Advice on choosing speakers


Hi all, first some background... I am a music lover first and foremost. I have resisted the urge to upgrade my system for many years now (1973 MA6100 integrated, 1975 4-way XR7's, and a KCD-20 CD player that were all bought used) - but I am getting ready to take the plunge. I plan to buy all new components end-to-end. I believe that the first step is to choose appropriate speakers, and then select source and amplification to match. I listen to a variey of music, and understand that finding speakers that will do all styles well will be a compromise. I listen probably about 40% to acoustic instruments and vocal (bluegrass, folk, country and jazz) and 60% to rock music in a large room. I do not have a specific budget, but let's say less than 10K used. My four criteria so far are:

1. Speakers that are sufficiently detailed and nuanced to reproduce the intricacies of acoustic sound; true audiophile quality sound.
2. Able to handle the attack and low end of rock music at high levels of volume.
3. Have aesthetic appeal - this is entirely personal taste.
4. Made by a company known with a L/T reputation for standing by their product from a parts/service/dealer perspective.

So far, I have listened to very few speakers. I liked the look, clarity and detail of the Nautilus 802's for example, but found then lacking in low end and perceived ease at higher volume levels with rock music. I will next audition the N801's. Am I barking up the wrong tree here?; can you recommend your favourite speakers that will give me that detail and trasnaparency while being able to produce a "wall of sound" at higher volumes?

Thanks in advance for your help!
matt_lane
If you get turned on by craftsmenship. Be sure to look at the Italian Sonus Fabers. I own their Concertinos, which is at the bottom of their line. But, the build is beautiful and solid. And I'm very pleased with the sound. But if I was your shoes I'd consider some of their floor models.
One brand you might go for is Genesis. They offer biamped models (you buy the spkrs with a subwoof amp included) and offer reasonable detail and low end attack. As some of their models retail for ~12-15k, they shoudl be well within your budget used.
My two cents is that you should investigate time and phase aligned speakers if you really want to hear the music as the artist intended. A few great brands who have been around for a long time and have quality reputations are vandersteen, theil, and green mountain audio. Have fun!
Go for some Merlin VSM-MM's,maybe 5K used,I've used an Ayre V5x,Berning ZH270,Counterpoint and a 40watt Rega integrated.They sounded really good with all those amps.Some speakers will drive you amp-crazy and are very dependant for current/voltage etc.Plus they have un-paralled service and advice[Thanks Bobby],good luck,Bob
What am I missing? Raquel recommends used speakers in the $10K range to listen to rock. Isn't rock music aimed at kids with boom boxes, where a high degree of distortion is part of the sound?

db