I have Harbeths (SHL5s), (old) Ohm Walsh 4s, had Aerial 10Ts, and had Von Schweikerts.
My Harbeths can actually ring a bit at the wrong height/angle. I need to place them lower than is advised.
You need to be a little careful with SHL5s to get them right. I kind of think the SHL5s need some tubes up front (I have a tube pre & a solid state amp).
My Aerials also were smooth but with can shriek with some recordings. (Diana Ross, especially).
My Ohms are certainly smooth, but have mid-fi resolution (they are from 1985, though). Not really competitive here.
Von Schweikerts I think are the winner here, with never a sour note in the midrange up to the highest highs, and I always thought (in mine & others in shows) the finest percussion out there. No fatigue. They can have boomy bass if not positioned well or in too small a room, so I think that's the area to concentrate on with VSR. But I think vocals, strings, woodwinds, brass and piano are truly superb on the VSRs I have heard over the years, consistently. So I think they would meet your needs if you can find one (maybe on audiogon) that you can afford.
I kind of feel Von Schweikert is the opposite of Wilson sound, where Wilson has great controlled transparent detailed bass but can have scratchy highs on some recordings, and VSR have great mids-highs, natural and silky but resolved, but sometimes boom a bit and need some care & feeding in this area (which can be done--I've heard it several times).
