best speakers for vocals?

I would have three personal favorites within your budget/listening preference parameters. One's just out, one is tried and true, and one is venerated vintage. Each different from the others in physical size and system requirements, but all with one thing in common: they're electrostats.

Nothing comes close to electrostats in these areas.Once you live with them for a while you come to realise how tonally wrong and box bound dynamic speakers sound.
Other than that the Edgar midrange horns are pretty good and if you really want box speakers the modern day derivatives of the BBC designed monitors [like Harbeth and Spendor] come closest.Also adding ribbon super tweeters to pretty much anything adds "air".
Artists such as Alison Kraus,Eva Cassidy,Mary Black,Frances Black,Mindy Smith,Casey Chambers are good tests for this.Many speakers kill the vibrato in their voices.

JT

Merlins....very clear and real...

Thanks everyone. My only problem with electrostats are their size and lack of bass...granted i have only heard the martin logans. but i agree the sound is crystal clear. one thing though, i did not find electrostats be as warm and emotional and I would have preferred. am i wrong?

I agree with Songwriter72 on this one. I own the Green Mountain Audio Callisto which are way under your budget. Live sound with voice like the band is right in front of me. Friends say the band is here. You could easily move up the GMA line. Give Roy Johnson a call at GMA.

http://www.greenmountainaudio.com