Comparison of $11,000 - $15,000 reference speakers

Thanks all for the responses. With all of the additional recommendations you have, I am reminded that asking one question often leads to 10 more you have to answer. It would be utopia if you could go to one venue to listen and compare all of the reference systems available. Factoring in you must listen to gear in an endless variation of set-ups, room configurations, treatment, etc....always tough to truly compare. Bigkidz, thanks for the direct comparison. I favor warmth, detail, and transparency when enjoying my favorite jazz recordings and am leaning toward the Sonus Faber Amatis....a SS guy for now. Jkalman, listened to the N802D's recently. Driven with a Boulder 1060 Amp, Boulder 1012 Pre, ML390 and Transparent Cables. First impression should be good, however; I was not impressed. My system in my home sounded better. Of course the room was far from ideal (under construction, 17ft. angled ceilings, ceiling to floor glass windows and no sound treatment other than carpet). They say they perform as well as the N800's...I hardly believe that. Maybe I will give them a try in my home.
Keep the comparisons coming.

To each their own, tastes in speakers are fairly subjective. They sound great to me in my listening space with my equipment, which is a 19 foot by 33 foot room (rectangular). I could use a better source, but even with this one, I'm satisfied till I save up for something good.

If you are looking for coloration of your jazz music, you likely won't get that from a B&W speaker, perhaps try some of the Boston Acoustic speakers along with those Sonus Fabers. I don't like a speaker adding too much of its own character to recordings, but that is just me, and that is why I like the B&Ws so much, also it is the same reason I am using the Brystons. Especially because I like to listen to a lot of live performances, like the Dead, Yes, Allman Brothers, Three Gs, as well as live Jazz and classical (I have pretty much all of the "Living Stereo" recordings). I value my speakers for their neutrality, so I can get as close as possible to the real sound as on the day I went to some of the concerts I listen to (Dead shows especially).

As far as performing as well as the N800s, I'd read in reviews that they perform better than the last generation N800s and that the 800Ds are better sounding than the 802Ds (I agree with that, but couldn't justify going that high in price), but I wouldn't put too much stock in a review, especially if you don't find yourself enjoying the sound...

why that price range? ive seen systems that the fella spent thousands on amps and devices,then built his own loudspeakers. in fact one guy sold his watt puppys to build his own for a fraction of the cost,,and he is even happier than with the store boughts.

diy isnt for everyone,but for alot of us,,thats the only way we can afford true high fidelity reproduction. in the diy range,,i havent seen many speeks costing more than 2k or so. and those are at the very top of the high fidelity end. most people that spend maybe 500$ or so building their own, have the equalivent of speeks costing 5-18K or more.

if i were you id at least look into home builts,even if you had someone else build them,,youd be ahead of the game,and have a ton of cash left over.. none of this advice applies to those that NEED bragging rites, only to those that want greta sound without needlesly spending cash for no gain.

roy

You need to audition the Vandersteen Quatros and 5As. They're both giant killers and should mate well with your equipment and room. I look forward to seeing what you think after you've auditioned them.
Good luck...and don't forget to have fun! ;-)