Best speaker choice under $1000?

One good option would be an older Martin Logan speaker. As a hybrid electrostat it should offer the HF clarity and soundstaging you're looking for coupled with adequate bass performance for rap music.

Another option is an Audio Physic Tempo, with its metal dome tweeter which offers the HF extension you're looking for.

A PSB stratus silver would be a good choice, too. It has good midrange fullness coupled with decent bass extension, but not quite as extended on the highs as some of the other options. Still, it's a solid choice. A stratus gold would be even better, but I doubt the Marantz receiver would drive it adequately.

If your room is bit enough, the Magnepan MMG's could be a good choice, although perhaps not quite as suitable for rap. And I also have reservations about the pairing with the receiver in this example.

Michael

For me it would be a very easy choice. Get a pair of Vandersteen Model 1's. For what you are looking to do, its the perfect speaker. Its also very efficient and will work very well with your Manantz. It's really hard to screw up with a pair of Model 1's.

Sufentanil,

Please don't be offended, but you list some very odd choices. Out of the ones you recommend, I guess the PSB would be the best choice given the equipment and music choice. I have nothing against PSB, but I do find them to be a very boring speaker to listen to.

My apologies to the original poster, I misread some of your music genres as "rap" rather than "R&B, little hip hop" although I think they are close enough that my recommendations are still valid.

Zd, my suggestions include non-traditional (planar and electrostatic) speakers partly because of the OP's objective of "transparency and detail". Those type of speakers are typically strong in those areas. Other options include some of the well-done metal-domed tweeters (such as the Audio Physic that I mentioned) and ribbon tweeters (VMPS, Mark & Daniel, etc). At the risk of generalizing, these tend to offer good detail and high frequency extension, which may help with the impression of transparency.

I agree with Zd in that the newer PSB speakers aren't quite what the older ones were. But the old Stratus series, like I suggested, does fulfill some of those objectives, and in the price range. Even the PSB Bronze would be good for the stated objectives. Another alternative might include the Paradigm Studio 100's.

The Vandersteens are a good choice, although the ones I've heard weren't exactly what I would call transparent and detailed. Maybe other models (from what I've heard) or other speaker/amp combinations would produce a sound more to the OP's liking.

Michael

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Awesome