Kharma CRM3.2 FE vs Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario

Downunder, I love the 5's and the upgrade to the 5a's would be a very cost effective way of improving the sound even more. The reason I'm interested in changing speakers is that as we have improved our living room decor my wife has become increasingly disenchanted with the looks of the 5's. She would prefer speakers that are more attractive and preferably smaller That is why I'm thinking of the Kharma's and Amati's.

Argento, I thought about Avalons, except I was considering the Opus, since I believed the Eidolon's would be too much speaker for our LR (12x18). Also, I don't have the amp the Eidolon needs to sound their best, so that upgrade would add a lot more to the cost. At least that has been my thinking to this point. The Opus might be a good, and less expensive option though.

Jonathan, I was hoping you'd respond, given your extensive experience with the Kharmas. I knew I'd lose bass depth with the Kharmas, but didn't think I'd give up dynamics. Could you elaborate?

Jonathan, thanks for that insight. After reading your response and hearing from Glide2 (who I think you know), I've decided to remove the Kharmas from the list. He suggested adding the Wilson Benesch, which I haven't seen, but plan on looking to see if someone near Chicago carries them. I'll keep the Avalons in contention too, since they meet my size and aesthetics criteria. Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

I 'm sure that changing to the Von Schweikert's would be a step up from the Vandy's if I got in the $20k+ range of the line, however, they won't clear the WAF hurdle that initiated this quest to replace the 5's. My musical preferences are jazz, classical, and a mix of other genres (Blues, Bluegrass, 60's rock and soul, pop). I don't want to give up anything that I'm getting with the Vandersteens, but realize that it will be costly to improve on their sound plus make a major advance in appearence.

Addendum: Musical preferences= good PRAT, clarity of mid-range for reproduction of voices, including massed voices, good bass for classical orchestral fundmentals, good dynamics. Don't need razor sharp imaging, or exagerated depth, or "analytical" sound.