Smooth/Musical Bookshelves upto $1500 - $2000

from your description, rana, it sounds like the nola/mcintosh combo had the most emotional impact. you might consider trying the nola's with a less powerful and less expensive integrated tube amp and see if it still provides you with the breathtaking sound you described.

there's always the option to get the lower priced PSB/NAD alternative, live with it for a couple of years, and upgrade after than, but it doesn't sound like that's what you're looking to do, so it might make sense to get what appeals to you most, despite the relative costs.

in any event, i'm glad you took the time to go out there and check out those offerings, and hope you find something you can enjoy for the long haul.

yes i liked both the PSB Synchrony 2B and Nola Boxers very much. I tried the Nola Boxers with the Moon 250i and it also sounded excellent.

I would say the advantages of Nola Boxer to be a bit livelier sound and also more expression. But it might be a bit to large for my needs as this will be a desktop setup.

The advantages for the PSB Synchrony 2B is that i felt it was more smoother of the two and i feel it will be easier on the ears for long listening hours. Also the PSB dealer is located in my city whereas the Nola i'll have to get shipped. Which is cool too because ultimately i care about the sound quality and i don;t think speakers need to be sent in for repairs too often unlike other electronic components.

I also feel that the PSB Synchrony 2B will be a safer choice for me since i already own a PSB Image based 5.1 setup which consists of B6,C5,S5 + SVS PC12NSD.

There is no doubt though that the Nola Boxers are absolutely magical and sound breath taking. They are just simply awesome. And i feel the Syncrhrony 2B are smoother and just relax me and let me be lost in the music. They are both special in their own way and i would pick either one of them on different days.

PSB is a sound i know i love and i'd picked up the Image HT setup after similarly listening to may HT speaker setups last year. Hence i just feel a bit more confident towards the PSB Synchrony 2B because i know i love that PSB sound.

Given that these are for a desktop and that you like the Image B6, how about stepping up in product line and down in size with the PSB Imagine Mini? It has a ~8"x9" footprint and its front profile is smaller than a 6"x9" paperback book. Smaller drivers give better point source driver integration and dispersion, and with the money you save you could always add a little sub to fill out the 30-60 Hz region.

It also has the neodymium magged titanium dome tweeter from the Synchrony line. Better tweeters make things better.

i had totally forgotten about the desktop limitation. since you're already a fan of PSB, you may as well check out those imagine minis before finally deciding. and i think they're $700, which is nice, too.