Help me pick from my sub-$1200 shortlist

ALSO for people saying I'm going to need more power if I get the LS50's. I just jumped the gun on a Hafler DH-220 on craigslist so I think that should do me good if I go with those.

@soix @analogluvr @2psyop I forgot to add, I'm *almost* strictly looking for bookshelf speakers. I live in a city/apartment so it's going to be limited space, and am ideally looking to do bookshelves, although the Vandersteens are beautiful and could possibly work space wise since they're shorter

@soix Right now I have a pair of Orb audio's. I want speakers that can take me into basically an audiophile range of sound, ideally without a subwoofer, although I will be incorporating this into a 5.1 setup for movies/video games. Stereo 2-channel for purposes of music both digital and vinyl are much more important to me than surround though.

@soix @smrex13 good to know. I am considering using the amp on the CA 551 just for the surround and center channels and running pre-out to a separate amp for the bookshelves, so i'll keep that in mind if my ears keep picking the LS50's as a top contender.

This thread has gotten me so much farther down the rabbit hole I was already running down, and I love it.

The thing that caught me most by surprise is that no one has even acknowledged the Monitor Audio Silver 100’s I had on the list. All the reviews I read on them have been phenomenal, but do people here generally not care for them/find better options in their price range?

I’m seriously effing intrigued by the Philharmonitors. I can’t tell though - Which is a "newer" model - the "New Philharmonitors" or the "BMR Philarmonitors"? And which is, at least on a technical level, better? Is one designed to be more compact or affordable than the other or is the newer one simply designed to be an improvement on the older one?

Also seriously intrigued with the Vandersteens. I’m definitely going to listen to some of those, and for the Philharmonitors, since all I’ve been reading is that Dennis is extremely responsive, I might just reach out to him and see if he knows anyone in my city (it’s a big city) that might be willing to open their home to me for an hour or so to check them out.

@soix I’m only buying components right now that A) have a good likelihood of being audibly compatible, and B) are at prices at which they can easily be resold if I don’t need them and recoup costs.

I’d be doing exactly that with the Hafler. I have a Cambridge Audio Azur I’m going to run pre out to the Hafler, using the power on the 551 for center and surrounds.