Quest for more musicality

In the quest to get a little bit more from my music collection I've decided that it's time to employ a dedicated music kit. It's not that my Current System is bad by any stretch of the imagination but it's not the most musical setup that could create.

The current plan is to create a system with bookshelf speakers to reduce the impact that the setup would have on the room. The first part of the quest is to find a set of speakers that will deliver more detail than my current Wharfedale Diamond 8.4s, without compromising too much on the bass extension. The Diamonds already have impressive imaging and separation but tend to be a little on the warm or smooth side and some of the finest details can be lost. Obviously the frequency range of the new system won't quite extend to the same depths as the 8.4s (being floor standing speakers with 2 6.5" drivers) but the idea is that the compromise is not so great that it taints the listening experience.

Currently I have started a list of speakers that take my fancy in this department and it's now a matter of auditioning and narrowing down the options:-

Celestion AVF-302 Glass A 5.25 inch, 2 way, Glass Loudspeaker :- I admit this one is here mainly for it's looks... but they do look good. Haven't had a chance to audition these yet mainly because I don't know anywhere they are stocked...

KEF XQ1 Maranello Red - These Kef beauties retail for around $2499 and incorporate a Uni-Q driver assembly.

B&W 705 Bookshelf - This B&W uses a 6.5 woven Kevlar® cone bass/midrange driver, which is impressive when you get the chance to audition them and see just how much bass they can actually produce. Spin up any Jazz track with a kicking double bass and you see what I mean. At $2.5K these have been the most impressive in auditions so far.

Monitor Audio GR10 - This MA uses uses one RST® bass-mid driver and the new gold C-CAM® tweeter developed specially for the Gold Reference Series.

Dynaudio Audience 52 - This Dynaudio has been the cheapest one I've auditioned, more by chance that anything. It was very impressive but I didn't get a chance to listen with any material that I knew. At $1499 though it was pretty involving listen, especially with the amount of detail that they could extract.

There are probably a few more that will be added to the list as the research continues, but this is a solid set to start from. I've also managed to eliminate Klipsch and Sonus Faber from the running after some brief auditioning.