Speaker suggestion between $1000 and $2000 please........


I recently purchased a Nuprime IDA-8 (amp) due to the advice here and I am very pleased with it.  Thank You!
I am interested in a pair of speakers to go with it.
I am currently using Def Tech D-9's and although a nice, punchy speaker they are just too veiled for me.
They sound like they have a low pass filter on from 7k up (to me anyway).
I am not opposed to used and adding a sub later on if needed.
I primarily use Tidal as my listening source, as well as Audirvana and CD's.
I listen to Jazz, Blues and Hip Hop for the most part.
As a general reference I really like the sound of my Beyer DT 1990 headphones and my KRK v4 series II Studio Monitors.
My main listening room is about 12 x 20.
These will be for music only (no theatre).
I was thinking of monitors but am not opposed to towers.
Speakers I have checked out on the internet (not auditioned) are Proac (used), Monitor Audio Gold (Possibly used although they seem to be on sale now), KEF LS50, Revel Performa 3.
Any input appreciated......Thanks!



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I was just shopping based on the same criteria as you have and have attached a summary of my impressions of the 11 speakers I auditioned below. I was going to pull the trigger on a used pair of previous-gen Monitor Audio Gold 200s, but they literally sold an hour after I left the audio store so I got a current pair of Monitor Audio Silver 300s. When listening at home, I can't imagine getting more detail than the Silver 300s provide though I do know that the Gold 200s have more detail. So FWIW, the Silver 300 sound very transparent and detailed for me. No regrets at all. They are transparent and detailed enough that I'm getting more critical about the quality of my source material. (i.e., Only Qobuz and Spotify for me, no Tidal, Amazon HiFi, or IDAGIO for me...impressions on those as well below. FWIW, better transparency can also come from Qobuz vs these other streaming services) The B&W 704 S2 had a similar level of detail but the Monitor Audio Silver 300s hit that knife-edge balance of speed and detail vs. smoothness better. The B&Ws erred on the side harshness for me.

(Listed in order of preference):
1. Monitor Audio Gold 200 (previous-gen): These were a real WOW. All of the dynamics and musicality of the Silver 300s but with an additional level of detail and insight into my music. These made easy-to-reproduce music sound even better and difficult-to-reproduce music sound good in a way that my lower ranked speakers did not (all of the speakers ranked lower than the Audio Physic Spark).
2. Monitor Audio Silver 300: Though not inexpensive, it seems that quite a few publications are right on the mark when they describe this speaker as a great value. These have the clarity and quickness in the mid-range and treble that my Linn Index speakers had with the addition of a tuneful and rhythmic low end. These are a LOT of fun to listen to and can really boogie when presented with interesting rhythms in music.
3 (tied): Paradigm Prestige 95F: The tonal quality of these speakers is really pleasant to listen to. They are less clear in the midrange than both of the Monitor Audio speakers and the B&W 704 S2 and a little slower in pace than those speakers as well. The pace issue seems like it can be somewhat resolved by quicker sounding amplification.
3 (tied): Bowers & Wilkins 704 S2: Has a similar level of clarity, quickness, detail and smoothness as the Silver 300s. (Close enough that I need to hear the Monitor Audio speakers again to figure out which is better) But is $1000 more expensive than the Silver 300s. The Silver 300s also have a smoother top end while not yielding any clarity or quickness to this speaker.
5. Audio Physic Spark: Very musical sounding, but less low end punch than the Silver 300s.6. Triangle Esprit Gaia EZ: These sounded fairly precise and had a nice fullness of tone, but was lacking in pace and timing compared to my higher ranked speakers.7. Totem Sky Tower: These sounded quick and provided good definition to the leading edge of notes, but I would have difficulty listening to these for an extended period due to their aggressiveness in the high end.
8. Dynaudio X34 Excite: The sound felt a little loose and not so well controlled, but worked great for rock and metal.
9. Goldenear Audio Triton 5: This would probably be a better choice for a home theater speaker as they had a "big" sound though not as articulate for reproducing music.
10. Rega RX-3: It played music okay, but lacked precision.
11. Bowers & Wilkins 603: These speakers were a bit of mess. Their sound seems to be the result in trying to design a speaker that can play lower in the low end and higher in the high end without sorting out the fundamentals of how to play music first. Kind of boring to listen to since it fails to reproduce so much of the music captured in recordings and fails to play rhythms well.
You may have considered this already, but other elements that can get you more clarity are your source components and sound quality of your amplifier. One other element that I’ve investigating is the quality of music streaming services. I’ve found that in terms of clarity and transparency, Qobuz sounds miles better than Tidal. FWIW, my own impressions were that even Spotify Premium sounds better than Tidal. These were my impressions of the major streaming services conducted using trial accounts:

Round 1, Spotify Premium vs Qobuz: I have Spotify Premium with a Family subscription. From a value standpoint, Spotify is my default choice that has the best search as well as working well for my family. From a critical listening perspective, Spotify actually is not bad at conveying detail, pace and presence from music. It sounds musical. Any shortcomings that it has are errors of omission rather than errors of commission. I can listen to Spotify especially in mobile settings and be engaged and immersed in the music. After listening for a longer period of time, Qobuz is clearly better at conveying detail, transparency/clarity, pace and presence, but Spotify doesn’t do anything noticeably wrong.

Round 2, Qobuz vs Tidal: So far Qobuz is clearly better than Tidal even listening through pretty cheap desktop passive speakers. Tidal sounds very two dimensional and flat in its sound quality but with some harshness in the high frequencies. I’ll listen a bit more to Tidal, but so far I’m not impressed at all. Spotify Premium even seems to sound better than Tidal.
Some additional thoughts about Tidal after listening on higher quality equipment. I think they have applied some equalization to boost the bass and treble. In the process, I think side effects of doing this is to take out some of the presence of voices and instruments and add an artificial quality to voices and instruments.. Qobuz sounds a LOT better. Spotify Premium also sounds better. To my ears at least. (Disclaimer: Your results may vary). I’m currently listening to a track that is a MQA file on Tidal vs a CD quality file on Qobuz. The CD quality file on Qobuz sounds a LOT fuller and more natural.
Not a big fan of hip hop, but decided to listen to something that is squarely in Tidal’s area of focus. I listened to ’The Box’ by Roddy Ricch which is a MQA file on Tidal and CD quality on Qobuz. Same results. The Qobuz file sounds fuller and has more presence. Almost sounds like two different recordings.

Round 3, Qobuz vs Amazon HD: Winner for me is Qobuz for the following reasons.
Amazon: Sounds more flat. Less drive than Qobuz so that some music sounds like it is plodding along. Sound is less full. Amazon HD doesn’t necessarily do anything wrong (as does Tidal), but also clearly not as good as Qobuz to my ears.
Qobuz: Much more presence than Amazon HD. More 3-dimensional. Better pace and drive. Better low-frequency response & definition. More range to conveying the emotion in music: (i.e., calmer for calmer music & more drive & pace for more upbeat music)

Round 4, Qobuz vs IDAGIO: Clear winner for me is Qobuz. My impressions are that Qobuz sounds fuller, has more low frequency weight and is able to convey a broader range of expression from greater calm to more drive. Qobuz also seems to have more realistic tonal quality for instruments especially for string instruments.I think this is due to greater clarity and definition from the music as reproduced by Qobuz. I thought that IDAGIO’s search design would be compelling to me for listening to classical music, but I’m finding that I actually like Qobuz’s search better than that on IDAGIO

My impressions of the musicality of the major HD streaming services. Your perceptions may vary.
1. Qobuz
2. Spotify Premium (320 kbps Ogg Vorbis which is not lossless)
3. IDAGIO
4. Amazon HD
5. Tidal

Summary: I’m finding Qobuz to sound both more realistic and more engaging on all types of music. Jazz, Rock, Classical, even Rap/hip-hop.