what is the best sounding speakers for under 5000.

Based upon the reviews published in the past 4-5 years, it would seem that the Gallo Reference 3.1 or 3.5 would be at or near the top of the heap...

-RW-

I agree completely with Tpreaves. it's not going to be a competition at all. I just wanted to see for myself which ones worked best in my room, with my equipment, with the music I listen to. if you're in SF you're more than welcome to come by and hear for yourself, once they both show up.

I'm very interested in the Tempestra/Cirrus comparison as well. 3-way vs 2-way, inexpensive pre-built cabinet vs custom designed and built.
Both use some of the best components available and have well built crossovers.

Now for something completely different:

Per Atmasphere (and others): Audiokinesis, but....

I'd think about the sealed Swarm subwoofer system at $1700.
Add a Velodyne SMS-1 subwoofer management system at $400.

The remaining +/- $3K would buy some great speakers from Ohm, Magnepan, or Pioneer/TAD (just sticking to brands already mentioned), depending on your preference for omnis, dipoles, or good, old-fashioned "drivers in a box".

This would require pre-amp "in/out" connectivity on your integrated, so I'm not sure it would be workable with the Vincent. If it is, this approach will get you a full bandwidth system (Swarm), seamless integration of subs (SMS) with very smooth bass response (Swarm +SMS). Choose the flavor you prefer above 80hz.

Marty

PS If you don't want subs scattered all about the room, a pair of SVS or Rythmik subs gets you to a substantially similar place for pretty much the same money.

Saeyedoc - my Tempestas will not be in the pre-built partsexpress cabinets. I had some stacked baltic birch ply cabinets made to the same dimensions. it will be interesting to compare 2-way vs 3-way back to back in the same environment though.