. They have never sounded so good, and the 250 is a huge step up on the internal power amp. 

Look good too!

I'm also interested in small standfloors, had my eyes on Elac 407 for a while now. Worth investigating, incredible resolution and timing.

PMC Fact 12s produce an amazing sound for their diminutive size - only 6" wide - and they are supposed to be quite flexible with placement, including having switchable bass roll-off. If I was forced by space to have smaller speakers, they would be the ones I would audition at home first

Boenicke W8 (SE)
One of the smallest floor standers I have seen. Analytical, almost sculptured sound with a very wide soundstage. You literally feel you are sitting in the middle of the stage. Not very flexible in placing or positioning against each other, but when you get it right they are in a different league from any other speaker I have heard. Especially the version with the suspended base.

Larsen Model 8 might be worth a listen. Unconventional design that eliminates typical reflection points, bass to 23 Hz, upper x-over at 5 kHz, and work well near the front wall as well as close together. I've heard the smaller Model 6 (without the Model 8's twin bass drivers) at a dealer and was impressed with their musicality. The imaging was outstanding. 

Kudos X2. Possibly the best  kudos Speaker. 

I have both the x2 and the super 20.

MangoMonkey posted:

Kudos X2. Possibly the best  kudos Speaker. 

I have both the x2 and the super 20.

 

Phew! That could save me a lot of cash. There was I thinking my X2s might be starting to become a bottleneck in my system.

Vandersteen 2Ce?

Try ProAc D30, I think this is the best small floorstanding speaker. What you want from bookshelf and floorstanding speaker it sure can give you. The 2nd shall be the eggleston works speaker. The one with the carbon fiber driver.

joerand posted:

Larsen Model 8 might be worth a listen. Unconventional design that eliminates typical reflection points, bass to 23 Hz, upper x-over at 5 kHz, and work well near the front wall as well as close together. I've heard the smaller Model 6 (without the Model 8's twin bass drivers) at a dealer and was impressed with their musicality. The imaging was outstanding. 

Listened to these speakers a few months ago, sounded very good but looked like fancy rubbish bins, but it's all in the eye of the beholder.....or something like that