best monitor speaker under $2000

Having owned Rotel(amp/preamp) and B&W together, they are a good match initially, but over the long run I, personally, found the slightly lean nature of the Rotel preamp and the zippy high-end of B&W became fatiguing and etched. It was through this that I learned I am partial to soft dome tweeters over metal in lower end speaker.

My suggestion is the used Jean Marie Reynaud Trente($1,400) speakers here on Audiogon as long as hard rock/heavy metal/electronica is not your primary music of choice.

They are extremely easy to place for good sound, have fantastic soundstage and imaging, and really present a deeply rich sound. If anything, they might err slightly on the warm, forgiving, side. But, their performance improves as your system does up to a very, very, high level. Match them with a good tube integrated and forget about it!

Personally I'd rethink the Rotel integrated. In my experience it would be easier to get good sound by getting a top notch amp and some less expensive speakers than the other way around. I'm totally familiar with the Rotel model you have so maybe I'm out of line here but I think getting a great integrated like a Creek Destiny or Krell or Naim and spending less on the speakers might be a better way to go. In my experience pairing any kind of high quality speakers with less than a great amp yields less than great sound but I've had all kinds of luck making 300 bookshelf speakers sound great with a great amp.

If it were me I'd budget 1500 or so for the amp, sell the Rotel and put the other 500 and whatever you get for the Rotel towards speakers. I would bet you'd get better sound.

Sorry if I'm offending anyone here but this has been my experience.

Check out Fritz Speakers (www.fritzspeakers.com). He has an add or two here on audiogon, and has been very well received at AKFest and and RMAF 2009. His Carbon 7s are fantastic!!!

North Creek Kitty Kats if you really need them close to the wall. Tiny speakers with huge sound--however they are only just under your $2K limit and that in kit form--cabinets would cost a few hundred more. But if you need small and close to the wall, check out North Creek. Design and materials second to none.

http://www.northcreekmusic.com/

Just recently they seem to have brought back their free-field designs too.

Now about that amp... I humbly agree with what Ejlif says, above. My small experience says that you will probably enjoy your system more if you invest more in amplification at this stage. If you do go that route, I suggest you check out the North Creek site anyway. There's a lot to learn there.

Agreed that you can do much better musically than the Rotel and still meet your budget of $2k + the $500 you'd get for the Rotel.

I'd still recommend the JMR Trentes along with a used Yba Integre DT integrated($1,100) to come in at ~$2,500.

Or, if tubes are an option, Trentes with a Melody/Onix SP-9, SP-3, or H88. Tubes + JMR is truly something of beauty to behold.

This all depends on how big your room is, musical tastes, listening volume, and what type of sound you prefer.