Speakers in 10-15K price range for Classical music


Well I am in the market for speakers. My music choice is primarily classical and then a little bit of everything else such as jazz and soft/alternate rock. I started with a budget of 5-7K and auditioned Maggie 3.6, Quad 989, Spendor S8e and so on, but quickly realized I couldn’t get what I was looking for in these speakers. They all did pretty well on solo or few instruments but could not nearly reproduce a symphony (Mahler’s fifth, or Tchaikovsky’s sixth or Schubert’s ninth) with any authenticity. This was about a year ago. Since then I had stretched my budget and am now looking for speakers in the 10-15K price range.

Now here’s the challenge. I didn’t like the Thiel, B&W or Wilson sound. I had liked Maggie 20.1 in the past, but can’t find any dealer nearby that carries them for an audition. Heard the Vandersteen 5a for about 10 mins and they are pretty convincing, but I need a proper audition and then it’s still beyond my price range. Now my question is what other speakers I can look at for the kind of music I like?

Thanks much in advance, for your help.

Oh, my system is Krell SACD and 400xi Integrated Amp. Will upgrade the amp eventually, but will need to wait for another year at least :)
neal1502
I've been very impressed with e Marten Design speakers. I can highly recommend the Marten Miles III, in your price range. Very revealing, great PRaT, well worth investigating further.
If you liked the Vandy 5's, you should check out the Vandy Quattros. Right in your price range and it will do acoustic music supremely well. The adjustable low end will allow you to tailor the low end for virtually any room.
ATC SCM 50 Actives will do the trick - there is a used pair for sale in your price range (Gordon Holt's Estate - he also liked classical and Panels). ATC are close to Quad panel midrange clarity yet will still do justice to Mahler or rock.
I second the Vandersteen Wood Quattros. Moving up in price to the top of your price range (actually just a bit above) would be the Devore Fidelity Silverbacks and the Verity Leonores. The latter are quite new and I have not heard them yet, but have a feeling, based on my Verity Fidelio Encores, that the Leonores would very much be worth an audition.

Since you did not rule out used, I would also suggest the Aerial 20T's if your integrated has enough power for them.

Good luck!
If you don't mind used, you could look at the previous Focal Utopia Be's. I bet you could find a used pair of Alto's for that price. Maybe even Novas at the top of the range. The inverted Beryllium tweeter produces a very wide soundstage. Paired with the Krells I suspect they would sound great.