Acoustic Zen Crescendo Mk2 or Daedalus Ulysses v2

@Mtrot I haven't left them running LARGE, but that's also because I have custom subs (4x15" drivers in a sealed configuration; 4000W) I built myself that will hit 115dB peak at 5Hz, flat response through a simulated Linkwitz-Transform. I do have a large, open room.

I would see no problem with keeping Crescendos set to LARGE if you are listening to movies around 75dB with 95dB peaks at your seat, assuming you sit about ~10-15 feet away from the speakers. You could go higher in volume but I think that's probably about the point you will get better results from really beefy subs. You can't cheat physics. :-)

I guess I should clarify a bit. I didn't mean I was looking for the characteristics I stated above at the expense of other qualities of good speakers. I simply am looking for an overall good speaker that will be an improvement over my current speakers in those areas. I also have my doubts about the quality of the crossovers and other internal components and wiring of my current speakers. It may be that, since my speakers are pretty old, that there are a plethora of current or recent models that will achieve that.

One of the reasons I even mentioned the AZ and the Daedalus is that I read reviews praising them for the qualities I am looking for. But I do want a nice soundstage and imaging as well.

Hopefully, this clarification may move the AZ and Daedalus up in the hierarchy of possible choices, but I am open to other options as well. As I said above, whatever I get needs to be a sort of "jack of all trades", as they will be used for both music of many genres, as well as HT.

Mtrot, The DA-RMas are no longer made, the Athena is pretty much the same model, made as a floor stander instead of a large monitor.

When I auditioned at RMAF in 2009, I checked it against the Ullyses, with the same amps and rerally could'nt detect much difference, both excellent.

Acoustic Zen-heard both at RMAF.
Plenty of bass for my tastes and refinement to boot

If you have any specific questions about AZ I can try to answer them. For myself, these were the speakers I heard and immediately knew that I wanted. None of the other speakers I'd heard jumped out to me the same way. Regardless of price.

Like you, I wanted something that could run double duty for music and home theater and that narrows the choices because a lot of nice speakers have low sensitivity coupled with a maximum power handling that equals SPL less than reference level movie playback. (Or reference level 1812 Overture playback.)

Since you might be a few hours away from the nearest dealer in Texas, you could email or call Robert at AZ and ask if he knows of any customer in East Texas that might be willing to have you over to listen. Before I was a dealer I did that.