Best speakers for Classical music under 10k used

I've heard a lot of live small-scale and large-scale orchestral/classical music, and when I return home from a performance I often head straight to my rig for a comparison. I own Spendor Classics, and I'm always amazed at how close they sound to the real thing. Since Spendor has expanded their line, more dealers are carrying them, but note the different voicing/cabinetry/bass loading of the new S series. To my ears, the Classics are still the best. Check out this line if possible.

Depending on your room size and other components involved in your system, you should check out eletrostats and planars for your listening purposes. If you will be doing most of your listening from a seated position in a small to medium sized room the Quads would be a great choice.
If you want something with more adjustability, check out some of the Wisdom Audio speakers. I ran the M-50's for a few years and totally enjoyed the classical recordings (CD and DVD-A) that I have. The soundstage(width and depth)and the detail blew away my Dad who is an avid classical music listener and loves the "live" performances at the Hollywood Bowl. These speakers do need to be bi-amped but will allow for room abnormalites with the "active brain". I recently upgraded my speakers to the Rush and the clarity as well as the bass is unbelievable!
Good luck in your quest!

Hi McTeague,

I've been very curious about the Orions, but unfortunately it seems that it will be impossible to hear them where I live.

I'm a novice but I think there are three things that are important to good classical music reproduction: 1. Body- some might say bass, but its also how the bass fleshes out the whole. The bass should be articulate, tunefull, and when required, have that slam. 2. Clarity when things get nutty. Many otherwise fine sounding speakers creat a wall of undiferentiated fuzz when an entire orchestra plays complex passages at the limmit. I suppose that folded into this requirement by necessity might be an accurate rendition of what people call "timbre". 3. Musicality- a wishy-washy term I suppose, but I do feel the speaker should let the music carry the listener away, rather than create a merely analytical experience.

All of the foregoing is pretty abstract I admit, but I'd be grateful if you could put into words what you hear in the Orions, and why like them for classical above other contenders out there. Are there other speakers you'd compare them to?

Thanks,

-Bill.

I have had Wilson Benesch speakers for 2 years. Very satisfying for all types of music. I am mainly a classical lister. The WB speakers are coherent, still detailed and very dynamic.

For classical only Quads are superb.