had the salon 1 and 2. Agree the s2 are clinical side of musical compared to usher be20dmd, Meridian DSP8000se, VA beethoven and persona 7f. I never heard the Aerial 10t so don’t know what you’re used to. A full, rich midrange while sounding more musical can overpower the top end making detailed speakers sound less so. I think the Usher BE 20 DMD were the best of the used speakers that retailed $20-25k new retail.
The persona’s needed 5’ free space around them to sound their best otherwise a nasty upper mid glare would show up. The DSP8kse are freakin awesome also, but you’re kinda locked into the brand all the way then.
VA’s Beethovens just don’t play loud and have a recessed midrange which I love but, still.
My salon 2’s had surgical detail and image placement, but it was bizarre because there was no soundstage, just images placed in space. More like a tool than an instrument. Just my experience.
Focal Kanta 3. Again my room, my gear they had a 10 db peak at 100hz were flat at 80 hz and no measurable bass below 60hz. Loved the midrange and treble but they sounded a bit lightweight to me.
VA Strauss, not for detail junkies, but fun rock speakers that DO go loud.
I bought and resold all of these and got to compare several side by side. hey were all popular models that resold for what I paid and the value of a home demo and being to spend several months really helped.
My current pair the Kef Blades I also almost resold because they were kinda flat and boring at low volumes, but I liked them enough at normal volume to try different amps on them and when I used a pair of MC611’s on them they became keepers.
HK_FAN. It looks like you already have stout amplification and I wonder how different my home demos would have been if I’d already had my Mc611 amps already? So my point after this long winded rant is. IME unless your budget includes replacing your JC1’s I recommend home demoing the speakers you think you might like.