[Wilson]

I'm thinking that a speaker upgrade is in order fairly soon. What would be a noticeable upgrade from the Meadowlark Swifts for $3000 or preferably less? I would like full-range speakers if possible. The only issue with the Swifts is that they can sound a bit bright on some recordings.

I'm looking for speakers that are on the warm side with wide dispersion. The NHT Classic Fours look attractive, but I haven't heard them.

Thoughts?

Thanks very much.

Sam

[Rocket]

Hi Sam,

Check out some of the great speaker manufacturers on this site i.e. Salk Sound, Gr Research, VMPS and Selah Audio.  You will get very good value from any of these companies.

Regards

Rod

[JLM]

Look for small drivers (wave dispersion physics dictate that smaller drivers avoid "beaming") and open baffle designs (but frankly IME the soundstage they produce is exagerated with non-specific imaging).

[Ericus Rex]

If you like the Meadowlark sound overall you can upgrade to another model like the Heron-i (under $2k these days) and save lots of money.  That speaker line is one of the best values around these days.  If you're really lucky you can find a pair of Meadowlark Nighthawks for under $3k.  I've owned three models of Meadowlark and am now quite happy with my Meadowlark Blue Heron 2s.  Great speakers and selling for peanuts these days.