Which Speaker in the 4-6K Range?

I looked again at your requirements. Efficiency of the Gershman Avant Garde's could be a problem. I believe they are only rated at 86db/w/m. Although 100 watts is more than enough in an average sized room, I would recommend a high current solid state amp in order to get the most out of them, including that glorious bass response.

Hi Pops, Haven't heard the Ascents yet, but they are heavily based on Prodigy design. I stay in touch with the guys at Martin Logan and even they debate whether this is better than the SL3. Comes down to personal taste, like most things. Dealers I've spoken to (in the LA area) all seem to say that it's a better speaker. It depends on what your huckleberry is. If you like ML hybrids I would have to make an educated guess that this is a good sounding speaker. Dealers claim that the crossover between the panel and woofer is better extecuted. I like the SL3's OK (as the hybrids go) and don't think that the Acsent is a huge difference. I did have an overzelous dealer tell me that it was "80% of the Prodigy". Hardly likely, I think. But worth a listen -- I'm going to check it out soon just to keep up with what ML is doing firsthand.

Thanks Jim, I'm hot and cold on Logans. I listened to some Aerius the other day with all Classe electronics and the sound is so open it's got to be addictive but I worry about bass response and maybe too much detail for older CD recordings.