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Choosing new speakers after 20 years

I am in the market to replace my B&W CDM9NT's which I have owned for 20 years. They have served me very well over the years with my only complaint the famed bright Nautilus tweeter, which is manageable with the right cables and equipment. Anyway, this year I basically bought all new equipment, except for the B&W. My system is simple:
PrimaLuna EVO 300 integrated with Shunyata Venon NR V10 PC
Chord Qutest DAC
Innuos Zen mkIII streamer/server with Shunyata Venon NR V12 PC
Purist Audio Venustas Luminist revision bi-wire speaker cable
Cardas Clear Cygnus RCA IC
I don't have many CD's left as we had a break-in a couple years ago shortly after our home was finished and before the basement was finished and they took boxes of my CD's and SACD's. So instead of purchase a new CD player and CD's I got into streaming. I listen to a LOT of female vocal, Alison Krauss, Sarah Jarosz, Norah Jones on DSD. I listen to a lot of modern bluegrass like Nickel Creek, Punch brothers, a lot of string stuff. And of course Jazz with Coltrane being my favorite, Miles Davis, Art Blakey trio etc.

For speakers I am looking at floor standing, my room is pretty big in a finished, conditioned basement concrete floor with laminate and large area rug in front of system. 17x25x9 ft ceiling, all drywall. I have ATS acoustic panels on the wall for first reflection points and ATS 24x35 4" bass traps on the walls behind the speakers.

My budget before any trade value from my B&W is ~$5k and I have to stick closely to it. At the top of my list are the Sonus Faber Sonetto V, Monitor Audio Gold 200 and a dealer not to far away sells Fyne F502SP. I heard Sonus Faber a number of years ago and was drawn to the sound especially for female vocal, it was not bright like the B&W, but smooth and rich. A SF dealer not to far away from me made me an offer to take my B&W's on trade and sell me a pair of brand new Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII in wenge finish for the balance of $5000. I did not have the Sonetto VIII on my list as they were out of my budget, but this offer seems pretty nice and I think the VIII's would fill my room more. Going later this week and weekend to do some listening.
Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations I should look at?
Thank you for your time and suggestions.
128x128jmphotography
arcticdeth's avatar
arcticdeth
1,572 posts
 

 As stated here: you will need a good SS amp with a min of 300W rms. 
 With your speaker choices, you need adequate power to get the best sound.
tou don’t want to u derpower such wicked speakers as your choices.
  Many will tell you a 100 or 125W integrated is enough.
don’t believe the hype.
get a very good amplifier, or a good pair of monoblocs for those speakers.

those Sonetto speakers are very nice, congrats.
they need a nice power amp to be able to do what they do best.

   Under powering leads to more blown drivers and issues than “having the proper power and headroom”

enjoy your search.

 300W !! Min.
jmphotography's avatar
jmphotography OP
161 posts
 
Wow, minimum of 300W. Wow, its amazing then I guess that I did not blow up my B&W's I had for 21 years running them on a measly 150 w Classe Audio amp. Thanks, I'll look for some Bose bookshelf speakers that my Primaluna can handle. 
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
I really like Sonos Faber speakers. My only reservation in a room that big is that they are on the small side especially given the amount of power you have to drive them. Adding subwoofers would help if you are using them with a two way crossover. The recommended power for those speakers is 50-300 Watts
You might want to consider listening to speakers that are more efficient upwards of 96 dB/watt/meter. I think Klipsch Cornwall IVs would fill that room nicely, you would have less trouble with room interaction because dispersion is limited and 42 watts will drive them to painful levels. But, whatever you are thinking of should be carefully auditioned with your amp I might add. The interface between an amp and speakers is I think much more important than it is given credit. The character of the sound can change rather dramatically due to impedance changes depending on the design of the amp. A good part of the reason you hear conflicting opinions of loudspeakers is because they were being driven by different amps. Any good dealer will allow you to plug up your amp. Always listen to a speaker with the amp you are going to use, always. The program source makes relatively little difference. 

Good Luck and enjoy your new room!
arcticdeth's avatar
arcticdeth
1,572 posts
 
@jmphotography   

no need for the sarcasm. Simply giving my opinion.
  Have used 100, 125, 150 W receivers, and integrated amps since the mid 80’s.

 Found that having enough power and headroom was a huge plus for the sound and enjoyment of the music.

  Enjoy the hunt.
best wishes.
howaboutthat41's avatar
howaboutthat41
61 posts
 
I cannot imagine you need a 300 watt/channel amp for any of the speakers noted herein.  Here is one more (likely to go fast, based on the number of "watchers") you wish to ponder:  https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa834a-focal-kanta-no-2-full-range
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