$9000 speaker Orangutan or speaker + amplifier

Music is indeed art, but the reproduction of it is an entirely different issue, regardless of whether or not it is "perfectly" reproduced. The issue is what is the goal, to attempt to reproduce the recording as accurately as possible or to create a distorted view of reality based on personal taste without concern for the former.

Agree with Arh, get the speakers you most prefer FIRST. On a further note it would be easier and quite likely less expensive to find a quality amp that would meld more ideally with a higher efficiency speaker than choosing a lower efficiency speaker that is going to be more limited in amplifier choices. Go with the speaker you REALLY like, which you indicated is the Orangutan, is this right? Your Pass is a really nice amp, maybe limited in the lower frequencies but I'd still bet it would sound great with those speakers, high efficiency and higher impedance. That speaker is going to love a lot of amplifiers if the Pass doesn't work out, even inexpensive SETs and of course OTLs, if either turns out to be your thing.

And Kidmann, I feel your passion, you make some very excellent points.

"Anyone attending regular concerts and wanting a very true rendition of the instruments at home can find the sound getting old after a while."

I think this gets to the crux of the issue at hand. From my personal viewpoint there are two kinds of listeners', those that REALLY are searching for a presentation that mimics real music in the space it was played, in other words maximizing what is on the recording and then there are those that settle for a sound based on their musical tastes and preferences. If one has eclectic tastes and listens to ALL types of music including large scale, the upper frequency and bass range as well as the midrange MUST be reproduced accurately to convey the performance, any coloration in any of these areas will eventually be realized to the critical listener and ultimately lead to fatigue and diminished pleasure over time. Why do so many keep changing gear as frequently as they do I keep wondering?

Kidmann your point of listening to live music as a benchmark in what to listen for in an audio system can not be overemphasized. I am sometimes astounded by some of the systems I have listened to from VERY experienced, seasoned audiophiles and it has nothing to do with achieving the absolute sound, too each his own and I guess this is the bottom line. It is why it is SO difficult to recommend anything without having a real sense of what a particular listener wants to achieve.

Furthermore your point concerning "impressionistic" really drove home to me the difference between artistic representation of music versus realism, indeed it comes down to what do you prefer, art vs. reality?