What about the Hales Transcendence 5's

I do remember,just from the review, they said the 5's weren't all that much better than the 3's. I have heard good things about the 8's.

The T5 is a very musical speaker. I use a pair in my office system. Tried them at home in my large room, but preferred the T-8s at home. I also have 5 T-3s that I use for surround sound. The T-5 goes deeper than the T-3. I compared the T-5s to Dunlavy 4A's and preferred the T-5. You've got a great little speaker!!!

If I recall, the T5 got a bad rap for poor integration between the woofer and the midrange. I heard it driven by a huge Theta amp and Naim CD. That aluminum midrange is very immediate, resolved and open; practically electrostatic. The speaker was a bit bass-shy in that room, and ultimately a little dry and clinical for my taste. A sonically excellent speaker, to be sure. I might have warmed them up with some tubes in the chain, perhaps.

You might want to read Fred Kaplan's review of the T5 in the Absolute Sound. I think it's issue 125. He found none of the problems listed above, and I know Fred, professionally speaking. He's an extremely perceptive reviewer. It seems unlikely that he would adopt the T5 as his reference if had any significant issues or "integration" problems.