Do my ears deceive me??

@mofojo ”In what way have speakers had a tremendous advancement in the last 20 years,… Your Sonus Fabers are all paper driver… nothing new.?”

In sound quality performance. Saying Sonus Faber speakers use paper cones is a gross abstraction. It is like saying how a 286 PC chip no different than a contemporary PC chip… they are both on silicon substrate. The amount of technology is in the design and execution.

If you listen to a 20 year old set of say $20K speakers versus a contemporary set of same priced (in dollars corrected to 2003 dollars) the difference in sound quality is simply striking… tighter bass, better imaging, better more real sounding treble. In all components. For example, I remember replacing my 15 year old Threshold amp with a contemporary Pass amp… my jaw just dropped, very similar specifications, similar weight, form factor, but the sound quality nearly brought tears to my eyes.

This is the way to evaluate advancement in high end audio… listen to it. If you listen to it and you are not blown away, that is great… keep what you have. But, when you listen to what is now possible versus 20 years ago and want better more realistic sound, the case for new stuff that caters to your values in sound is overwhelmingly compelling.

@fenderu2  for what it's worth I design my systems around my speakers and believe in that philosophy. I use Duntech and Dunlavy which are by no means modern but I believe have no equal. I've got to think there are many fantastic speakers available for your budget. Speakers that are phase and time coherent would be my choice. Vanderstein,  Snell, Theil , Dunlavy and  Duntech have these attributes. There may be others I'm sure, but in my opinion these are key attributes. Ditch the mx multichannel amp and and go for a true 2 channel. Pass labs, PS Audio... the rabbit hole is deep my friend. Peace and work hard to educate yourself and research for the best result.

I owned Def Tech BP2006's and went from there to the Mythos ST-L Super Tower. The STLs blew away the 2006's, but while the ST-L's had very good highs and lows, they lacked good mid-range.

I moved to Harbeth and REL. Leaps and bounds better for what I listen too.

My point is, if what you are listening to isn't any better than the 2006's, you are auditioning the wrong speakers. 

If classic rock is your thing, I'd be looking at something with a big driver like Tannoy.  

  That pair of alto utopias listed is intriguing.   But they weigh 170lbs and are probably too big for the room.  I would love to hear them, but not move them.

Sadly, no Harbeth dealers in MN that I know of.    Similarly, the reviews of ATC seem to be really good for dynamics, but no dealers here.   

Volti Razz would be worth a consideration. All the dynamics one needs, refined, efficient and beautiful. If you were closer to NE Ohio I be happy to host.