Looking for a Speaker Recommnedation

fd,I bought ctsooners Treo's- upgrading from the 3a sigs.

I second giving Johnny Rutan a call or PM him (he's audioconnection on Agon). If you are in Mass. then it would behoove you to try to come down for an afternoon. Audioconnection is about 30-40 mins away from Manhattan. (I know a NY to Boston day trip is very doable- you guys have a great arboretum). Though you may be at the other end of the state.
Even if you got a room for the night, it would be a worthwhile trip.

Re: Zu speakers.
I mention them because they are highly efficient and use no crossovers- a very interesting design.
I own a pair of Omen Bookshelves for my office and a pair of Union ( Omen predecessors) and can attest to their honest sound. They aren't bright and quite listenable, but then that will be up to your ears.
Like I said, the Vandy's have a true elegance with regards to sound. The Zu's are more direct and many like their reproduction for rock music.
Bob

If you are in our neck of the woods New York/New Jersey we have quite a large number of speakers that are fantastic in your price range and we have two of the models you are looking at:

We have the Legacy Focus Signatures, the PSB T3, KEF R Series, Dali Rubicons, Paradigm Personas and Prestige.

The Legacys are fantastic and a great value for the money. 

The Personas are amazing superior resolution and sound staging they sound much more like $20k speakers for $10k.

I work part time doing occasional Turntable setup and system tuning, ask for Dave at Audio Doctor NJ,

Get those 148s. Watching great AV through themnow plus plan on spinning some Bowie later. Is amazing how they can compress a room 

I've owned many Proacs over the years and the first really non fatiguing speakers they have on the market to me are the newest ribbon tweeters, but for what the OP wants, they will be out of the price range probably.  He's need the larger ones if he wants to play rock and move a lot of air.  Again, JMHO.  

I love the Treo's and the CT's even more.  They won't move the same amount of air as the 3a's will though.  The newest ones are very detailed, especially compared to the list of other speakers in this thread and they will move a ton of air, without the need of subs.  

If I'm the OP, yes, I'd go visit a dealer or two to audition.  Will the speakers sound the same in your room as they do in the dealership?  No of course they won't, but much of the time, your house will sound way better than a dealer's room will.  Most have others speakers in the room and that will hurt any audition.  They have no choice usually, unless it's their TOL speakers where they may be able to dedicate a room.  It's a tricky slope for any dealers and they try their best to give you a great experience.  Just keep in mind that they too have personal likes and dislikes and will often push you towards something they like even if you may like something different.  Stay true to your own ear and listen critically to music you are very familiar with.  You already know these things, but it never hurts to read it again.

Before we packed up the Treo's for Bob, I let him hear my full system.  As he can probably attest, I don't have any special room tuning devices, just well engineered and built components that are properly set up.  That's the one thing that Johnny Rutan can do and that's set up a room. He goes to the Boston area all the time for installs, so that wouldn't be a problem for you.  I personally feel that it's worth it.  I have been setting up system since the early 70's for folks and Johnny is as good as anyone I've seen in the business.   I've had reviewers as other dealers in my various rooms over the years to set up things, but none have done what Johnny has done, that's for sure.  

Sorry, didn't want to make this post a commercial for Johnny, lol., but as I was typing I just kept going as it's how I feel.  I'm sure that many others here feel the same way about their dealers who are setting up their gear. It's one reason why I purchase only gear from major companies who have been around and have strong distribution in the US.  They keep their value better than small boutique companies and are easier to sell later on when I upgrade and if something does go wrong, they are there to service their gear and stand by it.  I can't tell you how many times I needed a service on a piece of gear that was way out of warrantee and a company just charged me for parts or gave me a very discounted rate in order to make sure their product was in great working order and that I had a great user experience.  I went again with Vandersteens, because of their upgrade policy for original owners (same with Ayre and why I went with them too).  I like to know I can pay for the upgrades as it adds many years to the life of my gear.  It's been much cheaper in the long run and allowed me to do upgrades when I feel it's worth it.  

Sorry for the long post, but it's been a boring morning and it's always fun sharing.  Just chose a few speakers to audition and set those up and go from there.  It sounds like you just want a non fatiguing speaker that will have nice detail and move some air in the room for some great rock (I too love rock).  Fun thread and thanks for starting it.

Proac D30R or D48R used

That would work heinrichmilw

If you are in Mass. then it would behoove you to try to come down for an afternoon.
The Zu's are more direct and many like their reproduction for rock music

Good suggestion gdnrbob. Possible. Thanks for the Zu feedback as well. They are in the running

If you are in our neck of the woods New York/New Jersey we have quite a large number of speakers that are fantastic

Thanks Dave - If I go to audio connection I can probably piggyback this
 

Get those 148s. 

Very tempting sbrownnw.  Talking to him. It could be the end or a step towards where I end up. Should be able to sell them if need be. I think I have a buyer for my Rogers so I'll be without speakers soon.  Also tempted on some of the direct sales companies with return policies (Tekton, Spatial, Zu).
I did hear back from Clayton at Spatial and this was his comments regarding my situation/noise:

The MF2500a is rated at 100dB signal to noise ratio, so it is very quiet. Should be no issues with noise through the speakers. The system you describe would seem to be a very good setup for the M3. I don’t see any red flags at all.  Your placement plans are ideal as well.

Thanks all