Speaker Recommendation: 20K range


I’m looking for new speakers in the <20K range. 

I am not looking for used, unless it’s a demo model straight from an AD.

I am hoping to find a line that clearly beats speakers in the ~10K range like Magico A3, Revel 228BE, Legacy Focus SE etc.

I will be pairing the speakers with a Lumin D2 streamer, Mcintosh C2600 pre and MC452 amp. Changing those components is not going to happen anytime soon and so system synergy with those pieces is important. 

I also would like the speakers to be rated at 500W given the amp I will be using and the fact that the listening space is quite large. 

While I mostly listen to jazz, rock, pop, classical and vocals, I am really looking for speakers that sound amazing with any genre. I also need them to sound great at moderate levels of volume. 

I currently have Focal Kanta No 2s, and while they are quite nice, I want something much better in all respects. 

I am not really up to speed on all the audiophile terms that describe the various traits of sound – I just want my jaw to drop when listening to the speakers with any genre at all volume levels, if that’s possible :) 

I am close to NYC and would like to narrow down the list to ~5 candidates before I start auditioning.

Hopefully you guys can help me compile a list!

Thanks in advance for your time and suggestions.

chandybe
Here’s a pic of my system.

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7383

Yes I know I have a lot of (crappy old non audiophile) speakers - have kept them for mostly sentimental reasons until this point - plus I’m too damn lazy to ply the trade route. Now that I’m getting serious with the audiophile journey, I will be cleaning this up when the new speakers arrive.

And go easy on me with the room acoustics comments :)

PS: And this is why the WAF is moot  - this is my mancave, the only fiefdom in the kingdom where I reign supreme
I see Focal released the Kanta 3 with larger drivers than the Kanta 2. They might be a more encouraging pop/rock speaker.

If you ever get a chance to hear the Acoustic Zen Crescendo 2’s... I think you may be mightily impressed...they do many things right with almost no shortcomings [nothing’s perfect in speakerdom]. I own them and still shake my head in disbelief as to what they bring to the altar of impressive transducers today... 8)


Well, I will say, that is the size room the Aeris is meant for, i.e., big. Also, with the Aeris’ powered woofer sections, you wouldn’t be needing massive power for the mids/highs either, and your current amp situation should be fine. The Aeris setup at RMAF last weekend sounded fantastic.

That said, the Aeris works best for a two-channel music system, and is not as easily incorporated into a multi-channel setup because of the Wavelet room correction technology. Are you running two-channel, or multi-channel?
@Mtrot - I'm running Multi-channel - bypassing an Anthem AVM 60 to the C2600 for 2 channel. Not really knowledgeable about Wavelet room correction tech - the Aeris line was looking very appealing and I am not sure if this is a deal breaker..