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.
