Acoustic Zen Crescendo Mk2 or Daedalus Ulysses v2

I agree with Roscoe that these two speakers aren't ideal with your requirements. Both are more intimate sounding, despite size.

I've owned the Ulysses. Nice speakers with exceptional cabinetry... but I agree with Roscoe and Kiethr in that they don't excel in the areas you desire. I sold mine to go back to Harbeth M-40.1's.

fwiw, Mtrot there are several speakers that do provide the sound you're looking for.

First are horns like Avantgarde. Second are Zu Definitions. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but they are big, open, with great tone and dynamic as hell with sealed bass. They won't win over the nuance/reticent speaker crowd like Harbeth/SF/Audio Note and won't image or resolve like a microscope Magico, so its personal taste.

@Mtrot I haven't left them running LARGE, but that's also because I have custom subs (4x15" drivers in a sealed configuration; 4000W) I built myself that will hit 115dB peak at 5Hz, flat response through a simulated Linkwitz-Transform. I do have a large, open room.

I would see no problem with keeping Crescendos set to LARGE if you are listening to movies around 75dB with 95dB peaks at your seat, assuming you sit about ~10-15 feet away from the speakers. You could go higher in volume but I think that's probably about the point you will get better results from really beefy subs. You can't cheat physics. :-)

I guess I should clarify a bit. I didn't mean I was looking for the characteristics I stated above at the expense of other qualities of good speakers. I simply am looking for an overall good speaker that will be an improvement over my current speakers in those areas. I also have my doubts about the quality of the crossovers and other internal components and wiring of my current speakers. It may be that, since my speakers are pretty old, that there are a plethora of current or recent models that will achieve that.

One of the reasons I even mentioned the AZ and the Daedalus is that I read reviews praising them for the qualities I am looking for. But I do want a nice soundstage and imaging as well.

Hopefully, this clarification may move the AZ and Daedalus up in the hierarchy of possible choices, but I am open to other options as well. As I said above, whatever I get needs to be a sort of "jack of all trades", as they will be used for both music of many genres, as well as HT.