Baileyje, When you say "What I'm listening for is detail and separation in the choral parts without being muddied up with bass," I think that almost reads like a prescription for Quad electrostatics. They have detail, separation, speed and snap, clarity in spades, and there definitely will not be any muddying of the bass with them. The older Quads (bought used) are often employed in stacked pairs by audiophiles who are Quad buffs. When properly set up these can be extremely accurate and impressive. (I don't own Quads but have often listened to various Quad setups and have always been impressed with their excellences.)
I would suggest you avoid anythng with a metal dome tweeter; to my ears these always wind up sounding hard and, well, metallic. For example, I recently bought a new closeout pair of Paradigm's top-of-the-line speaker, the Studio 100 (v.2), MSRP $2,400 the pair. These are big (120 pounds each), good looking, well designed, and built like battleships. Excellent midrange and bass (good down to 32 Hz in the room where I had them), but I just couldn't live with the metal dome tweeters. I should have known better than to buy them, since I've never heard a metal dome tweeter I could live with. (I'm not anti-Paradigm, and I think their top-of-the-line Servo-15 subwoofer is absolutely marvelous, a first-choice recommendation.)
I would also like to support the other post that suggests you look to your other equipment. Those new to high-end audio too often make the mistake of attributing everything they hear to the speaker, and this is an easy mistake to make since after all that's where all the sound emanates. But if you are putting together a first-class system, you have to start with a first-class CD player and first-class amplification. Then you also need high-quality (but not necessarily expensive) speaker cables and interconnects.
It can be very helpful if you have a high-end audio retailer in your area who will actually let you try out various components in your home before you buy them; this is a great way to avoid costly mistakes (like mine in buying the big metal-dome-tweetered Paradigms). However, finding such dealers is increasingly difficult, and as you mention living in a rural area, this may not be an option for you.
I'm been fooling around with high-end audio gear for 40 years (I have at least eight pairs of speakers around here, including several that are big, heavy, and expensive, and three different subwoofers, plus an embarrassing number of amps, tuners, and CD players). I have learned a lot by trial and error (making some expensive mistakes along the way), and now buy gear almost exclusively USED on Audiogon and eBay. You can simply get a whole lot more for your money this way. I hesitate to recommend this process to a relative newcomer, however, because you need to know what you are doing before taking this plunge. Do you have any knowledgeable audiophile friend who could give you a hand?
Do a lot of listening, take your favorite reference CDs with you when you listen, and try to filter out distractions and listen carefully, critically, and objectively, without a salesman jawing in your ear. Even with the best efforts in this regard, however, the moment of truth usually comes when you get the gear home. Many audiophiles have found it works well to start with selecting speakers they really like, and then work backwards, choosing amplification that works well with those speakers. (There is no such thing as "the best amplifier" in a vacuum.) I recommend this approach. Don't let anyone else choose your speakers for you; it's fine to listen to advice, but let your own ears make the choice.
By the way, I have the Gardiner Archiv B Minor Mass, which I regard highly, and thanks to this thread I'm going to acquire the Monteverdi. So I learned something here.
Hope this helps a little, and good luck to you.
I would suggest you avoid anythng with a metal dome tweeter; to my ears these always wind up sounding hard and, well, metallic. For example, I recently bought a new closeout pair of Paradigm's top-of-the-line speaker, the Studio 100 (v.2), MSRP $2,400 the pair. These are big (120 pounds each), good looking, well designed, and built like battleships. Excellent midrange and bass (good down to 32 Hz in the room where I had them), but I just couldn't live with the metal dome tweeters. I should have known better than to buy them, since I've never heard a metal dome tweeter I could live with. (I'm not anti-Paradigm, and I think their top-of-the-line Servo-15 subwoofer is absolutely marvelous, a first-choice recommendation.)
I would also like to support the other post that suggests you look to your other equipment. Those new to high-end audio too often make the mistake of attributing everything they hear to the speaker, and this is an easy mistake to make since after all that's where all the sound emanates. But if you are putting together a first-class system, you have to start with a first-class CD player and first-class amplification. Then you also need high-quality (but not necessarily expensive) speaker cables and interconnects.
It can be very helpful if you have a high-end audio retailer in your area who will actually let you try out various components in your home before you buy them; this is a great way to avoid costly mistakes (like mine in buying the big metal-dome-tweetered Paradigms). However, finding such dealers is increasingly difficult, and as you mention living in a rural area, this may not be an option for you.
I'm been fooling around with high-end audio gear for 40 years (I have at least eight pairs of speakers around here, including several that are big, heavy, and expensive, and three different subwoofers, plus an embarrassing number of amps, tuners, and CD players). I have learned a lot by trial and error (making some expensive mistakes along the way), and now buy gear almost exclusively USED on Audiogon and eBay. You can simply get a whole lot more for your money this way. I hesitate to recommend this process to a relative newcomer, however, because you need to know what you are doing before taking this plunge. Do you have any knowledgeable audiophile friend who could give you a hand?
Do a lot of listening, take your favorite reference CDs with you when you listen, and try to filter out distractions and listen carefully, critically, and objectively, without a salesman jawing in your ear. Even with the best efforts in this regard, however, the moment of truth usually comes when you get the gear home. Many audiophiles have found it works well to start with selecting speakers they really like, and then work backwards, choosing amplification that works well with those speakers. (There is no such thing as "the best amplifier" in a vacuum.) I recommend this approach. Don't let anyone else choose your speakers for you; it's fine to listen to advice, but let your own ears make the choice.
By the way, I have the Gardiner Archiv B Minor Mass, which I regard highly, and thanks to this thread I'm going to acquire the Monteverdi. So I learned something here.
Hope this helps a little, and good luck to you.