bookshelf for classical music under $2000

Can I ask why only bookshelves? Compact floorstanders could give you more bass per dollar, with no need for stands.

Also, have you got any acoustic treatment in your room? And have you experimented with speaker placement. Brightness can come from side reflections and excessive toe-in.

I agree in principle with several of the brands posted above: Spendor, Dynaudio, Nola.

This widespread perception about metal tweeters is crap and has taken on the status of audiophile myth along with direct drive turntables and MM cartridges. Metal dome smoothness depends on how the dome is damped among other things. I have a low tolerance to harsh treble, but my Mirages have a treble that's sweet as silk--powered by titanium domes. They use a cloth suspension to damp the tweeter and it works. Because of the light diaphragm and titanium's resistance to breakup, the titanium tweeter is both articulate and very smooth with no artificial high treble boost or edginess.

That said, there are lots of great fabric tweeters as well. It seems the Nola Boxer would be a great choice for the OP's criteria. Also, GoldenEar DOES make a pair of monitors, the AON 2 and 3, which are stand-mounted and use a most excellent Heil-inspired folded ribbon tweeter.

For exactly what you are looking for I suggest JM Reynaud. If you can get a hold of a set of used Twins or Duets go for it. The new model is the "Bliss" I have an old set of Twins and they are exactly the kind of bookshelf speakers you are looking for. Amherst Audio is the US dealer.

"The Bliss (formerly called the Duet).

The ideal for JMR has always been that elusive marriage of warmth and clarity we hear in the concert hall and jazz venue and that has eluded speaker designers for years. Over the half-dozen or so years that I have been listening to Reynauds father and son have steadily and conspicuously moved closer to this goal. But in the latest speaker iterations they have taken a giant step - and with the new Bliss they have brought this level of improvement to the entry-level speaker. I loved the MK III Twins, I loved and admired the Twin Signatures. But the Blisses really are a new ball game. Again, the most dramatic improvements are in the immediacy of the midrange and authority of the bass. Where the Twins used to seduce with a degree of beguiling opacity, the Blisses amaze with the warmth, speed, and immediacy of a 'live' performance. And where the Twins sometimes wanted a subwoofer to fill them out, the Blisses often sound as if they are already subs somewhere in the room. Still no hint of the brightness or over-assertiveness that often accompany great presence. Just there-ness. The Blisses are warm, immediate, passionate, and fast. What they do for saxes and cellos will amaze.

I am getting the sense it will take me quite a while to discover all that these little miracles can perform, especially on the JMR Magic Stands. More than even their predecessors, the Blisses are the kings of the under $2000 speaker market. $1995."

I wouldn't rule out metal drivers automatically. I've heard some metal drivers that sound the way soft drivers are supposed to sound. And I've heard soft drivers that sound the way metal ones are supposed to sound. I believe it depends on how the driver is employed rather than what it is made out of.

-Bob

Totem Acoustic speakers can be positively magical with classical music in particular--HUGE soundstage and great transparency without being at all harsh or "analytical".