Still looking for speakers in the 10-20,000 range

I like Vandersteen and Tannoy. Look for a pair of used Tannoy Westminsters.

Great conversation going. As a recent shopper in the same price range, my biggest single takeaway after hearing several speakers is that there really are NO bad speakers at the $10k-$20k per pair price point. Not as long as you're sticking with the larger, more well known firms anyway. I cant speak for the tiny builders as I don't have any experience with them, with the exception of Ryan, who's speakers I think sound great.

So, does a B&W 803 D3 sound better than a KEF Ref 3 or than a Focal Sopra 2? Only you can decide that, but they are all lovely speakers. Just go listen to them. No offense to those who are touting one manufacturer or model over another, but these speakers are all so good that other peoples' opinions of them mean almost nothing to me. Perhaps if the speaker was universally hated I'd listen to and heed the reviews, but none of these speakers are.

FWIW, I purchased the Sopra 2.

good post.  It does all come down to what flavor you like in your system.  How will the speaker match up with the components you are using.  To me, that and the room are the two most overlooked things.  Lot's of great choices, so go listen and let us know what you are hearing.

The Yamaha NS5000s are wonderful sounding speakers.Worth importing if you can't get them locally.Plenty of the others mentioned here are great hi fi speakers but do not communicate the essence of the music like the NS5000s.

I haven’t heard them, but if I were in the market for sub-$20K speakers, I’d try to find a way to audition the Bob Carver Amazing Line Source speakers. They’re $18,500/pair including a $3K SubRosa subwoofer.

Underwood Hi-Fi is an authorized Bob Carver dealer and includes free shipping in the continental U.S.

Also some enthusiastic reviews:
Robert Harley, TAS
and separate review by
Robert E. Greene, TAS