Pairing Bookshelf Speakers to my Yamaha A-S801

For better clarification, I’m looking to replace the B&Ws because they’re far too bright for my taste. Fine for tv and podcasts but falls short musically and in cinema sound reproduction. I’m looking to improve the synergy of the system starting at the speaker/amp pairing. 

What’s your budget, and are you looking for new or used?

I’m open to used if I can find a good deal but new is the more likely option for me. Ideally around $2k. 

At that price the Totem Bison and MoFi SourcePoint 8 would be great ones to look into, and if you can stretch a little further the Fritz Carbon 7, ProAc Response DB3, and Revival Atalante 3 would be really excellent as well.  All of these are good enough that they’ll scale up really well if you upgrade your amp in the future.  Hope this helps, and best of luck. 

I appreciate the recommendations! I'll update the thread when I pull the trigger. 

You didn’t mention speaker cables or stands with current speakers but with the amp you have I would spend my $ on Sonus Faber Lumina II’s on good stands with decent cables with bi wire jumpers or already bi wired...

I'd say go for a new set of KEF R3 Meta. Couple of hundo over $2K but superior to the others in many ways. They are really VERY good and the Yamaha/KEF pairing has been a match made in heaven all the way back to the 80s & the Tweeter Etc days when they used to pair them together in almost every full system they sold; and that was a lot. There's a lot of info in this review... have at it.

https://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2023/05/05/kef-r3-meta-speaker-review-juicy-beats/

It could be a longshot getting a pair in the $2K range, but you should definitely check out Van L Speakerworks Quartet speaker:   (http://www.vanlspeakerworks.com/)

The owner's name is John Van Leishout and his shop is in a Chicago suburb.  There are several articles about him and his designs on Google. Very nice guy to deal with and the Quartet is an amazing speaker.  Retails (but not widely distributed outside his ship) for $2900, but he usually has a demo pair or two for sale that may meet your budget.  Trust me.... definitely worth checking out.

KEF LS50 with a subwoofer is also a good option. I have the LS50W meta in my bedroom system, and my son has the LS50. We both enjoy them a lot! The Absolute Sound gave a great review of the Yamaha A-S801 back in 2016, using the LS50 with a subwoofer. You can get the LS50 on sale for around $1299 or less, leaving you a budget of around $700 for the sub. I use and like the SVS SB1000 pro, but there are many good subs in that price range, including KEF and REL.

OP do a little research before considering ANYTHING with METAL drivers!
 Do a Google search for "speakers with natural organic tone"...Opinion after opinion will show you a common theme that if you want relaxed,organic & natural warmth,you want a speaker with wood pulp/paper,Carbon Fiber or Kevlar mid bass drivers & textile(silk)tweeters...Think about real musical instruments..Have you EVER heard a metal instrument(horns,flutes a Dobro guitar, etc..)that have natural warmth?NO,they are brash,etched & in your face,There is a REASON violins,cellos,guitars etc.are made of WOOD!!!
 

These are some great recommendations - I appreciate it. 
 

I had not heard much of the Yamaha/Kef lore. Very interesting. I have a pair of KEF reference speakers from the 70s that are in a state of disrepair. The woofers are fine but the tweeters sound terribly off. I don’t really have a positive or negative opinion about them as I haven’t really heard any other than my broken ones. I do like the look of the LS50s @acguo - really beautiful stuff. 

I also hadn’t really considered Sonus Faber. I haven’t listened to any in truth, but they certainly look fantastic and the specs seem impressive. That’s a good shout thanks! 

Many of my audio colleagues have referenced being around for The Tweeter Days(TM). A part of me thinks about hifi of many moons ago in romantic terms (having never experienced them). Then I think better of it as I remember how incredibly good components and speakers have gotten. 
 

I should add more detail about the system for reference:

All components are wired with audioquest, including the video sources (the Apple TV, BRP, and sometimes a computer, are routed through an hdmi switcher).

The speakers, ironically, are wired with clear jacketed rip chord. I know, I know. This will change eventually. They are bi wired atm. 

The speakers are on a custom piece of wood furniture. They are not sat on it wood-to-wood, so to speak. They have small feet put on by the previous owner. I’d call it a couple millimeters height off the top of the cabinet. Stands are ideal, I agree - but the space doesn’t really allow for it. 
 

A sub is definitely in the cards, but I’d rather spend the cash on the bookshelves initially, and then save up for a nicer sub. I was thinking something from JL. Do you guys have any personal experience with their subs? 
 

@nicholsr I like their business philosophy! 

@freediver would you consider the aluminum/alloy ribbon voice coil in a ribbon tweeter to be a disqualifying factor? I actually quite like the sound of Monitor Audio’s platinum line rt. I actually got to hear the current gen PL300s paired with the A-S801, oddly enough - and with a D’Agostino Momentum Preamp/Mono amps rig. Obviously the latter being grossly out of my budget lol but a cool experience nonetheless. 

Not nearly as in-your-face sounding as some of the cheaper rts I’ve heard, even through the much cheaper Yamaha. 

Edit: I recall now that it was the previous gen PL300s. 

Andrew jones speakers such as Elac Unifi Reference, Debut Reference, Elac Carina. MOFI Sourcepoint, etc....Andrew Jones tends  to use Yamaha amps when voicing his speakers.

They are also much better speakers than the typical V curve imbalanced, mid starved B&Ws, Klipsches and Focals.

@mulchy"would you consider the aluminum/alloy ribbon voice coil in a ribbon tweeter to be a disqualifying factor? I actually quite like the sound of Monitor Audio’s platinum line rt."
All that matters in the end is that you like the speakers you chose...
 I personally have never heard a ribbon tweeter speaker I liked..I've found the few I demo'd either beamy or disjointed from the bass...

@deep_333 +1

Studio Electric M4 2-way, non-ported. A little over your budget, but excellent speakers

Amphion Argon 3S also 2-way, non ported but with a rear passive radiator, used, in budget, new, about $3600.

Elac Vela 2.0, pair, about $3000

I have not heard but have been reading about the Closer Acoustics OGY loudspeakers, which are a full-range transmission line bookshelf design, and reportedly very good. In your budget.

Have you ever thought about building your own? I am getting the CSS Criton 1TD-X Kit. All the reviews are really good. If you have the space, the time, the patience and a few clamps and a soldering iron you are good to go. This will be my third speaker build. Started small and cheap with Parts Express. I use their C-Note for my computer speakers. 

@mulchy did you decide?