"Would you play this type of music let's say on $6-figure setup with tubes, Verdier or similar TT, MBL or similar components, Pipe Dreams or similar level speakers?"
It doesn't really matter what I would play the music on, its your music and your system, you need to play it on what you like. That said, I think if you listened to the Model 5's again with some different CD's, you may change your mind. I don't think it was the style of music that put you off, so much as the quality of the recordings themselves. Vandersteen makes very revealing speakers. If you give them a good recording they tend to sound great, regardless of the type of music. But give them a bad recording and that's exactly what you'll hear.
I use Vandersteen myself, and the solution for me is to just use other equipment for bad recordings. No point in trying to fight it with one highly revealing system. Also, some of the music you list, has some very well recorded albums. But like you say, there's quite a bit of material that is not well produced. Whether to go high end, or not, is a choice that only you can make. Given your music, it may make sense to not go high end.
