Speaker recommendations / live concert recordings

Older Maggies can be a good thing, especially if you can mate them with a good subwoofer. I prefer the sound of Martin Logans, but I also find the Maggies to be quite pleasing. I would also look into used Thiels. You should definitely be able to pick up a pair of CS3.5's, or maybe CS2.3's in your price range. The Thiels would have better accuracy and midrange detail than the Paradigms (which while I agree are a great speaker at their price point, I don't really think of as being exceptionally accurate).

Tom.

The Klipsch Heritage series reproduces a live event very well. If you have the space, the LaScalla can be found used in your price range. Two very simple tweaks will bring this speaker to a higher level. 1 - Dynamat on the horn. 2 - Liquid nails on all the seams inside the cabinet. This really tightens up the bass and surprisingly broadens the soundstage. If you want to go with tubed amplification, the Klipsch is a great match. The Lascalla is very sensitive at 104db/watt so any weakness in the system will be easily noticed.

thanks for all the responses, guys.
i was about to start a new thread about what speakers are "true" to the source... or don't color the music... but i think thats what this might turn into if i'm lucky.
I quickly read a bit about the thiels that Tombowlus recommended and they seem to do that pretty good (here)

http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/225/index3.html

what other speakers are out there that are uncolored that i should look into? Buying used is fine, but if I do buy used I'de like to keep the cost below $900-1000 if possible. I'm starting to realize that I'm probably going to have to buy my whole system at once (less cd player) which is going to hurt :)

Maggies...DEFINATELY.

I own MLs, but I still consider myself a maggie guy. they are a little smoother sounding, IMO.
the MG12 is a fantastic speaker, and still in production. Mate that with a small sub, like an 8" model (dual drivers would be nice) and you'll be back in MSG in no time! Even the MMG will blow your mind (and is easily had for $400).
two subs is the way to go. You could get the MMGs and a pair of 8" subs and probalby stay in your price range. You needn't spend a fortune on the subs, just stick w/the smaller models as they are quicker than large ones, and this is important w/pannels (quick sub).

as far as clarity and transparency, the Maggies do this particularly well. the MLs are the king though. this can work both for and against you as it will bring out the best/worst of your componants and sources.
its a funny thing, you'll find a lot of your favorite AUD recording actualy suck, and many of the ones you thought were "eh" are actualy masterpieces.

One thing with panels, you need to have some breathing room. If you can't pull them out into the room at least 30" and several feet from the sides...then you might want to reconsider that direction.
Another downfall is that they only produce a sweet spot suitable for one person. so there is only one good seat in the house where the music comes into real focus. This spot though...you'd have to spend way more money to get that sort of quality from a box speaker w/a broad sweetspot.

you say you may be buying your whole system....sans CD player. the CD player is very important here...crap in, crap out. what is your deck? does it have a digital output?

Those mosiacs you listened to....
go back and listen to a pannel (as the mosiac isnt'). for shits and giggles...listen to the Ascent. I'm sure they'll have one. I assume you went to a tweeter?
Then you'll know what your after.

Don't listen to Nick, every time he leaves my house I shake my head. I'm not a panel guy, plain & simple. Box speakers have the slam he can't experience unless he comes to my house. If you want the real thing you need slam. We both used to tape alot & have sold some gear to invest in our home systems. Trust me once you start listening to live tapes through a really good system you'll be surprised to find some of those "boomy" tapes are killer. If you have the room for big speakers I would say Vandersteen 2c's will work, I never got them to work in my room due to placement issues but they can sound sweet & they are under $1,000 used. I had a pair of Meadowlark hot rod Kestrals & they weren't exactly suited to our music so I sold them. Now I have a pair of Tyler Reference monitors with matching sub that can rock with the best of them. Most of the time when you ask people on this forum for rock speakers they will mention JBL's & the like but we don't listen to typical rock music so I would recommend staying away from some of those speakers mentioned.
Find a really nice sounding speaker that can reproduce decent bass & improve the rest of your system around them. It will be the best thing you ever did for your music enjoyment, trust me.
PS- you need some WSP on your list ;)