Basically your wish list described the AV123 Strata Mini. A very revealing mid with a smooth top end (genesis tweeter). Has adjustable bass output and sounds best in the near/mid field. A very smooth,non-fatiguing speaker. Only problem is that they are to cheap for your budget so you will probably discount them.
Speaker suggestions:long-wall, somewhat nearfield.
I sit 7-feet from the front of the speakers, and leave
about 2 or 2.5 feet from the back of the speaker to the wall behind them. There is tons of room to the sides.
I want to avoid piercing highs, boomy-loose bass,
grainy etched vocals,
or too-forward/ringing mids; (basically anything that
would have me recoiling from the sound or causing listening
fatigue, with classical or lesser-quality rock/pop CDs.)
Repeating my main priority: don't want fatigue, even at the
expense of other audiophile goodies.
Wilson Watt Puppy sixes used to be here but vocals were
dry and scratchy and so were strings. Aerial 10Ts were here
and worked pretty well but the bass was a little one-note,
but I could have lived with them long term (they were forgiving on even the worst CDs). Piega P10s had pushy upper bass and lower mids (any bell-like sound gave me a headache). Apogee Stages were pretty wonderful but the woofers broke and couldn't be repaired.
Thinking: Harbeth, SP Tech, Vandersteen 5As, Quad 2805s
but I am open to anything. Budget: under $11K, new or used.
Upstream: Edge NL12.1 amp, Mac C46 pre, EMM SE cdp,
Stealth Indra ICs, Cardas Golden Ref speaker cable.
Thanks again to anyone out there for your kind assistance.
about 2 or 2.5 feet from the back of the speaker to the wall behind them. There is tons of room to the sides.
I want to avoid piercing highs, boomy-loose bass,
grainy etched vocals,
or too-forward/ringing mids; (basically anything that
would have me recoiling from the sound or causing listening
fatigue, with classical or lesser-quality rock/pop CDs.)
Repeating my main priority: don't want fatigue, even at the
expense of other audiophile goodies.
Wilson Watt Puppy sixes used to be here but vocals were
dry and scratchy and so were strings. Aerial 10Ts were here
and worked pretty well but the bass was a little one-note,
but I could have lived with them long term (they were forgiving on even the worst CDs). Piega P10s had pushy upper bass and lower mids (any bell-like sound gave me a headache). Apogee Stages were pretty wonderful but the woofers broke and couldn't be repaired.
Thinking: Harbeth, SP Tech, Vandersteen 5As, Quad 2805s
but I am open to anything. Budget: under $11K, new or used.
Upstream: Edge NL12.1 amp, Mac C46 pre, EMM SE cdp,
Stealth Indra ICs, Cardas Golden Ref speaker cable.
Thanks again to anyone out there for your kind assistance.