B&W, Dynaudio, Dali or what else?

Thanks a lot guys. This is a lot of info that I have to chew on for a while. I kind of stumbled into a small Audio Show last year in Norway and had chance to listen to the B&W 802D, plus some of the larger Usher speakers. I wasn't to impressed with either of them but part of me thought that it had something to do with the environment and the music they were demoed with and that is why I in the end included the 802's in my short list. I've owned several smaller Dyn's and always liked them especially their imaging, until I went to several live(unamplified) music events only to realize that the imaging was a bit over the top. I was certainly thinking about auditioning the speakers before buying but that is the very problem. I live in norhtern VT and the next dealer is about 3-4 hours away. This is there very reason to involve the help from you fellow Audiogoners. I don't want to drive for hours just to listen to something that is not up my alley. Thanks for all the help so far.

I've owned several models of the B&W and they are fine speakers. I now have Merlin VSM MM and they are entirely different league IMHO. If you are going to spend this kind of money I would at least try to get a demo. They are the most revealing speakers I've heard. Give bobby a call at Merlin for more info.

Hello Jimcrane, and thank you for the welcome to audiogon. I've been reading posts and perusing auctions and classifieds for years, but never really felt I had anything of value to say until I picked up these BRSE speakers and just had to tell you guys how great they are. I'm so pleased that I don't have to keep looking for the right speaker, and keep spending tens of thousands of $$ to get there. I've got it!
Nope, don't have any relationship with the guys at BRSE other than being a happy owner.
It's rare to find something so totally superior that costs next to nothing, just wanted to let you guys in on what's got to be the best deal going anywhere!
See Ya,
Ken

Yes Avoid B&W's. But also not sure if you should stay with the ARC stuff. From my experience its beena grainy, smokey sound. Heard 2 different ARC systems.

I like your Dalis a lot, and easily preferred them over the 802Ds... That said, I also preferred them over the more expensive MS5s you are looking at too... So my tastes may be different than yours.

In the MS5s price range, I would take a look at the VonSchweikert DB99s (tremendous top to bottom sound, combined with high efficiency), the Tyler Acoustics Woodmeres (big sound, and big bang for the buck), the already mentioned Merlins are an excellent choice (not as much low-end extension as the other choices or the 800s, but super-high resolution 2-ways), and possibly the Legacy Audio Whispers might make a good change (they sound very different from the others on the list though). If you want detailed information as to my impressions about any of the above please feel free to email me.

Good luck,

---Dave