speakers prior to owning Harbeth 7es 3's

missioncoonery and tom6897, I've had maggies and spendors....I have an audio research dsi-200 and an esoteric xo3-se...I have two powered rel's in a 23 x 13' room...I listen to most types of music...please give me some suggestions.. cap price new or used at about 5k..thanks.

I went from 7ES2's to Daedalus and got just what I was after--the same tonal purity and non-fatiguing sound but larger with more detail and dynamics. I ran them with Audio Research electronics (LS26/SD135) and the same X03Se you are using for a while and enjoyed that set up greatly. Check out the new Athena's--they are above your price point so save your pennies and make them the last speakers you will own.

Dynaudio Confidence C1, Volent VL-2. Check out the reviews and forum threads pertaining to each. For a floorstander I would look into the Aerial Acoustics 7T or the Sonus Faber Liuto.

IMO, I would agree with Tom on the C1s(used).I have the X03SE and ran Rel subs w/Dynaudio in a room approx the same as yours.Sounded great IMO.Having said that I would strongly suugest you listen to them as they are completely different..Speed/better definition/lack of coloration ie Harbeth.Its really what floats your boat

Not too sure what you dislike about the Spendor S8e but I've responded to a thread about a year ago when an owner found them to be lacking in sparkle and excitement, sounding a bit bland.

A Spendor S8e review-
http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Spendor-S8e/
Usually mediocre gear tend to receive 5 stars on Whathifi(less than stellar equipment getting good reviews), and apparently the notorious chaps of Whathifi don't quite like the S8e.

If you do not have a definitive criteria on what you want to achieve in your system, particularly the sound you are looking for in your speakers, you would probably be on the merry-go-round swapping speakers in every year.