Forward sounding speakers that Rock

I sold my Revel Salons1 recently due to space issues after a house move. I really liked the speakers a lot and was sad to sell them. I had them for 5 years in a perfectly proportioned room. I t has been 1 year now since I moved and I have changed from the Salons (170 lbs) to the Audioengine2 (5 lbs). Such is life :).

I listen to lots of genres of music but Rock is my mainstay. I use Rush's Moving Pictures CD as my reference to see if a speaker can get to me emotionally. One deficiency with the Salons, for me, was the feeling that it was a little laid back for Rock music, but it was over the top brilliant for others (Reggae, Folk, Jazz). At that time I was willing to live with it.

I am also extremely happy with the audio gear that I have. My goal was to create a clean clear neutral chain of audio gear. I think I have accomplished this to my satisfaction and I will not pull any hair over any minor deficiencies. My audio chain is as follows:

Bryston 7B-SST monoblock amps (with filter choke upgrade) | BAT VK-42SE Solid State Pre-amp | Sony SCD-1 SACD player with VSEI Level 5+ mod |Au24 balanced interconnects from pre to amps | AudioQuest Volcano speaker wire| Virtual Dynamics power chords and interconnect from SACD to pre

It looks like there could be a return to audio bliss again in 12-18 month timeframe (move to a house) so I started investigating some new speakers. First I went and heard the Usher Tiny Dancer and was sold on its sound from such a small package. It was also laid back and may not be the best Rock speakers but I felt it was a very high quality speaker. I may buy these to tie me over until move into a house with more space.

Next stop was a store in Santa Barbara, CA that only carried B&W gear (I was initially disappointed at that prospect). I went through the lineup and stopped at the 802D floor standing. I cued by my standard CD and was really emotionally moved by the sounds. It was forward, clean and got my energy levels pumped up. This was the way I want to listen to Rock. The speaker was smaller than the Salon1 and it likely won’t have the same level of bass, but the forward presentation was really very attractive to me. It was also in a smaller package so that was a huge benefit. The gear used was all Classe and we used an integrated Amp that was underpowered to really bring out all the best qualities of those speakers.

After I left I walked across the street and went to a Revel shop. I wanted to hear the Sudio2. It was setup with all Mark Levinson gear with enough power. I cued up the same music (3 CD’s) and I heard the same sound I had at my old house. It had a little more detail but the presentation was laid back. I was surprised how much more I liked the B&W over the Revels for Rock. So I decided no more Revels in my future. The B&W 802D is the current top contender for my dream house.

So I wanted to ask fellow A’Gon members their opinions on what they would consider a competitor to the B&W 802D. I would be willing to have a bit of top end coloration since I think I have a clean audio chain. I want that forward (non-laid back) sound that I now think works best for Rock. My price range is 12-14K for new speakers. I would also like to keep the height less than 4 feet due to potential WAF.

Thanks for reading this long post.