Yg Carmel 1 versus Magico S1 Mk 1

@soix . Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I hadn’t been considering other speakers,partly because the looks of the Carmels and S1 were pleasing to my girlfriend and we spend significant time listening to music. I will now look at the other speakers you’ve mentioned and feel it will be most helpful in feeling confident going forward. Cheers ! Pete

@soix We also have a pair of JA Perspectives in a different system: different DACs andamps. Listeners seem to split equally between which one the like best, but there are many confounding factors.

Those are all great choices. Another brand that wows me is PMC.
Hard to find but its all about the hunt.