bookshelf's to match older rotel 30watt

Maybe Klispch Heresey....$300ish used.......

You know the first time I heard B&Ws I fell in love with them, too. But the more I went and listen to other speakers the less I liked the B&Ws. At your price point, the top speaker I would be looking for is a used pair of the Usher S-510, as it's the small speaker to beat, after thst the Energy RC-10s are some very nice sounding speakers. Beyond that you might want to check out some NHT Classic Two or Threes, hell even the Polk RT series aren't bad for the money. There's a lot of good speakers at your price point out there and you owe it to yourself to hear as many of them as possible.

thats the problem, auditioning isnt really possible except the polks maybe but for some reason ive never heard a polk speaker i liked! Heard a lot about NHT but not availible around here! AGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! whats even more stupid is the fact that im looking at b&w's that are not the specific model I heard!!!!! The ones I heard are about 150 out of my range and im hoping that other bookshelf b&w's sound similar!!!! Wow after typing that I realize how silly I am!!!!

Glowplug, you should realize it takes a while to warm up! Take a breath and relax - remember 0 to 60 in, oh, well, something less than a day for a diesel, right?

Here's some ideas...

-the Usher idea is a great one.
-you cannot go wrong with the B&W 300 series, I have yet to hear ANY of their products that I have thought were losers.
-I really like the Energy C-100 and C-200's
More award winning Canadians
-Paradigm Atom v.5
-PSB Alpha B1
More English designed speakers to duke it out with the B&Ws (although the B&W 300 series may be the only English made of this bunch)
-Monitor Audio BR1 new, and BR2 and R90 used
-Cambridge Audio S30
-Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 or 9.2

I addition, here is a previous thread, and I'm sticking to my advice there as well, although these speakers are a bit pricier if purchased new:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1199418973&openusid&zzKnownothing&4&5#Knownothing

There are a lot of great speakers available in this price category. Turn the key on, surf the Internet, and when the plugs are warm - light it up!

Glowplug,

Everybody is in the same ballpark as far as being able to hear a lot of the speakers that they may be interested in. About the only way you can audition many speakers is to buy them, listen to them for awhile and if works out, keep them. If not, sell them for pretty much the same price you bought them for and try something else. One of the best places that I have found to do is, is through Audiogon sales listing (hit browse). In here, many people, just like me and you are buying and selling various pieces of audio equipment. And quite often you can get some pretty damn good deals. Believe me, this is the route many Audiogoners have gone down in trying to find equipment or speakers that they would like to try and/or can afford. If I was you I would go to Audiogon sales listing on a regular bases, as there is many good speakers turning up there at a variety of price points. Find what you're looking for, contact the seller, ask needed questions, work out the details of payment and shipping, and then, hopefully, happy listening. Fact of the matter is, this is exactly the way I put my system together.

Btw, B&W speakers show up there quite often, as do many of the other speakers that have been suggested in this thread. Check the listings daily, as you never know what might show up.