Your thoughts on best audiophile speakers in $10,000 neighborhood?


I know the best way to select a speaker is to auditioon them at a dealer or in my own home. However, living in a rather rural area in northern Michigan, there's only one reputable dealer (Sonus Faber) in town so I may end up relying on reviews and your feedback. 

I used to own Vandersteen Model 2Cs in the late 1980s, but finally want to step up my game. I currently have a legacy Nakamichi receiver / amp with 1000wpc, but will probably upgrade that once I select a new pair of speakers. Currently I'm playing mostly LPs on a Technics SL1210G. I now listen mostly with a Mark Levinson 5909 headphone connected to a small Class A pre-amp, so I treasure detail and transparency and don't lean toward "warm" speakers.

Room is good size since it encompasses living room and opens to dining room and kitchen behind it. Cathedral ceiling is about 12 feet high. 

I'm considering the following speakers: Vandersteen Treo CT, Wharfedale Elysian 4 (perhaps too big for my room), Monitor Audio Gold 300 and the Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII. These all fit within my budget. What are your thought about any of these...or do you have others to recommend?

Thanks for whatever guidance you can give me.

 

aphilc

I could see the Borresen being glaring the treble with a very reflective room. 

One needs to match the speakers to the room. Also adding room treatments.

After hearing the Borensen , Raidho , Scansonic speakers at Axpona . Iam very impress what I heard.

Pure Audio Project, such as; the Trio 15 ($8000.00). The openness and huge soundstage is hard to beat with open baffle.

+1. Mine are with the horn in the center and they sound amazing! Clear, detailed, beauty, no grating sound, AND can be driven wonderfully by lower power amps (mine are driven by a 2A3 SET amp pushing as much as only 4.3 watts).