Must Hear Speakers in $10K range

You aren’t going to find speakers that image and soundstage better than the Salk SoundScapes for $10K. They also have tight flat bass to 22Hz or so. They are about as clean and transparent a speaker as I have heard for any price. As with all Accuton based speakers, they aren’t a warm speaker though. With a tube preamp and running them in the open baffle mode they can warm up. As with any speaker, I recommend hearing them first!

Bob

Put on your short list speakers from Daedalus

http://www.daedalusaudio.com/products.html

A second strong recommendation for Daedalus!

A third strong recommendation for Daedalus!

You'll have to stretch your budget a little, though, for the top of the line Ulysses model, especially if you opt for the upgraded all-poly crossover, which by all accounts significantly improves an already outstanding speaker.

Also, if by "good low end response" you mean frequency response flatness that extends to the low 20's, you won't get that. But if you mean bass that is accurate and well defined, and extends low enough to encompass the frequency range of the great majority of recordings, you will certainly get that, as well as pretty much anything else you might ask for in that price range, including exceptional versatility with respect to amplifier selection.

Regards,
-- Al

When I did the speaker shopping thing a couple years ago, the most impressive to me were Aerial, Vandersteen, and the PSB Synchrony Ones, though admittedly, the Synchronys didn't really impress me until they were hooked up to a really good amp (a BAT VK-600, though I doubt they need something quite that monstrous to wake them up.)

I was not impressed with any of the under $10k B&Ws.

I ended up with Vandersteen Quatros (cloth).