Speakers under $50k that rival $200k+ speakers?

Thanks for the thoughts on maggies, going to try to hear them.

Any thoughts on wilson maxx 3? Thx

@smodtatical 

I have 20.1 Maggies, opted for the older model because I preferred the sound of the true ribbon tweeter and I wanted to bi amp them and use room correction with my Mini DSP. I have a very large room with cathedral ceilings and they sound drop dead amazing now but I’d did have them in a studio apartment, if you can believe it, that was 13ft wide and 25ft long with a half wall in the middle.

I had them three feet off the back wall and they provided a wall of perfect sound. Did they look big for the room? Sure but they disappeared from view when I played them. So I would argue that they sound as good as any speaker in any environment and that is in great part to their even wave of sound produced by the panel. Reflection issues are nullified by the near field listening situation you would inevitably be in by having them in a smaller room. 

They sure are a wow in a small place when someone walks in and sees them towering over them. 

Just another comment on their impact. I supplemented the subsonic area of music in that studio with tower stereo subs which was plenty. In my large room I added two more subs to utilize room correction and I bump them up for movie watching as it adds a little excitement. My wife had a friend over for the holiday and we watched a movie, during the opening scene it switched from a serene scene to gun shot car crashing in a split second. The sound was so immediate and pummeling from the Maggies and subs that my wife subconsciously jumped off the couch and ran away. Those people who say Maggies can’t rock don’t know how to set them up correctly with subs.

The music is so magical that comes out of them, It’s so pure and clean. Her friend said it sounded better than live! 

Good luck on your quest. Remember in speakers and a few other things, size does matter. :)

I don't think the hypothesis really exists because even with Maggies, amp budget is huge (think 50k+ for SOTA) and requires subs which are hard to integrate. Apples and oranges.

Here’s a winner for you :)
JBL DD 6700. 
You will be amazed at sound from a relatively innocuous pair of speakers with great WAF compared to many you mention :)  Easy to drive. Great dynamics. Crystal clear as there is no crossover in the frequencies above bass and up to 20,000. Often available within your price goal. 

@keithr

High end vs. SOTA is an argument but you can have great performance and it not have to cost a fortune. I have two Benchmark AHB2 amps arranged in a vertical bi-amp configuration on my Maggies (200watts per speaker at 4ohms). They are stable down to 2 ohms and can drive them louder than I care to listen effortlessly. They are crystal clear and have almost no THD, are quieter than most pre-amps, and have an incredible dynamic range approaching 128db as measured by Stereophile. They are new at $3k and you’ll rarely fine one used because people love them.

Thanks,
Steve