Speaker upgrade for classical music

Hello from NZ.  My main listening is classical - Earliest is Buxtehude and latest is Pärt.  Piano to Orchestral.  My current speakers are Magico.  They are nice and do classical just fine.  I do not particularly recommend them but to get what you want I think the following need to be taken into account.  First, you can improve your room.  Judicious use of damping materials and experimentation of speaker placement can in effect largen your room.  Second, there is no substitution for cubic inches.  Yes small speaker manufacturers will claim otherwise - but it is difficult to work against the laws of physics.  Third, do not get ported speakers (possibly a type known as Transmission Line).  Once you lose the woolliness of the port you will benefit from a clear and more accurate sound.  This is not without cost as sealed designs tend to require more amplification.
Finally I endorse upgrading the amplification.  I think the amplification and speakers should really be regarded as a unit.  In fact some manufacturers (eg ATC) do exactly that with the 'active' speakers.

I have been following this post very closely.  There are some great ideas.  So here are my thoughts for what it is worth.  Since you already have floor standing speakers for your front speakers, I would be looking at Vienna Accustics Beethovens.  I had a pair of these in the past and loved them.  Very articulate, and detailed.  Smooth high frequency, balanced midrange, and perfect bass. Very much like you would experience in a concert hall.

I also agree that Magnepans are an excellent choice.  Very detailed as well. Great for classical music.  They also require a powerful amplifier due to the fact that they are electrostats.  Maggies tend to have a sweet spot.  You have to do a lot of speaker placements to find the ideal spot.  Once you find that spot you will fall in love with the sound.

If you are thinking of bookshelf speakers, I recommend the Bowers and Wilkins  805 D3.  I currently own a pair of these speakers.  Great  articulation and detail a little lite on the bass, which can be enhanced by a subwoofer.  It is very important that you have good quality cables throughout your system.  Pays off in spades. By the way the B&W speakers run $6,000 a pair.  A little pricey, but worth every penny. 

Harbeths are another good choice for a bookshelf style speaker.  Great sound.  They do look a little rustic, but sound fantastic.  Highly recommended.   Good luck on your search for your next speakers. 

@desktopguy

One word: Vandersteen. The best, most consistently pleasing sound I’ve yet heard from multi-driver speakers came from Vandersteen.

Agreed, but I’m biased. I listen to classical a lot, and my 2CE Sigs are wonderful for classical, and other musical genres as well. Great tone, which I think is the most important for classical, full body/range sound, not bright, detailed, and non-fatiguing. I listen for hours and hours at a time. Set them up correctly and wonderful soundstage. With the OP’s budget, he could also look at the Treo on the used market. That said either the 3A or new 2CE Sig 3’s are well within his budget new.

To all of you: I didn’t realize that there would be so many people with so many wonderful suggestions. Clearly Magnepans, Harbeth and Tannoys among a couple of others are the favorites. Thank you!

Some of you suggested I need to update my front end. So to that end, I’ve bought a couple of reasonably priced used Parasound Halo P7 pre and a52+ amp to start with. I know a couple of others who have really liked the combination of those with the Exasound DAC—the one I use.


Regarding speakers: I’ve decided to try out Tannoy XT-8F for stereo and center, and smaller ones for surround. Yes, yes I know, it’s Chinese-made and not the pure Tannoy sound. However, I liked the sound when I heard it nearby. (In this day of Covid, one really isn’t able to travel and try different speakers.) Would love to hear the Harbeth, Maggies and the other favorites if we ever come out of this alive.


But thanks (or maybe it should be condemnation) to @russbutton I ended up down the Linkwitz rabbit hole and got totally fascinated! I read as many of his writings as I could find and he really is a man of my mind. He tried to recreate the original sound stage and imaging and detail without the boxy sound. I haven’t read a single reviewer who didn’t love them! So I’ve also been able to find an LX521 kit for cheap and am going to put it together and see what that’s like. So  thanks @russbutton!!! I didn’t know about this guy at all. 


If I like the LX521, I’ll sell a couple of the Tannoy 8F and leave the rest for my surround and center. That way I have a fabulous stereo system and a good surround system for my multi channel music.

@andrei_nz You are not entirely correct. Evolution Acoustics speakers (MM series) are sealed box type woofers and bass amp powered but with transmission line loaded mids/highs.  The entire speaker is 93 db efficient with a 6 ohm impedance +/- 1 db, 15 degree max. phase angle, time aligned.  A 20 watt amp can drive it LOUD and clean but can take 100s of watts sa well. 

Von Schweikert speakers also don't have a woolly sound from transmission line loaded woofers, some with and some without bass amps.

EA's micro, mini 1 and mini 2, possibly with their small sub should fit the bill for you at your price point.