Von Schweikert DB99 or Vandersteen 5A ??

Sam,
I forgot the Parsifals, good choice in speakers.
Another favorite, if you can find a pair, is the Avalon Ascent Mk.2's, simply awe-inspiring, if you have the room.
I'd give a holler to Jonathan Tinn at Chambers Audio, he's well versed on all these, and a straight shooter, nice guy to talk to and very easy to deal with, tell him I sent you.
If you can get a couple large area rug(s) and hang some drapes over the glass, your sound will improve substantially.

Rx8man

Perhaps others who have heard the 99's sound forward may have heard them in improper set ups. When I first got the 99's I did think they sounded forward. What I discovered was that placement was key. Once I got them positioned in my room (my room is tricky due to an unfortunate sophit) the sound stage opened up to amazing levels and the forwardness went away with the exception of instruments which were mixed to sound clean and present from the speaker positions.
The 99 is a dynamic speaker which I think some also may confuse as forward due to there not being used to so much detail and impact in the sound.

I own 99's and they don't sound forward....they reproduce what you feed them.

Larry

Thanks for the pm Rx8man-

To avoid any confusion in my above thread I was responding to Samcclark not Rx8nman. Too much holiday eggnog.

Howdy! Given the price of the speakers you're considering you need to make a trip to listen to them. We can tell you all about the speakers in question, but in the end it's your money. I travelled to hear the 5s prior to purchase deliberately. I heard them in 3 totally different systems and that was what convinced me that they were for me.

It's worth it. Plus, you'll have a relationship with the dealer you purchase from. That will be worth a lot if you ever need anything like tuning on the 5As.

Good luck and happy holidays!