Help with new speakers


I own a pair of the paradigm tributes, first pair actually (serial numbers 1&2), but am thinking about going much higher end. I have listened to almost all of the b&w 800's and though i like the 802D's i'm not in love with them. Same thing with the mcintosh xr100's and dynaudio chorus 2. Any other suggestions in the $10-20k range that i can power with rotel 500 watt mono's..

Also, opinion on what i can get for my tributes? I've had them for about a year and they are factory perfect. they are in a dedicated 2 channel setup, not home theater so they probably have a hundred hours or less on them. The cool thing is that they're the first pair. It was totally by luck that i got them but i think they'd be worth more because of the exclusivity, thoughts?
gary324
Have you listened to anything from Vandersteen? Choosing speaker is 100% subjective and personal. All I can say is Vandersteen sound very different from B&W and I like the Vandy better (I own a pair of Vandy 5). You might want to give them an audition and see how you like or dislike them.
If you want something to fall in love with, try Sonus Faber in your price range, or Magnepan plus (optionally) quality subwoofers to extend the bass and pressurize bigger rooms. I have a modest pair of Maggie 1.7 and a pair of small subs to augment them and I'm really happy with the results.

Sonus Fabers have a seductive quality about them. They manage to have a low noise floor, high resolution, excellent power response, and yet always sound musical and never sterile or clinical. I heard a pair of $10K Cremona Ms powered by a $999 Marantz PM8004 integrated amp to great effect, so your Rotel MBs should sound fine with them.
ProAc has always been my favorite. Based only on the brands I've actually heard. Many others I would go out of my way to demo if I were spending that much.