Any WARM, MUSICAL speakers out there?


I have been auditioning a number of speakers in the under $12k category, and I am frustrated at the almost total absence of any "warm", "musical" speakers out there. They are almost entirely the so-called "accurate" or "analytical" variety. Example, to my ears anyway: the Wilson Sophia. Very accurate, analytical, COLD and non-engaging, even through CJ tube gear. One would think that some of the CJ warmth and musicality would have come through, but the Sophia did not alow ANY of that!
I would like to find a musically engaging, warm speaker that does an excellent job with human voices and midrange detail, as the Cremonas do. I will be pairing the new speakers with Conrad Johnson tube electronics. (Yes, they are lush and warm, but that is what I like!)
The ONLY ones providing the warm musicality I seek that I have found are the Sonus Fabers, such as the Cremona. I found the midrange and uppers magical and musically involving.
However, they are not good at rock and roll. Electrostats such as Quads are even worse in that regard. As Sam Tellig pointed out, they (Quads) do NOT rock.

Note: There are no Legacy dealers (for the Focus 20/20) anywhere near me, and the Klipschorn so-called dealer near me only had two of the very smallest models available for audition.

My only two remaining ideas I have are Silverline (as in Sonatas or the new Bolero) and Vienna Acoustics, such as the Mahler or Strauss.However, the Vienna dealer only carries solid state electronics, and I want to hear them through tubes. Does anyone think that either of these might fit the bill?
In his review of the Sonus Faber Cremona in the Aug/Sept. 2003 issue of The Absolute Sound, Wayne Garcia writes,
"...It is one of the few full-range speakers from the non-analytical school (particularly those under ten grand) that I would even mention in the same breath as MartinLogan or Quad." (p.75 of TAS)
Does anyone know what the other "few" might be????!!!
Any ideas?

Thanks
Steve
bigpowerballs
Warm and musical exactly describes the Soliloquy 6.5s. I'm going to disagree with most of you on the Vandy 5s. I've heard the Vandy 5s driven by ARC gear and they were cool sounding compared to my Soliloquy/Rowland combination. The Vandies threw a decent soundstage but sounded a little lean in the midrange. The Vandy 3,IMHO, is a warmer sounding speaker than the 5. They sound quite nice. The Vienna Mahler is also warm and musical, as Tok2000 said, if you can control the bass.
I bought the Sonus Faber Cremonas. Nothing else can compare with their gorgeous, sweet, warm, detailed, musical midrange. Everything else sounds deficient, once you've heard them....Truly magical!!
If you have the room, look for a used set of Klipschorns. You can find them on Ebay every so often. They are definitely warm and syrupy.
Hi,
I own Vienna's and I have friend who has the Mahler's too. I agree that they should be given serious consideration for anyone in search of a musical speaker. I have hear them with a number of solid state amps and associated electronics and I would say that have be a very compelling seductive presntation similar to Sonus.I find it very interesting how Sumiko the importer for both VA and Sonus sells what I consider to be sonically from the same camp. The major difference is that the VA's have a more fleshed out lower midrange and powerful presentation in the bass regions with the Sonus Cremona's and Amati's having a somewhat leaner balance in these areas. This is just an observation and I am not suggesting that one is better than the other. I do know that all else being equal that Sumiko tends to favor the VA's for larger rooms.
Lots of good responses already, but to throw out another angle, I found that the slightly older Thiel designs were a tad warmer and more musical than their very latest designs (which seem to be more concise, yet somewhat thinner). The CS3.6, CS5 and CS7 seemed to me like they were on the warmer (yet still accurate) side of the Thiel line.

But then again, I have not heard the Vandersteen 5's...

Tom.