“House” Character of Popular $20-$30k Speakers

I'm thinking that if you have a warm amp and add a warm speaker you may get too much warmth and too little details. If you really love warmth the go for it. I would probably try to find a neutral speaker to combine with a warm amp.

I don't own a system as expensive as yours but from  what I heard at shows and read I would suggest Focal, Borresen, Qln, Dynaudio and Marten. Focal Sopra 2 was one of the best I heard at the last show.

I would definitely try the monitor audio platinum series that MPD tweeter is unbeatable it's the best of the market right now and they're very neutral sounding speakers very three-dimensional, their driver technology is way ahead of everybody and their build quality is amongst the best 11 layers of hand polished lacquer and the best leather that you can get in England that's used in Rolls-Royce and other high-end cars.

I have tried a few of these.  Ended up with Wilsons (they look fine to me).  Auditioned the Magicos (M6), way way too clinical for me.  Sonus felt boring.

From what the op has described, I would say the Dyn Confidence or Raidho’s.

The Raidho’s would have to be picked up used unless you like bookshelf’s. 

So subjective I guess, but interesting... My list is limited to speakers I’d be able to audition in my area. I am wondering if I am up for lugging my Diablo 300 to the audition - I don’t really want to put my beloved amp through all of that trauma, and it would add to the stress for me, worrying about it! But I suppose I’ll need to. Most speakers in this range aren’t practical for in-home demos.

Without having listened to many other than B&W before, purely from reading reviews which I know is sort of worthless considering how subjective speakers and amps can be, I really WANT to like the Magico A5’s. But, I do hear many say how clinical and analytical Magico’s can be, which doesn’t sound like my style at all. I just don’t want to swing too far the other way either. I hear many say Focals are analytical too.

One thing I’m a bit tired of is large speakers that don’t have enough bass presence, in my admittedly larger space. I think it was Stereophile’s all-positive Magico A5 review that said they had a tad too much bass, but that it was very enjoyable. Review said if bass was 3-5dB louder it would be too much.

But maybe Dynaudio’s will be the sweet spot for me, or maybe I’ll prefer the relaxed-leaning Sonus Fabers. One thing about my current B&W 803 D2’s is, they are very relaxed and easy to listen to for ages, but they only got this way when I drove them with my Diablo. Almost like an old pair of perfect-fitting jeans, and they are not fussy at all anymore. Before my Diablo, with many other amps I tested at home, and with my prior Arcam amp, I actually slightly regretted the purchase of the 803’s! So, maybe the Magico A5’s won’t actually be clinical or analytical when driven by the Diablo.