This question is right up my alley as I have been listening to the Kestrels as my go to speakers for about ten years now. Actually decided on them when I owned a pair of Vandy 1Cs and had to sell one or the other. In my experience, the Kestrels are one of the most natural sounding speakers bar none. Liked them so much I once owned three pairs.
Because internet buying has been so easy I have tried many different speakers searching to better the Kestrels. The speaker I like as much as the Kestrel is the Soliloquy 5.0 monitor. Surprising as the main thing they have in common is they are both from companies no longer in business.
Meadowlark Kestel IIs, Shearwater Hot Rods, Magnepan 12Qr, Thiel 1.6, Dynaudio 1.3SE, Dynaudio Focus 110, Proac Response 1.5, PSB Platinum ?? and a few others have been on and out. The speaker I am using now, that I think is here to stay is the Audio Physic Tempo IV. These speakers have a wonderful soundstage with depth and width, great bass and the most detailed, yet forgiving treble I have experienced. I suffer from mild tinnitus which makes harsh treble hard to listen to. With the Tempo IVs I seem to be able to listen at higher than usual volume with no discomfort. It's something common to both the Kestrels and Soliloquy, and I lobe that.
You didn't mention price but a pair of Tempo IVs was recently listed here for $1250. Seemed like a real bargain for a speaker that listed for $4k+ just a few years ago. Good luck.
