stuck in quagmire of speakers,someone pull me out

You call that a short list?? :-)

How many of them have you actually listened to? I agree with Sean Taylor--that's the only way out of the quagmire.

i have a marantz 80wx2 amp and a rotel rcd 951 cd player.i listen to country,soft rock,folk,fusion,classical,jazz. i do not like metal,techno ,rap.I have not heard any of the above and have compiled the list from consumer reviews.my budget 400$.for some reason i need to chose from the above brands only.there is no epos dealer in my country.is that of any help,guys?

The best choice is to go and listen. Choose a couple that you like and then go for an in-home audition.

If you're buying any of these sight unseen, then I'd reluctantly recommend the B&Ws simply for the reason that they'll hold the most value should you decide to try something else. I don't, however, think that they'd be a good match for your system.

You really need to listen. Also, I can't help but notice that almost all of the speakers are British. Coincidence?

You should probably add a couple of Canucks to the mix - Try PSB and Paradigm.

Try ProAc,Spendor,Dynaudio and Vienna Acoustics too.

I agree w/the previous posts. You really should go out and audition (perferably in your own home) and see which will float your boat. You'll need good stands as well. (Consider Atacama Nexus 6) You can read reviews on www.ecoustics.com and www.audioreview.com to get a sense of others experiences/impressions of various products. Good Luck w/your quest.