Speaker upgrade for classical music


Hi, I need recommendations for a speaker upgrade. I’m a classical violinist and listen almost exclusively to classical, opera and jazz. No movies, Atmos, etc.  I have a 17x14 listening room (doubles as practice room) with acoustical treatments (phase coherent diffusers at main reflection points and regular ones elsewhere).
Half my listening is in stereo and half in multi-channel (4.0 and 5.1).   All my recordings are either CDs or high-res—DSD and FLAC—audio files. I don’t have a turntable. 

My current system: Marantz SR 8012 amp, Yamaha S1000 CD transport, Exasound e38 DAC and Sigma streamer (connected to the Marantz with analog 5.0 inputs). Speakers: Polk Rti A7 stereo, CSi A6 center, Rti A3 surround, and dual REL T/7i subs. 
What I want: speakers with improved musical detail and clarity that really reproduces the expansiveness of the symphony hall or church. I like a warmer sound than a drier one.  What’s most important to me is to hear what the recording engineer heard. Budget: say 8k or less.

Recommendations?  One other thing: Can I try them out?  And how?  I’m in Santa Fe, not a huge metropolis with lots of audiophile shops. 
Thanks very much. 
ssmaudio

Showing 2 responses by jon_5912

I'd guess that almost any speaker you carefully is going to be a huge improvement over the Polks.  They're probably good for the money but compromises in floorstanders at that price point are huge.

I'd have a hard time saying no to these for 8k.  They've got powered bass so should be fine powered by a big receiver.
Vandersteen Model 5A Floorstanding Speakers; Gloss Black Wrapped Pair - The Music Room (tmraudio.com)

These would be awesome, I'd be a little concerned trying to power them and a bunch of other speakers from a single receiver.  You'd probably want to keep the volume moderate and eventually get a separate power amp to power them.  You could get something like a Parasound A21 for $12-1500
Thiel CS3.7 3.7 Speakers RARE and COMPLETE | eBay

If you want to go new I'd be hesitant to spend 8k.  It's such a huge jump from what you've got and you lose a ton of money if you decide you made a mistake.  The Vandersteen 2Ces are a good place to start for around 3k.  That basic model has been around for decades.
I definitely think trying fundamentally different types of designs is a good idea.  If you had a chance to hear some Martin Logans or Quads that'd be great, Magnepan is a different spin on the panel design.  There are some cone speakers that use small, light cones that sound a lot closer to electrostats than most speakers.  Think Thiel's 3" midrange or ATC's 3" mid dome.