Best speaker between 15K-35K

Adding a sub to ANY great speaker is more about ironing out room-rez bumps, right? I remember hearing the W/P 6 just before getting my Parsifal Encores. The dealer (who sold both) was puzzled that the W/Ps were coming back from a customer who preferred the Encores. But we also noticed that the Wilsons prodigious bass was overpowering the room, requiring more careful placement than the friendlier Encores.
Certainly a fine sub, well-positioned, can allow for speaker-positioning with staging in mind rather than best bass smoothness. The W/Ps clearly need a bigger room than the Encores....
Smoothjazz, your near-cubical room is REALLY challenging!
You may have to set up a non-symmetrical placement, probably a nearfield triangle, to eliminate those huge primary bumps. Good luck.

If you like the transparency and realism of electrostatic speakers, but you are interested in dynamics it's now possible to have your cake and it it too. From everything I've heard from Green Mountain Audio C-3's owners they have Quad/Sound Lab/Maggie type transparency and realism through the mid range and ultra fast/tight bass that adroitly presents all types of music.

I tell you what. After going to CES, and hearing a lot, the Talon Firebirds really are extraordinary.

The W/P 7s were terrible, but i suspect the room there.

The Dynaudio C2s sounded great as well.

Kharmas sounded good, but i thought there was better sound at the show.

IMHO, try discontinued Cello Stradivari Master (used runs about $12K) or Grand Stradivari Master (used $24K) (Dynaudio driver version) and we will be surprised by them.

BTW, FYI my system is Pass X-600 + ARC Ref. 2 MKI + Cello Strad Master.

Good luck.

As appealing as it is to weigh in on this convo, I gotta agree with all those who mention the room environment and the listener’s expectations as a key to finding the right speaker.  Do you want or require high volume “live concert” SPLs?  Are we talking symphony or hip hop?  The budget is enough to get great results any number of ways. Know the target before choosing the weapon!