I have many speakers and set ups... and... those that stand out as being the best for the money are the following:
1. Linkwitz Orions or LX521s - the most life-like speakers I’ve heard!
2. Harbeth 30.1s / 30.2s or 40.2s - with the right set up they sound very much like Quad ESL-57’s - the best there is!
3. Maggie LRS+ - with the right set up - as life-like as you’ll ever hear at a bargain price! They are truly remarkable!
4. Anything Legacy - expecially the XD versions - as good as you will ever hear - very few speakers can match their sound - most don’t!
Now - you’ll notice that 3 of these are dipole / open-baffle designs - which makes a huge difference! Nothing quite matches dipole / open-baffle designs - the most life-like speakers you will ever experience! Their sound-stage and imaging are unmatched!
While the Harbeths are not - they still produce a sound that is very similar to dipole speakers (a la the ESL-57s) and have a very rich, yet transparent, high resolution sound.
All of these are unmatched for "all things acoustic" (jazz, classical, country, bluegrass, blues, etc...) - if - you’re into anything else you might as well buy anything, because you won’t need the subtleties of dipole / open-baffle speakers.
Also - if you have an over-damped room (carpets, drapes, etc, etc.) you might as well buy anything, because you won’t need the subtleties of dipole / open baffle speakers.
And as usual - you must mate any of these with well matched set ups - or- you'll never achieve their true sound qualities! But... if you do... you will be amazed!
A great way to evaluate these is by their YouTube Demos - just listen to as many of their demos as you can find. It will become very apparent to you how much better these sound than all others - IF - you are seeking "all things acoustic" sound. Nothing compares! Don’t believe the BS that you can’t hear their sound qualities via tiny speakers via YouTube - you can very much so!
Again... IF.., you listen to "all things acoustic" you will love any of these speakers!
