Top 5 Entry-level audiophile speakers $1500-2000?

Do you have a preference for stand mounted or floor standing? Is that price for new or used?

At that price new, you would have to look at Vandersteen 2CE Sigs, I would think, for a floor stander. For a monitor, Sequerra Met 7s.

x2 on Deja Vu Audio in Mclean. Great guy to deal with. Give him a a call, take some music with you and enjoy. You don't just want speakers, you want a relationship with a good dealer.

Even though I'm a BIG fan & loyal owner of Dynaudio speakers, low volume listening is not their strong suit. I'd recommend looking for some high efficiency speakers that can easily be driven by a moderately powered tube integrated amp.

Jond's advice is probably sound... Spendor, Proac & Audio Note are all very well respected speaker manufacturers... throw Harbeth into that list as well.

Note: You will be able to get much more bang for your buck if you can find what you want used on Audiogon... get a $3 or $4K speaker for less than $2K.

Being that you are in the DC area, the Deja Vu recommendation sounds solid given their speaker lineup, don't know where you could audition the Harbeths which are also excellent. The Vandersteen 2Ces are probably the best long-term recommendation for a "full-range" floor stander in that price range (a used pair of Acoustic Zen Adagios would also be on my list at that price range), there is a Vandersteen dealer just north of DC on Conneticutt Ave whose name I can't remember. I agree the Dynaudio needs to be "opened up" to sound their best (there is a dealer in Bethesda). If I was looking for bookshelf speakers all the one's mentioned ProAc, Spendor, AudioNote, Harbeths, are excellent; but I would go with the smaller Merlins. I think you now have a list of excellent speakers to consider - they are all good in their own way and can't go wrong with any of them IMHO.