Speaker Suggestions $30K Sasha DAW competitor?

UPDATE 1:  Ruled out speakers:  I have auditioned the Magico A5 and The Rockport Atria II.  Here are my impressions, the Magico sounded like the speakers were boxed in.  Like the sound was coming from the speakers - just no soundstage.  I thought the Rockports had a better soundstage, but not the resolution of the Magico.  From my subjective view, I did not think either unit was as good as the Sasha 1.  I have had a hard time finding some of the other speakers.  I may have to face the fact that the DAW is where I will end up being, I was hoping to get the Alexia V and the DAW price from a different manufacturer - but that may not exist.  The Rockports were being driven by Parasound - not the best - but not the worst either.  The Magico's were driven by Boulder - which people say is a good amp.  Super nice guy who took the time to show me some different offerings.  I showed my girlfriend the KMD700R - she said "I wouldn't have those in my house" - they look like an erector set project - sorry @rick2000.

Hear that?  The Joseph Audio Pearls are calling your name.  Imaging/soundstage to die for with a total disappearing act JA is known for with plenty of detail that sounds natural and not forced.  Worth a trip IMHO, especially at this price level.  Just my $0.02 FWIW. 

Can anyone explain the differences between the Joseph Pearl vs Perspectives? Room is about 16' x 26'

Curious minds would like to know.

@soix

The Joseph Audio Pearls are calling your name.

So I have been looking for their distributors - here is their website which has not been updated in almost 4 years. No phone number, no address.  (I especially like there is a picture of a land-line on the contact page - oopsy). So what would happen if there were problems? No dealer locator is listed. Kind of nervous about them. Crazy that basic stuff some of these manufacturers blow it on. Some have non-transferable warranties, or no returns, must be boosted, or have no contact info. This is basic stuff. You can call Rowland and chances are Jeff will pick up the phone, he stands behind his stuff - even when it is WAY out of warranty. That is what one would expect when you are spending $20K on an amp. But I am going to keep trying to hunt down that speaker.  If I find it and buy it they should give you a spiff - you're the best marketing that they have.

I totally agree with you — it’s unforgivable to me they don’t list a dealer network. No excuse for that in any way. You have to call or email to find a dealer, which is just absurd in this day and age, and I even wrote them an email about it about 6 months ago. But, when you do call (at least when they listed a phone#) you’re likely to speak directly with Jeff Joseph, and he’s great when you talk to him. Also, they’ve been around for about 30 years or so and I don’t think over that time I’ve heard a negative comment on reliability or service so I’m sure they’ve got it worked out somehow. What prompted my comment was if you melded the best qualities of your experience with the A5 and Atrias you’d have the Pearls (although I think the Pearls image/soundstage/disappear even better than Rockports). In truth, I’m not sure you got a great audition of the A5s and sounds like there may have been a setup issue of some kind, but I agree with your assessment of Rockports, especially in the treble — they tend to be a little too laid back for me in that region although otherwise great-sounding speakers (I heard them with Boulder amp/pre and top MSB DAC BTW). I also got to hear the Q7 with Vitus monoblock amps/pre (forget the DAC) and though I greatly respected them they didn’t seem to capture the “soul” of the music to really suck me in. I honestly don’t think you could go wrong with the DAW, but I also wouldn’t buy them without at least hearing the Pearls because from what you’ve said I think they do everything you’re looking for in spades. Also, they’re not nearly as persnickety to set up as Wilsons are — they of course benefit from better placement, but you don’t have to have JA set them up or sweat 1mm movements to get the sound dialed in, and I also think they’re easier to drive. Plus, at least to my eye, they’re very attractive speakers and not likely to raise girlfriend issues, so there’s that (although I personally like the aesthetics of Wilson’s speakers too, short of the monstrous Alexandrias and up). Again, FWIW.