Speakers in 10-15K price range for Classical music

Surprised no one has mentioned the Totem Wind's, Jamo Reference R909 or Thiel CS3.7 in this thread. Somebody mentioned Dynaudio - probably have to go with the Confidence C4 to get impact Neal502 is looking for, and that lists for well over range he suggests. I am also a fan of Revel Ultima Salon 2 to get at impact and scale of classical, but again, these are slightly out of suggested price range.

Neal,
How did the RMAF search go. Heard some very good speakers there.

Have to agree on Shahinian here. Given that Richard Shahinian spent probably half of his life in concert halls and actually conducted orchestras if I'm not mistaken, if these speakers can do one thing it's classical. Altough this is at least 6 years ago, I have heard impressive presentations with both Hawk and Diapason (with Croft and Jadis amps).

One that would have to leap to one's mind, if you can still find it: Bösendorfer, the VC7 may just fit into your budget. The bad news, when Yamaha took over Bösendorfer they decided against continuing the speakers production. The good news: mastermind Hans Deutsch is now building basically the same speakers with piano builders Joseph Brodmann Group (itself headed by former Bösendorfer people). So watch out for the Brodmann brand too!

I must also strongly recommend Shahinian speakers for classical.

Unless you really are a fan of big classical pieces I don't think you can truly appreciate the demands in dynamics, weight, scale etc. such large scale, complex music places on your system, especially your speakers. Macro and micro dynamics are incredibly important, along with other virtues outlined above. Soundstaging is key for a convincing presentation. You also need a more or less "full range" speaker to provide satisfying weight. You need a well balanced speaker with tonal accuracy. Whoever noted above that many modern speakers don't seem to get the lower mi-range right was spot on. Many other wise excellent speakers also seem very slightly tipped up in the treble to my ears.

In my personal experience, many modern designs with their emphasis on detail just are not up to a full symphony orchestra in full cry (the big stuff by Brahms, Mahler, Puccini, Strauss, Vaughn Williams et al).

While the OPs room is not large, it's perfectly big enough for many a full range speaker.

I never had anywhere near this kind of budget to spend. I had Alons for years, and I liked the Circes quite a bit (with Herron electronics) for classical. Shaninian Hawks or Diapasions give a similar free, unfettered and large scale presentation while doing justice to the "presence" and dynamics of classical music.

Another thing the open baffle design Alons (now Nola) have in common with Shahinians is that you don't have to sit with your head in a vise - they have quite large sweet spots, and while they do vocal and chamber exquisitely, they are much more realistic for orchestral than most other speakers. They are designed to do justice to big classical, and that they will do, without stinting other more intimate musics. (and if they're dynamic enough for Bartok Concerto For Orchestra, they're dynamic enough for the Rolling Stones.)

Rpfef delieates the Shahinnian sound well. They make you fell like you are sitting in a concert hall. The Nolas will do the audiophile imaging thing more if you like pin-point imaging for smaller ensembles. But honestly, after 20+ years in high end audio, I don't think that's my most important spekasr attribute - not when listebning to the Brahms Requiem (a test disk I always take on auditions).

I haven't heard the latest Nola models, but I would also check them out, as they're voiced with large scale classical music and have that dynamic, natural and open sound.

To my ears, the best speakers from Nola and Shahinian have many of the virtues of planars and stats to which they add excellent bass and dynamics. They're not quite as fast, but darned near, and they're both very open kinds of speakers.

I'd be wary of any speakers with treble peaks, or midrange dips, I don't care what the tweeters are made from. Fatal for classical. Given the nature of some recordings, it can truly make massed strings painful.

The big Soundlabs are a completely different kind of presentation from the above but are worth checking out - for me they may lack that last inch of weight and dynamics, but they are wonderful speakers, so transparent and immediate, as are the Maggie 20.1s. Again, planars and stats do have their unique charms. Maggies, as much as I love them (and I had a couple pairs for several years) do have a "sound" or very (VERY) faint grain structure that is omnipresent until you get of the to the 20.1s.

I've heard and liked big classical on Audio Physic Avanti IIIs, Vandersteens 5a's, the big Pro-Acs, and moving up in price JM Labs Utopias.

Don't be afraid of used.

Also, and I hate to tell you this, but your amps, preamp and front end are also very important in getting the best from your classical capable speakers and achieveing musical nirvana. But select the speakers FIRST, then match the amplification, cabling et al to your speakers.

You WILL want to upgrade that Krell integrated. But speakers first.

And take your time.

If you are a fan of large scale classical works, IMO nothing quite gets the job done as a good pair of horn speakers, and you can get some very good ones for quite a bit less than your stated budget. Nothing else will give you the timbral realism, the soundstage, the dynamic range (softs as well as louds) and the immediacy that horns do. I've never heard anything else yet that approaches the live event as closely, if that is your aim.