4 Alternatives to Caravelles, these speakers are not "better" but are subjective alternatives to the Caravelles. Funny how many of these speakers will be difficult to find to audition too.
ATC SCM-20 -2, will play louder with more precision and focus than the Caravelles, depending on the amplifier the Caravelles will give a fuller bass but not better dynamics. The ATC's may be too detailed for some and do not throw a big image.
Meyer HD-1, some may find this speaker a bit to precise and detailed, but this speaker clearly out does any of the speakers on this list when it comes to bass and dynamics. This speaker is superb in everyway. Its more expensive too, but since it is powered I felt it could stay in the game.
Dynaudio 25; again a very competitive speaker probably the easiest to find of all the speakers mentioned here. If your dealer can actually choose the right amplification to demo it with, you will have a speaker with a slightly darker sound than the Caravelles, which might be to your tastes.
The Caravelle's are good enough that everyone should like them. They do the play the music, they do cater to the audiophile a bit which is why they scored mediocre on the Megadeth and "I feel free" test. but since is their target audience, audiophiles, they were more than acceptable.
If you had all 4 speakers above in the same room not only would it be a great deal of fun, you might find yourself switching favorites one CD to the next. Because each speaker has its strength and character that will let it shine over the others under certain conditions.
To be less vague, but if you interests in music mainly lie in the Jazz and classical ensemble range this is where the Caravelles shine in my opinion.
The powered speakers are better at the larger scale music, as they remain better focused when the music get complex or hard driving (heavy metal and rock)
I am a dealer for Meyer and ATC, I evaluated a customers Caravelles in his room with the ATC 20's and the Dali Helicon 400's to compare.
The Caravelles are excellent, I would consider being a dealer if they began to focus more multi-channel which most of my clients buy.