As a Europa owner I'll chip in and say that the treble, imaging, soundstage and microdynamics are all superb. They do also have an uncanny ability to bring out the best in all recordings, and make bad recordings enjoyable.
But I do find them a little lacking in bass for rock music. I have a REL strata sub crossed with the Europas and the overall result is great. On their own I think I might not be entirely happy for rock music.
You might get better bass from the europas with all that power on tap. The europas are 4 ohms, so you need current more than power. My amp is 60wpc into 8ohms, 120wpc into 4 ohms, so it's not veyr powerful, but it has a good ability to supply current.
User Europas run about $600 and a used REL runs about $800, so it's a bit over your budget, but a superb combination, which I'd guess would compete with most speakers this side of $5000.
But I do find them a little lacking in bass for rock music. I have a REL strata sub crossed with the Europas and the overall result is great. On their own I think I might not be entirely happy for rock music.
You might get better bass from the europas with all that power on tap. The europas are 4 ohms, so you need current more than power. My amp is 60wpc into 8ohms, 120wpc into 4 ohms, so it's not veyr powerful, but it has a good ability to supply current.
User Europas run about $600 and a used REL runs about $800, so it's a bit over your budget, but a superb combination, which I'd guess would compete with most speakers this side of $5000.