Looking for a Speaker Recommnedation

+1 for John R. I talked to him twice when I was looking for speakers and both times he talked me out of replacing what I have and asked me to focus on room treatment first. He even sent me some audio files/tones to help me accomplish what I needed. I know where to go now if/when I need audio gear, especially since his shop is only an hour away from our house.

Yes, I was an audio free agent when I started to rebuild my system a few years ago.  I went up to Boston and Walt up in NH (daughter is a jr at UNH), but I loved Johnny.  I didn't love what was being pushed by two of the larger stores up there.  I recently was in NYC to try and audition some gear and ended up at Lyric again. I had used them in the 80's (Jadis) and for an Aragon piece for a friend, but the guy who owns it now was a real dick.  He told me how dry and unmusical my Ayre gear is and he knew because he was a dealer many years ago.  He hasn't even heard the new 20 series, but he just pissed me off, so I left and made sure to let anyone I know how poorly I was treated.  

Sorry, that just came out, lol.  Oh well, they get what they deserve.  Yes, Johnny has the Proacs as he realizes that not every one is a Vandersteen fan, plus he also carries B&W and I think NOLA or maybe it's ELAC.  not sure.

ctsooner - I hate dealers like you described. We used to have a great local dealer in Westport, MA (Sound Images) but they closed about 10 years ago.  Bought my CJ/Rogers stuff there. 
Having a great dealer to work with nearby is awesome

It's starting to look like I may have to bring this budget down.  Would prefer to be $5k or < now. New or used is ok.

Resale will also be a factor since I'll want to have the option to sell and not lose too much if I don't like the speakers in my environment.

Out of the speakers being discussed which are the top 5 in holding their value?  I would assume the Maggie's would be there.

Anyone have resale thoughts on some of the comapnies that sell direct (Zu, Tekton, Spatial)?

Yesterday, I got to hear Goldenear Triton 1 and a bunch of Bowers and all the Bowers and Wilkins 800 series speakers(at two different dealers). I didn’t know much about the Triton 1, but I have to say that for $5K, that is some pretty dang good stuff. Not going to win any beauty contests, however, if that is important. Ribbon tweeter, great sound stage, nice cymbals, good dynamic impact, pretty well defined bass guitar lines, pretty deep bass. The salesman there claimed that the Triton I had been compared to the B&W Nautilus and was judged to be its equal.

Next, I heard all the 800 series at Magnolia Design Center at Park Lane in Dallas. I had likewise not heard B&W speakers in decades, as the rap back in the day was that they were not the most accurate speakers, possibly designed to be "euphonic’.

First, IMO, the 800 D3 series are a bigger jump in sound from their lower lines than is the case with many speaker companies. I first heard the CM10 S2, which sounded nice at $4K. But then I heard the 804 D3, which actually appears to have less cabinet volume than the CM10, but somehow B&W gets more and way better bass out of the 804, along with much better mids and highs. The 803 D3 seems awesome, with REALLY deep bass for the size of the speaker. I don’t know how they do it. The 802 perhaps was not a great match for the room, as it didn’t sound quite as good as the 803 to my ears.

Now, at $5K, I’d really have to look hard at Goldenear Triton I. Most well known name brand speakers at $5K are just pretty small speakers, with limited bass extension. The CM10 S2 are very nice, but don’t go deep at all. Dedicated Audio may still have this set of Focus 380 for $5K, which would be awesome, as it launched at $10K.

https://www.dedicatedaudio.com/collections/floorstanding/products/dynaudio-380-floorstanding-loudspe...