$1000-$2000 Floor-standing speakers for larger room w/NAD 326bee

Thanks for the suggestions! I've spent some time looking at PSB and Monitor and I like what I see in both (The Monitor Silver 8 and either the PSB Imagine T or X2t). Can anyone give some input on the "sound" of Monitor vs PSB (Neutral, forward, laid back, etc.) and any other significant differences I should be aware of? Any speaker I get will need to be fairly close to the front wall (1-2) feet, is one better than the other given that?

Thanks @tomcarr for the info on the Silver 8's. Any experience with PSB, are they less analytical and bright?

And yes, @wolf_garcia my Hawthorne Duets are covered in the same cloth as Vandy's and they were starting to show "battle scars" from our two new kittens. I really liked the sound they put out (accurate but neutral to slightly laid back). I think I could go a bit more aggressive on the sound with the new towers but I don't want to go too far in the other direction.

Actually, my placeholder $200 used Polk Tsi400's aren't sounding that bad at all once I played with the positioning. They have a decent soundstage and are brighter than my Hawthornes but not overly so. That's why I'm thinking the PSB Imagine might be worth a try since they are similar in speaker size and layout as the Polks.

@sunnyjim The Golden Ear model 7 looks appealing but they are covered with the acoustic cloth which is a "cat magnet". Is there a way to remove the cloth?

Hi, @tomic601 I was planning on going to HiFi Buys and see what they have.
As for the cats, they are a couple of very fun kitties but speaker cloth attracts them from all corners of the house. The Polk Tsi400's have the grills removed and neither of the cats has any interest. It's not worth the stress, even with great speakers, to have non-removable speaker cloth/grills

@tomic601 I'm afraid I won't be able to make it down there tonight but I plan on getting down there in the next couple of weeks to listen to the PSB and the Elac's.

I will keep this thread updated as I move through the process. Thanks for the help so far!

@don_1 I think I could really like the Magnepan sound but the "quasi-ribbon" design looks like the ultimate cat attractor!

joshelston-Thanks for the lead on the Elos, they look interesting.

@kenm10759- The KEF are over my budget new but I bet I can find used within the budget. Thanks for the suggestion.

@redbaron The ML look great, except I think they will look even "greater" to our cats!

@axememan and @64voxac30 - I have considered Tektons, especially the Lore and Enzo models.

So many possibilities out there, but keep the suggestions coming. Now I need to get some listening in!

@jbhiller Have you listened to the PSB X2T? They seem like a viable budget-friendly option compared to the T2. I plan on listening to some PSB's at a local dealer here in the next week or two but any input you could give on the sound would be great.

@leemaze Thanks for the Wharfdale 10.7 suggestion. They are good looking speakers and the price is definitely in line. Can you give any more insight into the sound? You mentioned they were detailed. Is that a forward detail or a more laid back yet detailed sound?

@toddverrone Oh, they were completely bada$$....and completely out of my budget. The store's relatively close by though, I wonder if they'd mind too much if I showed up 1 or 2x a week with some albums to toss on the turntable and sit down for a listen?

I made it down to HiFi Buys today and listened to the PSB X1t, the ELAC Uni-Fi UF5 and the new Monitor Silver 200. Based on my short time with each speaker I enjoyed the Monitor’s midrange and imaging the most. They had a nice overall sound but lacked quite a bit in the low end. I’m thinking that might be a deal breaker, but I might be able to get a better low end with the now discontinued Silver 8’s?. The ELAC had a nice overall sound and was especially solid in the lower end. The PSB’s were somewhere in the middle but I think I would enjoy their sound if I had some additional low end presence. I wasn’t able to listen to the PSB X2T because they were still in the back but my guess is that they will have more of the low end presence of the ELAC.

On a budget busting note I was able to listen to a set of the new ELAC Adante as well as the Vandersteen Quatro Model 7 MKII and . Here’s my short review of each in order...WOW, WOW WOW WOW, and Holy Crap WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!! The Adante’s were the winner in my mind on a "dollar spent per audio nirvana unit achieved" basis. Simply put, for the $5,000 asking price, you are getting a fantastic speaker. I could almost, possibly, with an extra large tax refund in my pocket, see myself with them in my living room.The Quatro’s were also very impressive but at $14,000 for the pair I can’t drive them to work. The Model 7 MKII’s were massive and absolutely awesome sounding but at $62 grand for the pair I’d need to be able to live in them in order to justify their purchase.