[plaf26]

Been thinking about new speakers to go with my AVA Fet Valve 400R and (brand new!) AVA Fet Valve CF hybrid pre-amp.  Have heard very good things about Philharmonic 3's, Golden Ear Triton 2's, and Ohm Walsh Talls (all similarly priced).  Anybody know how these compare?  Have been running Maggie MMG's and Biro Kensington sub for a few years, which sound spectacular with the Fet Valves, but am getting itching ears.  Could it be even better with one or any of the above?

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I am a Maggie guy but I also really like PSB Synchrony's and anything from Dynaudio.  I think both would be great with a 400R.  The Martin Logan Motion XT60's are another great sounding speaker.  The ribbon tweeter is fantastic.

[plaf26]

I.GF: Will check out your suggestions, of course, but I just viewed "Owner video of the Philharmonic 3's" on facebook.  Given the fact that a lot has to be lost in the audio portion of the video, enough comes through to thrill and raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

[NIGHTFALL1970]

I am a maggie fan as well as I.G.F.  I love 1.7s with my AVA 400R.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I am a maggie fan as well as I.G.F.  I love 1.7s with my AVA 400R.

I have a pair of 1.6's and they sound very good with AVA gear but the 1.7's sound even better with the new AVA R series amp and  CF tube preamp.  I have a friend that has the 1.7's with both and it sounds great.  I find the 1.7's to have a slightly darker, smoother more coherent sound than the 1.6's.  They also lack the mid bass hump of the 1.6's.  I am trying to decide if I want to upgrade to the 1.7's or the 3.7i's in the next 12 months.  But I also need a more state of the art DAC like a Bel Canto 3.5 or a Wyred 4 Sound DSDse DAC-2, my AVA Ultra Plus DAC is getting long in the tooth but a recent opamp upgrade from the 0627's has brought new life to it for a while.

[avta]

I would suggest you audition the Sonus Faber Venere3. It's about the same price as the Philharmonic 3. I bought a pair recently and am impressed with their sound.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

It looks like PSB is replacing the Synchrony line with the new Imagine T2 which is basically a Synchony 2 with the Synchrony 1 mid range driver that the Synchony 2 lacked.  The top of the line Synchrony One is still available from Audio Advisor for a discount at $1999 each. down from $5kpr.  I much prefer their sound to the Salk HTR-3's.

Here are some nice reviews-

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/408psb/

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0511/psb_synchrony_one.htm

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/psb_synchrony_one.htm

[nocrapman]

PSB Synchrony 1s were one of my favorites when I was auditioning a few years back. They are a little on the dark side though.
Coming from the Maggies you might feel like you lost something in detail while gaining much in mid range, bass.
I used to own the MMGs and currently have the 1.7s so while I never did an AB; i have done a fair amount of listening on both.

Philaharmonics are a great speaker line with really classy drivers, and a good design team... can't go wrong if u have the space and no WAF issues to deal with.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I like the slightly darker sound of the PSB's, Dynaudio and even the Magnepan 1.7's and 3.7i's which are darker than the 1.6's.  The treble in the PSB's is great.  It has no sibilance and I really think the 400R will make them sing sweet music.  In my system the 600R sounded great but treble sibilance was a bit more pronounced with the 1.6's which IMHO have a bit of a problem with sibilance.  I would have bought the 600R if it had not been for this problem.  Instead I went with a Pass Labs X250 amp which has a softer high end than the R series amps.  Now I have not noticed a sibilance problem with the 1.7's and an R series amp though.  The tweeters are different in the 1.7's.