I’ve spent quite a bit of time with the Aristoteles at High Water Sound and like them a lot. I think I have a handle on the Maggie sound (I owned once: big, enveloping, but lacking microdynamics IMO), Harbeth (owned once), Vienna and SF (the last I owned once; I find both smooth to the point of boring, but that’s just my opinion).
But I think you need to back up a little.
If I read your post correctly, you haven’t yet bought speakers or amplifiers. That’s good. Because the first priority is to find speakers that can work in your relatively small and square room, the latter being a particular challenge. I’d recommend shopping for a dealer who will listen to what you want to achieve and take your room into account. If they make grand promises and don’t ask questions about e.g. how flexible you are with placement of speakers and listening position (I’d suggest experimenting with an angled and asymmetric arrangement, to try to avoid exciting room nodes), then move on. Then buy an amplifier that is known to work well with those speakers — the dealer for the speakers you choose should be well placed to advise.
Best,
Ping
But I think you need to back up a little.
If I read your post correctly, you haven’t yet bought speakers or amplifiers. That’s good. Because the first priority is to find speakers that can work in your relatively small and square room, the latter being a particular challenge. I’d recommend shopping for a dealer who will listen to what you want to achieve and take your room into account. If they make grand promises and don’t ask questions about e.g. how flexible you are with placement of speakers and listening position (I’d suggest experimenting with an angled and asymmetric arrangement, to try to avoid exciting room nodes), then move on. Then buy an amplifier that is known to work well with those speakers — the dealer for the speakers you choose should be well placed to advise.
Best,
Ping