Which speakers for top notch system

You should include the Revel Salon and Sonus Faber Amati in your price range. I haven't listen to the Watt/Puppy 7s. But have listened to the Watt/Puppy 6s, and I liked the Salon and Amati much better.

My favorites are the Avalon Eidolon's. The Sonus Faber Amati's are also very good. I second the Revel Salon vote as well. (I have the Revel Studio, the little brother to the Salon and really like them. I doubt I will be upgrading them for many years to come.)

Good Luck in your search!

PS I can't remember how powerful the Lamm amp is, but you will need lots of power for either the Eidolons or the Salons. Make sure you have at least 300-400W/ch with either speaker.

I like ATC active 100's better than Verity Audio Parsifal Encores or Wilson Sofias (give these a listen before buying the WATT/Puppy 7's if you can). Real bass but tight and fast. One of the most transparent midrange drivers in the world. You will see plenty of raves here by the people who have heard them and the British press. They are $15,000 and come with 6 amps built in along with external crossover.

i listened to the watt puppy 7 and sophia speakers at he2003 and they sounded very good. I also think that the Revel salons sound better than the watt puppy 7's and most other speakers for larger rooms.

The Eidolon is a great speaker and will go wherever the rest of the system takes them. You need to hear the Eidolons in an excellent system to get a complete impression of what they can do - I had the misfortune of attending more than one poor demos during which I wondered whether they were the same speaker that I am used to.

Depending on the SPL you crave, the Lamm may just be powerful enough or not. You can get by with less than 300 to 400 Watts unless you want to fill a truly huge room with sound. My Pass X350 practically never moves its Ampere meter even when I crank it up. A friend of mine runs Eidolon Diamonds on Pass XA160 monos and they are plenty powerful enough at 160 Watts.

Whether the Eidolon would match the Lamm sonicwise is best tried out. The Eidolons have a reputation for not being the easiest speakers to drive.

The Eidolon Diamond, despite sharing the name and looks with the Eidolon, is not the same speaker (except for the midrange driver). Give it a listen too.