Do these speakers exist?

The Vandersteens are just a bit off on the sensitivity. 87 is not high enough. Not in an open room. I'll have to try to hear these speakers, though. Never heard them.

Is the question stupid? Forget about 845 SETs if you want speakers like this? Yes, well, maybe at least one of these "requirements" has to give. That may be the way it is. That's why I asked.

A bit more on single-drivers: in my experience they can sound quite good but, again, just not "SOTA". The GM C3s blew me away and meet all the criteria *except* price. The Thiel 3.7s did too but not to quite the same extent. And it may be true that those will not do well with 20-30W either.

Am I pathetic, or what?!

Are you kidding? You held steady with one pair of speakers for 6 whole months...C'mon, get with the program here.

The C3s "blew me away". If they weren't $17K

The last two pair in the classifieds were both listed for under $5K. It could be worth the wait. The GMA's are outstanding speakers, as you already know.

$5K? For the current version? Hard to believe.

Roy is such a great guy to deal with, such an asset to the industry, and has taken so much time to answer questions, I'd honestly feel a bit guilty about buying them used. Maybe that's stupid. I suppose that's better than buying something else or not buying anything! Actually that latter idea is the best one...