Recommendation for a modern Duntech Sovereign 2001 replacement

Hi joth, that is an interesting situation.

We likely have similar tastes since I too owned Vandys, Thiels, and Duntechs.  In fact I kept my Princeses 19 years, longer than any other component I've owned.  Obviously I appreciate the 1st order crossovers as well. 

Since downsizing from them I've tried a couple other systems but replacing the Duntechs is not easy.  I ended up with the Janszen zA2.1 hybrid electrostatic, now called the Valentina.  It is available in either passive (which I have) or active versions.  They offer similar overall coherency with increased resolution and HF extension.  The bass does not have the extension of the Princess so it certainly wouldn't match your Sovereigns, but it is surprising for their size.  The powered version is said to have better bass extension but I've not auditioned them.  I believe they have higher WAF than the Duntechs.

Another obvious consideration would be a current Vandersteen model, from the Quatro to the 7, depending on your preference and budget.

Anyway, good luck with your choice.

PS - I'm a big jazz fan too.  

Pryso, we dalied with Jantzen for a while, we had the ZA 2.1 and they were great, however, they miss the scale of a much larger speaker, they were superb in terms of coherence, they were also a tad polite in the upper treble, they would not be my first choice for a big room, they are awesome speakers and are quite magical in many ways and we agree they look smashing if you like their retro 50's kind of styling. 

A Vandy Quattro is also way too small sounding, a Vandy 5 would be much closer, but still the added height of the Duntech means that you should look for a similarly large footprint speaker, taller in size.

if you are looking for a stunning looking speaker the KEF Blades look amazing and are way more transparent then the Duntechs, They also throw a huge soundstage, they also have way deeper and tighter bass.

A well setup pair of blades are awesome, we ran a set of Blades at the 2012 and 2013 New York Audio show and compared our setup vs a $107K pair of YG Sonja, and the KEF Blades were easilly just as good. 

The Legay Aeris are quite amazing, and will beat the Duntech's in every way, and as an added bonus come with a room correction processor, preamp and dac, so if the rest of your gear is older you would be gaining in essence a new preamp and dac all you would need to do would be to add your amplifier. 

One major advantage of the Aeris is the room correction feature which can work wonders if you are moving to a NYC apartment and have a less then ideal room. 

As mentioned before we are  probably  1-2 hours away from you and we have a number of speakers that would work including the Kef Blade, the Legacy Aeris and the Blade on active display. 

Contact ABF Freight they do most of our shipping and they are excellent.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

We can also mention we were a Devialet dealer, and the form factor was amazing, the sound was a bit too mechanical for our tastes.

Today there are a number of uber integrated ampifiers that beat most high end separates, we highly recommend the T+A HV 3100 and there are a few other uber integrated amplifiers. 

The HV 3100 is a 300 watt integrated amp, based on $36,000.00 worth of separate components in one elegant box, for $23k they currently have a junior version for $18k which is very similar but not quite as good. 

https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/ta-elektroakustik-3100-hv-pdp-3000-hv-sacdcd-...

Here they compare the T+A to a $45k D'agastino integrated  and find the T+A to be its equil 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

I also loved the Duntech sound (had Princesses for many years, the Sovereigns were too big for my room).  For the big sound that you are used to you could try the Maggie 20 series or the Dynaudio Evidence line of speakers (I liked the Temptations a lot, would have considered them as Princess replacements had I been able to afford them), though obviously the size of your new place will present some restrictions.  The Vandy 7s and 5s might also be up your alley (the 7s might be the best I've heard recently, and their powered bass makes them comparatively easy to work in a room).  I would suggest visiting both Audio Doctor to hear the models they mention (I especially like the Blades) and Audio Connection in Verona, NJ to hear the Vandersteen 7s (not sure if John still has the big Maggies set up)--both of those dealers have excellent setups that will give you a good idea of what the speakers can do.

joth, I'm not selling any of the recommendations I offered.

I consider my room to be of medium size (20 x17 x 11) and I have no issues with image size from the Janszens.

I agree with rcprince on the Maggie 20s, a wonderful speaker when set up properly.  I didn't include those due to size and placement requirements, not much WAF. ;^)