Opinions on speakers

You wouldn't want to give any clues regarding room size, listening preferences, associated electronics, musical taste or anything else germaine to the discussion would you?

There is only one on your list that I have heard, which is the Pioneer S-2EX. I was very impressed by its sound, and it looks great with its companion stands. I compared it to the B&W 804 Diamond and actually preferred the Pioneer, but I went with the B&W (despite a much higher price tag) because I felt the the B&W would hold more of its value over time and be easier to sell if need be. The Pioneer is not well known.

If you do seriously consider the Pioneer, be aware that sells at a much deeper discount from its list price than most speakers. I recall the list on the speakers being $7000 and the list on the stands being around $1500. A dealer offered to sell me the speakers with the stands (all brand new, not demo) for $4500 total.

I have a Breeze owner ($1300) pair who compared them very favorably to his Clair Audents. I think he posts as Wcheng, something like that ... maybe he'll see this thread.

I have to admit, I do like the sound of the new Totem element series ... not as much top end air and extension as I'm used too, but very nice transparency and speed through the midrange. Enough so that I'd love to play with one of their woofers to see what it could do, but alas it's proprietary to Totem.

I thought that Steinway/Lyngdorf S-System was North of $20K?

I'll let the thread run it's course without interjecting, even though you do have 2 of my designs on the list :) If you want any more specifics on my work let me know, or if other want me to post it here I will. But I'd rather not make comparisons to other speakers out there ... I'll leave that for customers to do.

Cheers, Ryan