Most forgiving high end speaker 10k-20k?

Investigate the Silverline Bolero speakers. They are a (very) high resolution speakers but their tonal balance can really get you were you want to go. They are high resolution speakers with no artificially pumped up upper frequencies to help create a 'sense of resolution' and imaging. What they have is a mild frequency dip between 1500 and 3000 hz. This dip is right in the range where you hear most of the objectionable (harsh/fatiguing) information referred to as 'upper mid-range brightness'. You give up nothing in resolution or imaging from the best box speakers to get this tonal balance. The speaker are good with tube amps - they are easy to drive, but you can sure tell the difference in components and ancillaries with out difficulty. I use them in a 13.5' x 19.5'x 9' room with great success (I've had them 4.5 years and they aren't going anywhere). They were very easy to set up in a traditional placement in a dedicated room and the fit, finish, and overall appearance is outstanding.

These speakers were preceded (over 30 years) by quite a few high end boxes, and panel speakers including Quad 63's, and have been driven by some fairly high end electronics (all tubes), none of which have approached my content with them.

Highly recommended! There are a number of reviews on line which will give you an idea of what they might sound like to you.

Hope that helps a bit.

FWIW I think a well executed tone control, such as an equalizer or, better yet, a simple three band (bass/mid range/highs with mids centered on 1500 to 2000 hz) could be just the ticket for you and many critical audiophiles provided that you use it in a tape loop where you can disable it with the flick of a switch. Down side on an equalizer is that many audiophiles would be moving sliders about continually trying to optimize every recording (anal?, perhaps. Nah not an audiophile:-).

Jeffkad, I consider the presence region to be between 1000 and 3000 hz. Broadly increasing or decreasing the presence region, without touching the highs or low mids/bass can make a large difference in prospective without touching the bass or highs the latter of which has a great influence on soundstage size and depth.