Excellent Speakers for Classical Music - $2,000 USD Budget


Hello All...I am primarily a classical music listener, leaning more towards solo piano, symphony/orchestral, and chamber music. I have a Rotel A14 integrated amp in which I plan to add mono amplifiers to at some point in the future. I let a pair of B&W 804 Nautilus Speakers slip through my fingers recently. There is a B&W 804 Matrix set for sale near me, but don’t know if the Nautilus are better than the Matrix. So, I let a good pair slip through my fingers. But, it got me to thinking...Are there any other brands that I should consider besides B&W? I had in mind to audition Magenpan and Martin Logan electrostatics. Seeing that I only want to spend around $2,000, does anyone have any ideas?

In my office, I use Adam A7x nearfield monitors with ribbon tweeters, and for headphones, I love my Sennheiser 800S’. I like a nice detailed, clear, and forward sound. Would another ribbon tweeter floor standing set do it for me? Electrostats the way to go?

Looking forward to your suggestions.
128x128dfwbach
Holy sh*t --those Spendors. 1/3 the MSRP and dynamite product. I'd buy these in a heartbeat. @jjss49 has got great ears and lots of experience. Listen to him.
I wish I could audition the Spendors as I've never heard them before. I've heard Harbeth is great, but I had to chance to hear them in Japan and they were too warm for my taste.
The Spendor 9/1 is effectively a floor standing SP 100. The SP 100 retails for about $12,000, plus you need to buy stands.

If you don’t like that resell them. These do not come up for sale often. The Rosewood finish is stunning.

I used to own these and I agree that the Harbeth are too warm.
op will learn -- you snooze you waffle you worry about audition

cherry used gear, universally beloved, at good price... doesn’t last