Question #2: Suggestions for speakers in the $8-12K range ... good for full orchestra (think Mahler 5th)Here are a few mid-sized speakers I heard playing Mahler 5 (better still Mahler 8) reasonably well (i.e. the rest of yr musical choices follow):
Vienna Acoustics Beethoven (as above), Genesis V (latest model), Devore X, Wilson Sasha / Yvette (but, price???), Gamut 7, Focal Supra 3 / Scala. These are models I’ve listened to; there are many others, for sure.
A small point driving the Beethovens: when I had (an older model I suppose) these at home, I used a big solid-state 125W class A amp. Orchestral music: the sound was fantastic. Jazz; same. Prog rock & blues: great
Heavy metal: a bit on the polite side (including too much info, not enough noise -- if I’m making sense).
Vienna Grands for 12k sounds good to me, why not stick to these? I think they’re much easier to drive than your Aerials—although they are a nominal 4ohm load, so not SO easy!