Hey Jeff,
My suggestions for "warmth and romance" are Harabeth, Spendor, Audio Vector. All three are fairly easy to drive with Audio Vector, at 92 db sensitivity, being the easiest. You can find a new model from each brand in your price range. If you wanted to experiment, I would consider Devore Fidelity and PMC. Good luck and have fun!
If this is of any value/help; I purchased a new pair of Electra 1008 BE bookshelf speakers for $2,999 (orig $5,999). Focal was unloading them. I wanted the Rosewood but black was the only option and it this price...now, I like them. I have them sitting on a pair of custom made Sound Anchor stands which provides an incredibly solid platform and really allows the Focal's to show off their bass capability= simply astonishing for this size speaker. The real gem however, as people who have bought them know, is the Beryllium tweeter. Yes, it can be bright and requires careful matching. I was considering the integrated amps from Belles Aria, Sudgen A21 or Hegel H90. Which one do you think won??
My suggestions for "warmth and romance" are Harabeth, Spendor, Audio Vector. All three are fairly easy to drive with Audio Vector, at 92 db sensitivity, being the easiest. You can find a new model from each brand in your price range. If you wanted to experiment, I would consider Devore Fidelity and PMC. Good luck and have fun!
If this is of any value/help; I purchased a new pair of Electra 1008 BE bookshelf speakers for $2,999 (orig $5,999). Focal was unloading them. I wanted the Rosewood but black was the only option and it this price...now, I like them. I have them sitting on a pair of custom made Sound Anchor stands which provides an incredibly solid platform and really allows the Focal's to show off their bass capability= simply astonishing for this size speaker. The real gem however, as people who have bought them know, is the Beryllium tweeter. Yes, it can be bright and requires careful matching. I was considering the integrated amps from Belles Aria, Sudgen A21 or Hegel H90. Which one do you think won??