Best monitor for HT


I am looking for 5 mini/monitor speakers for a small high-end home theater setup. The speakers I have thought of are B&W 805, Legacy Studio, Sonus Faber Concerto, and the new Mobile Fidelity OML-1.

I am a curent B&W owner and this is the 805 only speaker on the list I can listen to locally. I'm wondering if anyone else has had the opportunity to compare any of these speakers or has other recommendations. I want to stay under $2K/pair.
jaykapur
The 805 isn't a bright speaker at all ..hogwash! Maybe mated with some bright gear, their "semi-netutral" palat would tip towards bright...like maybe for instance being mated with some Chord gear or whatever. At least I remember Chord being bright.
I hear so many times people calling the more Neutral/accurate sounding speakers "bright"! This is more a problem when you mate these speakers with bright gear, which makes them sound bright!!!!...this is a problem with more critically balanced gear on the neutral/accurate side!..they show through any system flaws. Still, I would not call the 805's bright. If anything, the older matrix 805's could be slightly more tipped up!
But, I understand this depends on who you ask!..traditionally the British like more "mellow" slightly "rounded off on top" sounding monitors, compared to the more analytical, often, yes, "brigher" speakers in other parts of Europe. I tend to like transparent, finely tweeked and balanced, more accurate speakers!..there's a fine line indeed.
If you like the 805's well enough, you could get excellent results if set up correctly!..which is the key. In a small room, they'll need to be away from walls a bit, but set up high in the rears non-the-less. Also, you'll need to sit acoustically closer to them thanyou are to the walls in regards to proximity! This is critical if you have limited acoustical treatment espeically. Hearing more of the direct sound from that speaker, rather than closely delayed reflections from the walls and ceiling, is going to get you a more accurate, dynamic, transparent and dialog intelligable sound!
good luck
Sounds like a lot of support for the 805. I thought maybe I'd hear a lot of folks pitchning the Taylor Taylo or VR-1. Dolby Digital audio and solid state amps can definitely create a bright/harsh sound, but I don't want speakers that will attempt to compensate for that. (That is what THX re-eq is for, if anything at all)

Looks like I'll be going for the B&W. Thanks!
The 805's are controversial speakers. Some find them bright and fatiguing. Others think they are accurate. I don't think that anyone would call them forgiving. Decide for yourself. Listen to the 805's with gear comparable to what you are going to use. Bring some of your harsher sounding music and DVD's.