Best set-up under $20K

The 803d3 is not worth the upgrade from the d2 imo. I heard them in the same room system. It is just a little more transparent and a little flatter but really the same speaker. The 802 is noticeably better in the bass but honestly I would just add subs if I owned the 803. The subs will be better anyway.

Some good suggestions above.

things I demoed in that price range below:

803d4 (too bright, lack of bass, the 802D4 was much better in the bass but still bright, both had amazing soundstage. The 802D4 made male vocals sound a little thin.

Revel 328be (really good, no real flaw, could use more sub bass)I bought the 228be and use subs after this demo but sold them after about 1.5 years)

Revel Salon 2 (a special speaker but pushed my budget and I was worried about how old the design was).

Wilson audio Sabrina (Not bad but could not play as loud as I like. Some oddness in the 3k range (cone break up?) good but then I heard the bigger models lol…

Sonus Faber Nova 3 (5 was not on the floor). Enjoyable speaker but leaves some resolution on the table. Looks amazing.

Klispch La Scala IV. Not sure about this one. Has potential but comes with some oddities. Needs subs for sure.

Kef Reference 3 (flat with good soundstage, really dull highs, lacked dynamic slam, just average sounding to me.

I ended up with a pair of JBL 4367 and could not be happier. They are the lazy man’s M2 (no special amps needed). They are as detailed as the B&Ws but smooth like the Revels, and dynamic like the Klispch. A special speaker for sure. Lack of soundstage depth and width is their only flaw… and they don’t reach to 20hz. They look pretty bad too lol.

Grover30,

Did you play with the treble switches before chasing amps? But I can see class D being a no go on these (I use a MC462).

I run subs with my 4367 (but I do with all my speakers) and I have the UHF at -0.5db  I also listen to hard rock/metal (pop and audiophile stuff too). I think what makes them so good with old average recorded music is the great dynamics. Even 80s music with poor dynamics seem to find dynamics when played through the 4367.

The speaker is so detailed in the upper frequencies it does almost sound bright. But in direct comparison with the Revel 228be the 4367 was a touch more down in the treble which surprised me. The 590s, (my surrounds) are much brighter.  

Have you guys A/B-ed air play? I have with tidal connect through a streamer both hardwired and Wi-Fi, air play through the same streamer (both tidal and Apple Music over air play). Also A/B-ed to an optimized Mac and honestly they are all real hard to tell apart with standard 44.1 16 bit files. Yes there are slight differences but meh use what ever is convenient. I think more of it comes down to how the individual steamer and DAC handle the interactions.