Best speakers for around 30K?

If natural, realistic presentation of music rather than a 'high-fi' spectacular is your goal, then you should consider SoundLab electrostatic panels. Check the "Planar" listings here on Audiogon.

Couple comments:

(1) I think the question s/b rephrased as.... " any suggestions as to what is the best speaker to BEST MATE with my source, electronics, cables, listening arena, and favourite listening genre?..." Can you elaborate on your supporting system?

(2) "Best" is a personal value judgement - one man's candy is another man's poison. There is no substitute for YOUR OWN in-person actual physical audition of the various speakers mated with your gear. Achieving that elusive Holy Grail synergy is both a lengthy process and a journey, cuz "one size does not fit all.". Soliciting a recommendations list based solely on a random price point by itself rarely -- if ever -- gets that synergy. There are many circumstances wherein a significant reduction in price for a speaker selected, actually sounded better in a particular system for these reasons. The point: Synergy matters.

Without phasing in the above, (regrettably), your query per se will likely generate heavily biased personal editorials (however noble) with an absence of any proper bespoke tailoring to your system. Good luck in your search.

Here is one speaker that you might consider. Below is a review of it. Less then the 30K when you look at the engineering you can understand that your money is going for something besides hype.

http://www.wilson-benesch.com/reviews/Wilson-Benesch-Vector-loudspeaker-HIFIplus-2012-small.pdf

I fell in love with this company many years ago and brought the line on. They just keep improving. The Vector has tons of spacial qualities that so many speakers lack. The bass is very accurate and fast. The midrange driver is connected directly to your amplifiers so they will let you know how your upstream equipment is.

See if you have a dealer near you.

Best
Jim

Magico S5.

I am looking around for speakers to purchase in 12 months but I do not have a room yet so I listening to everything I can.

I heard the TAD Evolution One and liked it a lot. Even though the place I auditioned it at had it toed in way too much. Likely due to the lack of side walls.

I heard the Wilson Alexia which was 48K and I liked it more than the TAD. Though the Wilsons were setup in a better room with better electronics.

I like the Thiel CS 3.7 more than the TAD and Wilson from a performance price consideration, 15k.

If I had a smaller room I would likely go with the Vienna Acoustics Klimit Kiss, 18k.

Next on my list to audition is the KEF Blade, 30k I have extremely high hopes for this one since I love the KEF LS50 so much. The LS50 blows me away in near-field listening with the not so great electronics I am using.

Would'nt yours be a nice dilema to have. I am afraid $30000 is beyond my reach. From your list, I would go for a Tannoy, though the choice of model would depend on the room. I have never heard a large Tannoy speaker that has disappointed me and that includes shows, where the rooms have'nt been ideal.

I heard the Kef blades in a long shop demo with Krell amps and I am afraid I was'nt that impressed. That may just have been the setup. The reviews suggest they need some work to get the best out of them.

I guess the question that I would ask is whether you also intend to upgrade or change your electronics. I have become partial to low power SET amplifiers that, of course, require careful system matching.

This really won't be very helpful unless you provide the characteristics of sound reproduction that are important to you as nobody will be able to say why they're recommending a particular speaker specifically for you. You certainly have a diverse range of speakers on your list though. If holographic imaging and soundstaging are important to you without being overly detailed or overly warm I'd highly recommend auditioning the Joseph Audio Pearl 3. Might be good to audition something with a ribbon tweeter as well just for reference -- maybe the Acoustic Zen Crescendo although that comes in new at half your target price but may be worth a listen anyway. Best of luck.

Oops, forgot to mention the Rockport Avior as well.