Just went through the same exercise over the past few years and ended up with Focal Sopra2's each paired with with REL S812's using baseline blue high level cable, Esoteric F-05 integrated, Esoteric K03xd, VPI Signature 21 w/ Fatboy arm, Soundsmith Paua MkII, Bob's Devices Sky 20 SUT fronting the F-05 on board phono stage, Bryston BHA-1 headphone amp, Grado PS2000e cans and a mixture of Wireworld, Nordost Shunyata and Kardas cables. Also a Miles fan, jazz/classical. Current MSRP on the above around $83K.
$50k - $80k Budget…Opinions please.
Long story short, I sold my beloved 2-channel to reduce family debt. In about a year-ish, I’ll be in a position to rebuild with a hefty budget. I loved my Harbeth + Pass Labs combo. My REL sub died before I really got to integrate it, so opinions wanted there as well. I fully understand the diminishing margin of returns when moving into some arenas, but that’s ok, opinions are strongly encouraged.
I listen to a lot of Miles Davis/Coltrane, Radiohead, Tool, Pearl Jam, Brent Cobb. I’ve often preferred “organic” or neutral, not sure how technical that is.