New floor stand speakers

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.