Most forgiving high end speaker 10k-20k?

A consistent comment I read in reviews of Sonus Faber loudspeakers is that they convey detail well, yet the music almost always manages to sound beautiful. I've auditioned a few models over the years and I'd have to agree. If you have the space, the Elipsa should be a good choice.

"With great recordings it is fantastic but with poor recordings it brought out all recording flaws."

Audio dealers love to hear things like this.

If the flaws exist, they exist. IF the system filters these somehow to make the flaws sound more tolerable, you can be sure it is doing the same to the good stuff in the music as well. Works kind of like make-up. Take that for what its worth....

Counter to intuition perhaps, lesser recordings sound best when played on a system that is clean and highly free of distortion top to bottom. THat allows the more subtle good things to play and tip the balance towards the good. My estimate is that 80-90% of the recordings most people listen to are good enough to affect a music lover who cares about sound quality.

Now if you are one of the breed that music cannot be enjoyable unless the sound is perfect. then you are scr---d to a great extent perhaps, because a relatively small % of recordings approach perfection. They are what the producers want them to be. You can like it or not, but that is what recorded music is. It ain't perfect!

Tell us more about your room and listening preferences and I will attempt to provide an end to end recipe for a rig that can deliver the goods but is also "forgiving" for moderate cost.

Well, you know have several years worth of speakers to audition:)

Some good suggestions here. I would second Sonus Faber. I would add Dynaudio.

I think Onhwy61's advice is excellent: focus on system synergy. As others suggested, I would start with the speaker/room interface. Then choose an amp that mates well with your speakers. I'm not saying you should actually buy the speakers first and the amp second, though you could do that. I'm saying that thinking backwards from room to speakers to amp to preamp to source can be a very effective way to think holistically.

As to the issue of whether or not you want highly RESOLVING speakers, I believe the answer is: It depends. If your love the sound of your upstream components, then highly resolving speakers may be very pleasing. If the flaws of the upstream components annoy you, then highly resolving speakers will magnify that annoyance, IME. On the subject of the listenability of bad recordings, you may find this thread of interest.

As to the issue of whether a more neutral system or a more colored system is likely to yield good results with bad recordings, again I think the answer is: It depends. If the colorations are euphonic, they very well may improve the listenability of bad recordings. But of course many colorations are nothing more than audible distortions, and that can get old fast. Someone above suggested that, by increasing neutrality, you are more likely to reveal what a recording does right, and hence increase the recording's listenability. I think there's a lot of truth to that. But I also think that it is far more difficult to assemble a system with an ear to neutrality than an ear to coloration. On the topic of neutrality, you may find this thread of interest.

I also believe that the beneficial effect of neutrality on listenability stops at some point, and that the clearest window to a bad recording isn't always the most pleasant. Audiophiles often express this by saying they want more "warmth," a large subject in its own right. On the topic of warmth, you may find this thread of interest.

That should keep you reading until Easter.

Good luck.

Bryon

I agree on the Harbeth M40.1 recommendation. I would also suggest you investigate Daedalus Audio. Very resolving yet never fatiguing.