Best speaker choice under $1000?

Sufentanil,

Your recommendations do make much more sense if you thought R&B and not rap. As far as PSB goes, thats just my own personal opinion and others may feel different. To be honest, I think most, if not all, of API's Products have that "boring" trait to them.

"The Vandersteens are a good choice, although the ones I've heard weren't exactly what I would call transparent and detailed.".

That statement doesn't surprise me. A lot of people have opinions similar to yours. Its due to a combination of factors. The biggest factor is setup. Most people don't set them up properly. Vandersteen gives very detailed info on room placement and back tilt. Its not optional, you have to do what the manual says in order to get best results. For example, you mention lack of detail. Set up properly, the Model 1's are the most detailed speaker out of all the speakers mentioned so far on this thread. Its not even close. But you will only get that kind of sound if you spend some time with them.

Based off pure sound quality I would go Magnepan. If you want to rock out and jam, maybe Klipsch. ML's are good but you have to buy replacement panels after a few years, and after the sellout they are expensive!!

I bet you would love a $800 used pair of Magnepan 1.6's and get a nice little sub to enhance the weak bass.

Yes Team,

It takes some time but i have seen some in the piano gloss go for under 1K

Even though the black gloss was $200 additional they seem to go for less than the red maple.

i got mine (red maple) for 1200 with stands and shipping so close to the op's price range

even if you have to pay more they are worth it.

I have driven these with a Primaluna PL2 with EL34's at 35wpc and Vista Audio I84 EL84s at 15 wpc and while different both made these speakers sing.

I used to have a Marantz SR7001 Receiver, and the speakers that were best for all-types of music on this amp were Mirage OMD-15s. $800 for a new pair, on vanns. Amazing all-around speaker.

One other option to consider is active speakers. I have some Quad 12L Active stand mounted speakers that are explosive in their ability to go from absolute silence, to full volume. They have amazing detail and just enough warmth to not be clinical. I got mine for $750 new. This means you no longer need to worry about the amp in your receiver. It will just be the preamp.

Anyways, good luck.
Mot

Given your music preferences I'd look for a used pair of Monitor Audio RS6 or RX6. They're very detailed and transparent and will provide more of the bass that your music typically has and that most monitors can't produce adequately. A used pair of Silverline Preludes might work too. Best of luck.