If you had to narrow your choices to 4 - 5 speakers

@bjesien which Fyne Speakers do you own? What are their sound characteristics? I’m looking at the F1–5 & F1-8.  
 

Don’t mean to hijack the thread here.

@arafiq I recently read a post by someone (can’t remember who) who recently upgraded from the Perspectives to Pearls, and from what he said there were more similarities than differences and the biggest differences were that the Pearls could play louder and obviously go a bit deeper.  If I was you and in your room I’d be very torn between upgrading to Pearls or adding two good subs to your excellent Perspectives, which would probably greatly close the gap, maybe provide even better bass better integrated to your room, and be much less expensive.  Either way, it’s a high-quality problem.  FWIW. 

Clarisys

Borreson

Tad

Graham

Martin

Forget the names.

I would listen to speakers that are hardest to find near you or in the U.S. and then try to compare those to a couple you already like and/or have easy access to.

This means that you do the maximum to improve your criteria for a later purchase.

@blisshifi Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Joseph Audio Perspective2 and Borresen X3 speakers. I currently own the Perspective2 Graphene version placed in a 20x15 room with 12 foot ceilings. I often wonder if moving up to the Pearl is going to be worth the additional expense. For my room, do you think the Pearl offers any benefit over and above the Perspective2s?

Also, the Borresen X3 is another speaker I'm very interested in hearing. Finally, Borresen made a floorstander that is relatively more affordable. If you have to choose between JA Perspective2 and Borresen X3, which one would you pick?

Vandersteens driven by their own amps.

The Scanspeak room with the Ellipticor drivers.

Fritz, which always sound good even in horrible rooms.

there are a few amazing new reference loud speakers 

Borrenson new x3 11k heard at last show  sounds like a 20k loudspeaker

new kef reference 3 meta 15k 

alta audio adam 18k 

Dave and Troy

audio intellect nj 

Kef borrenson andAlta dealers

I'd visit the High Water Sound room and listen to whatever speakers they have brought.  Pretty eclectic and not for rock, but to my ears, the sound has been breathtakingly natural, which I attribute to their love of music and their skill of matching components,  Kind of off the corporate path.

Thanks all for the suggestions. I've already, and was close to pulling the trigger on some JA Perspectives, and still might. But since I've decided to go to Axpona I'd thought I'd hear from this forum. I believe the Acora's usually show only their very expensive speakers but will at least hear them. 

Thanks again.

I like to be surprised by relatively inexpensive speakers ie not more than $10-20K:

Spatial Audio

PureAudioProject

Zu Audio

ProAc

But I gotta say if I were at Axpona I'd be very curious to hear Acora given all the buzz.

ATC

Acora

Magnepan

Magico

My favs with a strong amplifier, though Acora is always shown with a tube amp

+1 Rockport ! 

Me…

bryston fkagship speaker

axiom,….made for, but better than their own,….???

sanders sound panels

I’d be sure to hear the new Janszen Nine.Five. I like electrostats, I like Janszen electrostats, and preliminary reviews have been great.

Outside of that, I generally look for rooms that won’t blow out my ears with overly loud sound. That radically culls the possibilities. But that’s OK, I can’t really tell much about a speaker at painful volumes, anyway.

At AXPONA at those price ranges, I’d visit

Audiovector - Look for the R3 Arrête, though they might have the R6 set up.

Joseph Audio  - The Perspective2 Graphene is around $16,500, but they will likely have the $40K Pearl Graphenes. They sound very similar, they just fill different sized rooms.

Legacy Audio -  They will likely have the Focus XD on the floor, but you may have to ask to demo them as they probably won’t be hooked up.

Next Level Hifi - The new Borresen X3 is pretty special given that it uses the same tweeter as all the higher up models. I heard this speaker at the Florida Expo and was impressed at the performance for the accessible price. I was an owner of Borresen Z3 and now own Borresen 02.

There may be others I’m missing, but these would be a good start.

Yamaha NS-5000

I would listen to this system from Voxativ. For slightly over your budget it comes with an integrated amp/streamer. I heard this at Pacific Audio Fest. Compelling

https://voxativ.berlin/alberich

I would also listen to a ProAc speaker in your price range, as well as Acora

B&W 803 D4

Ohm

Volti

Vandersteen

Revel

PS Audio

Salk because they are hard/impossible to find local / nearby.  

@bjesien I’ve never heard their monitor, only the Avant Garde and one of their older GAP models and they always surprise me by being some of the best sounds I hear at shows.  Most recently I heard the Avant Garde at the NYC show a few months ago, and once again they were in my top 3 for sound at the show, and there were some good speakers there.  Just my experience FWIW. 

@soix I had the Gershman monitor and it was terrible. A subwoofer trying to make sense of midrange is dull. At first listen it was relaxing and I was waiting for a transformation but it never happened. Are you speaking of their next levels? Maybe with 100k of Nordost cables it would sound more lively.

Magnepan

Vandersteen

Volti Audio

PS Audio

Martin

Devore Fidelity

Salk

Verity

Devore (Gibbon)

Cessaro (never heard in that low price range but want to)

Fyne (own currently)

Rockport (probably used in this range)

Everyone and their brother will list many combinations but each of the above does something special in my own opinion so your mileage will vary.

Would be helpful if you shared what speaker/sound characteristics you’re looking for, but here’s a list in order where I’d go.  I’m going over your limit — sorry I just can’t help myself.  It’s like a kid in a candy store-like thing. 
 

Joseph Audio
Alta Audio

Acora

Gershman (always a surprising standout to me)

Volti

Rockport

Vandersteen (if you haven’t heard them before I’d bump them up a couple spaces)

YG

Von Schweikert 

PMC

Perlisten

MBL 

Dutch & Dutch

I’d also recommend giving at least a look at the Treehaus speakers — they look very unique and natural (you’ll see what i mean) and also thought they sounded quite good.  Im jealous and wish I could go, but hope this helps and enjoy the show!!!