First - thank-you to everybody who contributed to this post. I am new to the site & found all of the information incredibly helpful in discerning what to buy. In the end I listened carefully to 13 different speakers in the $5,000 - $21,000 range and ended up with Magico S1's.
I am thrilled with the choice that I made. I did some of the listening with two friends with great ears and what stood out is that in almost every case we all had the same impressions of every set of speakers. We had the chance to listen to the S1's in a small room (a converted garage) and the musicality, timbre, clarity, fullness of bass far surpassed all of the other speakers in my price range. They are 2 way speakers, but not monitors.
I am thrilled with the choice that I made. I did some of the listening with two friends with great ears and what stood out is that in almost every case we all had the same impressions of every set of speakers. We had the chance to listen to the S1's in a small room (a converted garage) and the musicality, timbre, clarity, fullness of bass far surpassed all of the other speakers in my price range. They are 2 way speakers, but not monitors.