Full circle and thinking about speakers

@russ69 I guess our definition of dynamics is somewhat different. Playing loud and pressurizing the room isn’t all of it. I’ve heard lots of speakers, including Maggies, do that. I’m talking about whip crack transients like snare drums and trombone blasts that can startle. Effortless sound that isn’t even trying hard.
And I’m sure you’re right, the 20s with big power will probably do most of that. I don’t think those are in the OPs budget. I was talking about magnepans that common everyday folk would be listening to, lol.

Oz

I've been in this hobby for a few years and here's a few things I've learned that may help you.

- You can only get so far asking people for speaker (audio) recommendations, even if you state your listening preferences. Only you will know what you will like. That said it's still not a bad idea and may help you make up a short list of speakers to audition.

- Never purchase speakers that your have not personally auditioned. Preferably with your own electronics and choice of music. 

- Find a good dealer or two in your area. Listen to as many speakers in your price range as you can and ask a lot of questions. 

- Home audition is better that in-store. Your room plays such a big part of how your speakers will sound. 

- Set aside some of your audio budget for room treatments. GIK is a good place to start. 

- Your may not get it right on your 1st, 2nd, or 3rd pair of speakers. Accept this as part of the learning process. 

- Your money will stretch a lot further on the used market.

- Ignore the tweakers. You don't need fancy power, speaker, or interconnects to start. Buy modest cables to start and they'll work fine. Ex. BlueJeans cables

With all of that said....I will throw out a speaker recommendation for you to put on your list. The Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary for $1200/ $1500 with stands. Very impressed with this speaker and am considering picking up a pair myself. 

Enjoy the journey and the music!

@howaboutthat41 ,I have Fritz Carreras and got them to do -3db af 24 hz and 0db at 28hz.  The room was 11x13x8.  I ended up with a placement that gave me 0db around 32hz though.  That placement yielded the best imaging and soundstage.

@larry, larger cabinets, i.e. floorstanding vs smaller cabinets, i.e. standmounts, will usually produce more bass simply because of the larger box size.  Some speakers that I’ve had disguised themselves as floorstanding speakers but they were essentially standmount size in a larger cabinet with the whole lower portion of the cabinet being sealed off from the top portion.


@ the OP, $2000 isplenty to get something nice second hand or even new.  Just start researching speakers.  Your amp should play well with just about anything!

Thanks everyone -  A  lot of knowledgeable responses. The latest advance occurred last night after hooking up an EAR phono stage  that just arrived. The first needle drop from the  Nottingham  was scary and shocking. The  room completely lit up! And so did I.
I believe the front end of my system, while not the "best", is rock solid. Not to say there can't or won't be improvements. There will.
But first I am going to take a step back and deal with rearranging the space. I see where the problems are and will help the B&W's out a great deal. Tonight I'll  make a big change and move  30  plus years of paper mass (drawings). That's where my bass is going -  I'm completely certain. It will also deal me where I am and give me a reference.  Much  appreciated everyone

Listen to @millercarbon, he has great advice. I have an easy task, just echo what he said... I also have the 92dB cutoff, and arrived there arbitrarily by myself. Go lower, and your amp selection to drive those sleepy buggers gets reduced, so you can choose between bad choices and very bad choices. (BTW plenty of good low sensitivity speakers out there, but the amps to drive them are well above the budget). Indeed, beyond 95dB you will need not worry about amp power, and you have the flea power kingdom wide open for you - esp with the condo living situation. Also, it is much easier to find a tonally right tube amp, than a tonally right solid state amp. (I have found exactly 1 tonally right SS amp so far... after 20 years of searching - but that's me, you might have different preferences, but as I hear, you are struggling with tonality, and it's not just the speakers but the amps as well that contribute to the situation).
Paradox with B&W: their best speakers I heard was the DM301 (or was it 302? their smallest bookshelf model, 20 years ago). Not the ultimate in resolution and low end response, but MUCH MUCH better tonality than any of the bigger models. (Incidentally one of the top 10 worst sounds I ever head was the Nautilus... crushed my dreams, as at that time I thought the Nautilus should be the ultimate speaker.) So, apart from the little model, I never heard a B&W that played balanced music.