From a fellow lover of mostly classical orchestral (along with rock, jazz, R&B and acoustic) I highly recommend the Nola Minis. (They aren't really as small as the name suggests - more like medium size monitors.)
Frankly, IMO many speakers (especially monitors) in this price range fall down on large scale orchestral music. Very few do justice to big complex music at reasonable sound levels without becoming congested. Floorstanders tend to do better than monitors for presentation of symphonic music but that probably means buying used to meet your budget.
Except for the Minis (fomerly Alon Lil Rascals II).
The Minis are coherent, very open, very spacious and *very* dynamic. They are resolving without sacrificing upper end sweetness plus they have an excellent midrange along with surprising bass heft. (They sound like much larger speakers.) The Minis are also affordable at $695 list ($595 street). These are my go-to speakers for new at under 1K - you'll have to spend much more on new speakers to better them for large scale music. Alas, "scale" is just what you don't get with many affordable monitors on classical music.
I'd also second the suggestion of used Vandersteen 2ce/or Signatures. These are floorstanders that do well on classical and all types of music.
It's a personal thing, but I don't find single driver speakers very satisfying for symphonic music.
Frankly, IMO many speakers (especially monitors) in this price range fall down on large scale orchestral music. Very few do justice to big complex music at reasonable sound levels without becoming congested. Floorstanders tend to do better than monitors for presentation of symphonic music but that probably means buying used to meet your budget.
Except for the Minis (fomerly Alon Lil Rascals II).
The Minis are coherent, very open, very spacious and *very* dynamic. They are resolving without sacrificing upper end sweetness plus they have an excellent midrange along with surprising bass heft. (They sound like much larger speakers.) The Minis are also affordable at $695 list ($595 street). These are my go-to speakers for new at under 1K - you'll have to spend much more on new speakers to better them for large scale music. Alas, "scale" is just what you don't get with many affordable monitors on classical music.
I'd also second the suggestion of used Vandersteen 2ce/or Signatures. These are floorstanders that do well on classical and all types of music.
It's a personal thing, but I don't find single driver speakers very satisfying for symphonic music.