Speaker advice for listening to Blues music


Hi, new to the forum, and hoping I can get some help finding the right speakers... I'm a Blues guitar player and have a dedicated music room for my guitars/amps. I usually spend time playing my guitars and recently decided to setup a decent system for listening to my Blues music. I first started with a Marantz integrated (PM8005) and some Kef R300, source is a Marantz ND8006 and I mostly play FLAC files from a NAS, but also started streaming from Spotify and now trying Tidal. This setup was great at first, very revealing, but found the R300 were not the right speakers for the kind of music I listen to, but they were great for some Jazz and did well with good recordings, which most of my Blues recordings weren't, specially live albums. I also found them to be a little boomy in that small room (12' X 12'), so I moved them to the living room instead and added a matching center, they're perfect there.

Next came the LS50, read so much about them I had to get a pair to try. Wow! I still can't believe what these small speakers can do, the details I hear, soundstage, imaging, it's all there. But, just like the R300, since they're so revealing they're horrible with my favorite Blues recordings. It's great to listen to excellent recordings and enjoy the music these speakers are making but I want to enjoy MY music, the Blues greats I've been listening to for over 30 years. If it sounds great in the car then I should be able to find the right gear to duplicate at home, right? On some good Blues recordings it sounds excellent, but most of my favorites aren't good recordings.

Since I only play my guitars through old Fender amps I figured I should replace the Marantz integrated with a tube amp, so next came the PrimaLuna integrated. I wanted to get a "warmer" sound and hope it'll fix the issues I was having with most crappy recordings... I want to hear BB's beautiful guitar tone and crank it up, without hurting my ears. Both Kefs were too fatiguing to listen to. And on most live recordings guitars sound way too thin and bright, not what I'm used to hearing. A good example is Albert King's Wednesday Night in San Francisco, that Flying V can be painful to listen to after a couple of minutes! Not so in the car or even just using headphones and my laptop. I understand that it's because the system is more revealing, but is it possible to have both, revealing and musical so that one can enjoy the music they love? The PrimaLuna did help and it's staying, I like what I'm hearing so far, and I get to play with tubes, something I enjoy doing already :)

Right now I'm breaking in some Wharfedale Denton 80th, I wanted to try something with a soft dome tweeter, something less fatiguing than the LS50. I'm at 70+ hours so far and they're sounding much better, not as fatiguing, but something is missing... I prefer the LS50's soundstage and details, but they're both not that great for electric guitar. The Dentons are more forgiving but I don't find them musical and they don't disappear like the LS50s do.

So what are my choices? Do I stick with bookshelf, try some floor standing? What about single driver speakers (Omega, Zu...)? Are those the answer to what I'm looking for? I need something more forgiving, musical, efficient so I can crank it up when I feel like playing along some times... I want the guitar to sound full and not thin and bright. It's a small room and not a lot of space due to my guitar gear. My budget is also limited, would like to keep it under $2k, I already have a hobby and don't want this to get out of control :)

Forgot to mention, I also have a Rel sub, so not too worried about the low end. Sorry for the long post and thanks for any help!
cedarblues
Blues wasnt meant to be so complicated . You are probably looking for the jukebox sound . No highs . Just a couple 10” jensen full range in vintage cabs . But really a set of jbl L36 . Well built , cheap and have adjustment to taste. A paper cone tweet and mid is likely what you need . You definitely do not need any upidy reference stuff . Simplify  
I would like to point out, that when the Advent was introduced, it was a game changer that allowed so many young folks, in college, or in life, to realize excellent hifi on a budget. Yes, they were a steal back then. I still appreciate them, but, they are not as good as many $1000. speakers of today, which is likely the inflationary cost today. So again Helomech, enjoy ! MrD.
All I know is they’re better than many so claimed value leaders I’ve owned, that would include my Heresy IIIs and Tannoy XT6Fs. I’ve also owned KEF LS50s, Magnepan 1.7is, and Vandy 1Cis. On balance, to my ears, in my system, the Advents are the better speakers overall. Treble and bass are superior to the Tannoys. The imaging is as good as the KEFs. Midrange, sweet spot size, and bass depth is better than the H-IIIs (in comparison, the H-III midrange is super colored by horn and cabinet resonance, and that's even with constrained layer damping). The decay is very near as good as the Vandys while producing a larger soundstage. Detail is as good as any of them.

I never heard the Advents in their heyday - that was before my time, however I doubt many college kids paired them with the caliber of gear I’m running in the rest of my system.
I figured I'll do an update on my speaker search.  I've done some of what was suggested here, added another 200-300 hours on my system, replaced power cords on the source and amp, added a Hydra 2 which I picked up here and only have the PrimaLuna amp plugged into it, and everything else is plugged into a Furman PST-8D.  I Replaced the IC cables and added a Schiit Loki which worked out great for those really bright live recordings.  Every change helped in some way and my system sounds great with the LS50, most of those nasty highs are now gone and everything sounds kinda tighter. Still no room treatment and not sure I'll do any, maybe in the future...

But I was still looking to improve the electric guitar sound and get a "bigger" sound.  So I found a nice pair of ProAc Tablette 10 in mint condition and figured I'll try them, wonderful little speakers! So much detail, even more than the LS50, but not as musical. The LS50 feel more alive and at times even louder, they just work better with my system. The Tab 10s are not for me I guess, so I'll be listing them.

Next I wanted to try more sensitive speakers, kept hearing great things about the Klipsch RP-600M, and since I don't have room for the larger Klipsch it was the right pair to get. Only had them for a couple of days and so far all I can say is WOW! I'm loving the dynamics, clarity, great imaging and soundstage! They're so lively and fill the room just right.  This was a big surprise, but... that whole horn thing is a little too much sometimes, I'm still messing with speaker placement and toe in. With no toe in it's not as shouty but I find that vocals suffer, add a little toe in and the vocals sound great with a perfect center image but those highs can be painful when it's turned up.  This is an excellent speaker for that price! I'll give them more time to break in, but not sure if that'll help.

So what's like the Klipsch but without the horns? :) Or a bigger sounding/more efficient LS50?
I love these threads.  we all post about speakers we own or want to own.  Anything Vandersteen...There I got mine out there.

Seriously, if a speaker is a good speaker, it's going to play anything well. There is no special speaker that is best for one genre.  Ask any of the top designers adn they will tell you this and it makes sense.  

I understand that makers make compromises, but in the end a great speaker will sound great on all music.