New floor stand speakers

I was recently on a quest to get some new floorstanders and probably listened to 17 different models from the following manufactures:  Wilson, Magico, Rockport, B&W, Vandersteen, Harbeth, Focal, Vienna Acoustics and maybe some I forgot.  I think it depends on the type of sound you are looking for.  I had an audio friend with me for most of the auditions and we arrived at similar conclusions on our sessions.  There wasn't a Wilson we liked.  Like the previous comments, the treble drove us out of the room.  Subsequent to our reviews, I have listened to an upper end Wilson ($50K) that I did like, but the tweeter is different than the lower end line.  The Magico S1 was too small sounding, & the S3 had a slightly tilted upper end.  The Rockport Atria was very nice without any notable flaws but it just didn't get me involved with the music and the price went up.  We listened to all of the B&W's.  We both liked the 804 as the sleeper in the line.  The bass in the 803, 802 got a little flabby.  The Vandersteens carbon 5 and quarto were not our cup to tea.  I know a lot of folks like them, but the bass didn't seem right and there was a thickness to the midrange.  The Harbeth is not a floorstander but was very musical but didn't have enough bass.  The lower level Focals (900 series) were ok but didn't seem to have the soundstage we expected and the midrange seemed a little recessed.  We have not heard the new Focals.  We then listened to the Vienna Acoustics floorstanders, nothing to write home about until be heard the Listz.  It was one of those moments when the stars aligned.  It was open, transparent, great bass, midrange, dynamics and the top end was sweet.  This was the speaker that I bought.  It handles all types of music well.  I listen to classical, jazz, acoustic, vocals and rock.  If you want a highly resolving upper end like a Wilson and to a lesser extent Magico, this won't be the speaker for you.         

Goose,

i was was at CES 3 years ago and heard the Vienna Music. This speaker blew me away. It was the most beautiful speaker I have ever heard. I sat glued to my seat for an hour. I didn't want to leave. The speaker at the time was 27k. I don't even know if they make it anymore. It is an experience I will never forget.

I hope the OP makes his choice based on what he hears with his own ears and, if possible, that he gets to try his speaker choices in his own environment.  Lots of good suggestions in this thread, but also lots of people disliking lots of speakers and it would be a disservice for the OP to rule those brands out based on what other people heard.

When I bought my Wilson Benesch speakers, pre-owned, they sounded utterly miserable in the seller's living room.  I don't know if it was the ancillary equipment, or the room, but they were awful.  It was no wonder he wanted to sell them.   I'd heard them before, so I knew what they COULD sound like, so I bought them and sure enough they sound like heaven in my room.  Point being - you take any speaker anyone has mentioned in this thread, and in the wrong room or with the wrong equipment you can make it sound like crap.  But that doesn't mean it won't sound like heaven to the OP, in his home, and with the right equipment. 

ctsooner

You are way off base in your comments about B&W using cheap drivers. Unlike many speaker manufacturers, they do not purchase someone else's OEM drivers, but make all the drivers in the 800 series in house. That diamond tweeter, irrespective of how you think it sounds, is very sophisticated in it's construction and the result of years of research. The replacement cost on those, if you have checked, is over $1000 each. Not exactly what I consider a "cheap" driver.

First off anyone should listen before buying.  That's been a given in audio and just common sense. We all hear and like different things.  

As for B&W using cheap drivers, I don't think I said that and if I did, I'm sorry.  Very sorry.  Their drivers are very expensive in their D3 series.  Wilson are the ones who use cheaper drivers than other speakers in their price range.  All you have to do is look at the replacement costs of their drivers.

Here is the quote from what I posted earlier:  Here is the first post that you probably misunderstood "I'm with Mel on Wilson's. I just don't get them. They use inexpensive speakers and spend money on the cabinet and marketing. Ton's of great marketing and they sell well because of the name. Similar to B&W.?"  The similarity is the great marketing and them selling well.  That was my last though in the sentence and what I meant.  
Sorry for the confusion.