speakers for classical music

Fear not Mapman, I sport several of those sillybones myself! G.

Merlins

I've heard Hansen Audio Prince v2s, and they were tremendous in all respects. I noticed that there was a tangential discussion on the "Rite of Spring" versions, and for my money, Valery Gergiev's live account is hard to beat. It's by far the most bloodthirsty account, way outclasses the Ozawa version. Sure it might not be as polished or detailed as some versions, but Gergiev really gets the violence of the piece. Also, it might be worth going for the Stravinsky 3 ballets LP set from Speakers Corner if you need a "Rite" LP.

Anyway, the Princes were amazing with the Rite, as well as the Mahler 2nd conducted by Ivan Fischer. The field of sound was huge. The music sounded open, liquid & honest. No compromises on low end, either. Just tremendous; one of the very best I've heard.

That said, I still prefer my Harbeth Super HL5s for small ensemble chamber pieces and piano solos. The tone is warmer, more refulgent. Not as "transparent" as the Princes, but very clear, too. Listening to late Beethoven quartets or the last Schubert sonatas is perhaps my favorite listening activity; and the Harbeths are very hard to beat for this. It also helps that the Harbeths are a very easy load for amplifiers (I'm using 28 wpc from Leben CS600). I'm very keen to try some speakers with PHY HP drivers, though...

Well I moved up to a pair of JM Lab 927BE Speakers and the midrange and highs are simply light years beyond the older Thiels I had for some time. Truly a great speaker and usually a pair comes up on Audiogon every month or so. They also look as good as they sound.

Dynamics are the main limitations of Quads and Maggies for that matter when it comes to accurately reproducing large scale symphonic works.

My current Ohm Walsh speakers are the best I've owned at that.