Best loudspeaker on the 3k range???

Rock? Hales 3 has prodigious bass/slam; classical/jazz/folk? Revel Performa F30 has GREAT midrange. Both speakers are MUCH better than Nautilus 804, but WAFs aren't the best.... (Frankly, they're better than 803 also...what a hideous tweeter integration, and muddy bass!)

Spendor SP 1/2's, hands down.

My vote goes to the vandersteen 3a or 3a sig.with sound anchors.

check out revel performa f-30's and meadowlark shearwater hot rods. have heard great things about proacs, too. imho, martin logans are not practical unless you are content to always sit still in the same perfectly placed chair every time you listen.

It's not hard to understand why there are so many loudspeaker manufacturer's judging by the responses above. Now the poor guy is really confused as am I. I sure wish I could listen to all listed so I could really know for myself. I recently acquired a pair of Merlin VSM-SE's and I can say they sure are revealing, detailed, dynamic and positively breathtaking on well recorded material. They are going to take some careful system matching so I can get the best out of them. I don't think there is a limit to their capabilities but that may prove to be a double edged sword with these babies. I now know why people unload them, not enough patience to get them to their optimum. I expect that they may be unsurpassed if you are willing to go the distance with them. I have never heard a speaker that surpasses them at their best. They are throughbreds all the way.