Opinions wanted: 10-30K Speakers for Jazz/Folk

@nhb1 Because you love Folk and Jazz you get where this music came from. You want to enjoy the music more. Music that  wasn't made for royalty or oligarchs, it is from and for regular people with challenging lives. You enjoy the soul of the music.

    So here is some advice that may get me ostracized here and which you would probably never get from any dealer. Give $25000 to a worthy charity or a University you respect. Endow a scholarship or help people put out of work by the pandemic. Aid those afflicted by the racism we have yet to come to terms with or a family who has lost it's breadwinner due to the pandemic. Find a music school and create a small scholarship fund. Make a difference in someones life with that money. Help create the folk and jazz of tomorrow.

    Then take whats left and by a pair of KEF LS50 metas  or Magnepan LRS's and a nice subwoofer or two and pair it with a good integrated like the Rogue Sphinx and really enjoy the music!

Hi, I have an Audio Note system and my main listening genere is jazz. I started in a different direction but ended up with AN. The sound is extremely musical. You will be immersed in it, not listening to the system. Set up right, the speakers disappear. There is only a big wall of three dimensional music, where every instrument is separated, distinct, enjoyable. It is not as detailed or clinical as other brands, but musical like no other. You must listen to AN before you make any decision. I run AN-J She speakers with a Meishu Silver 300B amp (only 8W/CH) all tied up with AN cables and wow, it is magical.
But, you have to listen for yourself and most of all, enjoy the process...

Although - I’m reluctant to suggest any speaker (system), when you’ve not fully identified all the relevant "specs" - I must agree with "Willgolf" (as I have elsewhere on the forums) - the Viking Acoustics speakers are exceptional - especially with jazz, classical, country (all things acoustic).

While Willgolf has one (or two) of Viking’s more expensive speakers, I have their Berlin R MKII stand mount monitors, which are superb with tube amps and "all things acoustic." I also have a collection of several other speakers (including Maggies, Harbeth’s, Linkwitz’s, LaHave’s, etc. to name a few)... and... the Vikings provide the most lifelike sound with tube amps of those I have (though they all sound superb with the right setup). They provide a sound a bit similar to the higher end Tannoy’s (Canterbury, Westminster, etc.)

And... as Will noted, I had Dave Counsel modify my Berlin’s caps and woofer / midrange to provide a bit more detail resolution, clarity and dynamics than the original design - though all his designs provide superb sound in all respects. I bought mine when Viking was known as dc10Audio - and Dave made the changes promptly with a minimum of cost with me just describing the sound I preferred.

As you’ve seen his product line is in your price range. And... if... you want to avoid the crowds of AXPONA (or similar), you might want to vacation in Santa Fe to hear the Viking’s - great place to visit any time of year, especially if you like to ski, or just enjoy Southwest cuisine, and interesting art. Or, I think Dave also makes some of the shows to demo his wares - so, you might check that out also. You won’t be disappointed and will have a great time, whichever. And... if you’re going to invest that kind of money, as indicated in your headline, it would well be worth your time and money.

I like the Tannoy. Beautiful cabinets. I heard Turnberry @ 6k a pair. They were smooth and effortless. They bigger ones should sound even better. Also Sonus Faber. The ones i heard were about $22K new. Preferred over Sasha DAW.  Rockport gets good recommendations.  Also curious about open baffles. Those would sound very good I think.  You can audition some of these at home.

nhb1, I live in southern New Hampshire. In about two weeks I will have a pair of Sound Labs Speakers set up. Even though you are leaning towards Dynamic speakers you are welcome to have a listen.
Mike