I was in your position last year and did a lot of listening. I use my Marantz as a pre-amp through a Parasound A52 so I have a little more juice flowing. (After you get your speakers chosen and shake some extra funds loose in the future, you might just add a 5-channel amp to your system.)
Before I talk about my choices, let me say that getting all 5 speakers with the same voicing may have been the single best thing I have done. I had been stereo only, then added a pair of surrounds that, even though the same manufacturer, were voiced differently. Then I added a very nice center, but it was also voiced differently. So I looked for a set of 5 speakers, a 5.0 system.
I set my price target at $3k, but eventually moved up to $4500 for the setup. It seemed to be cost-effective - more than i could afford, but I wanted these to be my last speakers.
I tried Monitors, Paradigms, Totems, Goldenears, Quad, Klipsch, and a few more, bringing several home for a weekend. None of these were what I wanted, which you described pretty well for me. After moving up that last chunk of change, it was a face-off between a Paradigm Gold, the B&W 805D3, and Dynaudio Excites. I ended up with the Excite X34 floorstanders, X14 standmounts and X24 center.
Four things caused me to make that decision. First, I heard no phase-shift, they were clean and articulate with classical, jazz, and vocals - they sounded like the artists when I heard them in person. Second, the floorstanders are diminutive in size and the WAF was better than a standmount. Third, they have a really great dynamic range - they will rock on without sounding like they are shouting (the others shouted) (I use my Radio Shack level meter to know when it's loud because a good speaker can play louder without sounding bad). Fourth, and what set them apart from the B&W, was their ability to sound musical at low volumes. I didn't have to crank them to some thresh-hold to get them to "speak."
In assessing all this now, three months later (I am happier each passing week), I think I like 2-way speakers better, and first-order crossovers. I know intellectually about phase shift distortion, and each crossover introduces that element, especially if it is more than first order. I am particularly sensitive to tweeters, and the Dyn's neo??? led the B&W diamond??? for clarity and dispersion (imaging).
SO, I'd recommend getting a 5.0 system, and that you listen to the Dynaudio Excite series.
Before I talk about my choices, let me say that getting all 5 speakers with the same voicing may have been the single best thing I have done. I had been stereo only, then added a pair of surrounds that, even though the same manufacturer, were voiced differently. Then I added a very nice center, but it was also voiced differently. So I looked for a set of 5 speakers, a 5.0 system.
I set my price target at $3k, but eventually moved up to $4500 for the setup. It seemed to be cost-effective - more than i could afford, but I wanted these to be my last speakers.
I tried Monitors, Paradigms, Totems, Goldenears, Quad, Klipsch, and a few more, bringing several home for a weekend. None of these were what I wanted, which you described pretty well for me. After moving up that last chunk of change, it was a face-off between a Paradigm Gold, the B&W 805D3, and Dynaudio Excites. I ended up with the Excite X34 floorstanders, X14 standmounts and X24 center.
Four things caused me to make that decision. First, I heard no phase-shift, they were clean and articulate with classical, jazz, and vocals - they sounded like the artists when I heard them in person. Second, the floorstanders are diminutive in size and the WAF was better than a standmount. Third, they have a really great dynamic range - they will rock on without sounding like they are shouting (the others shouted) (I use my Radio Shack level meter to know when it's loud because a good speaker can play louder without sounding bad). Fourth, and what set them apart from the B&W, was their ability to sound musical at low volumes. I didn't have to crank them to some thresh-hold to get them to "speak."
In assessing all this now, three months later (I am happier each passing week), I think I like 2-way speakers better, and first-order crossovers. I know intellectually about phase shift distortion, and each crossover introduces that element, especially if it is more than first order. I am particularly sensitive to tweeters, and the Dyn's neo??? led the B&W diamond??? for clarity and dispersion (imaging).
SO, I'd recommend getting a 5.0 system, and that you listen to the Dynaudio Excite series.