Speaker recommendation for married couple

Notes from the wife :)

Thanks everyone for the input! I really do leave these decisions to my audio geek - he can have whatever he wants and I just want him to be happy. Unfortunately for him, he has a burning urge to pass it through me for approval because he thinks I have better ears 😂 

I want to feel the music in my bones, I want to feel like I can close my eyes and am listening to it live. The full reverberation of the bass, the nuances in the metal strings of an acoustic guitar. The sibilance in vocals just grates my ears. I basically want to sit in the 1980s Maxell poster and be blown away. 

I don't particularly remember the Sonus Fabers except that they were very expensive 😂 

The KEF LS50, it's tiny and aesthetic perfection (imho). We've listened a few times. It's a very tight and clean sound, bass is pretty damn good (even better supplemented with a sub), but perhaps not as natural in the vocals for me to be blown away. Not as warm as I'd prefer.

Harbeths, I cannot pinpoint it, but I just didn't feel it. I felt like it was a simple speaker, and it just felt flat. Definitely a warm sound but I just didn't feel the power in the vocals. I think the lows drowned the sound. 

So, I guess I am looking for warmth and bass, detail in mids, and no/low sibilance in vocals.

Hello wife.  Buying Hi-Fi is quite a tricky subject.  Sizable dosh for something personal.  It is even more tricky for me because I live very close to the edge of the earth and the opportunities for listening are few and far between.  Not only that but I have a wide range of styles to accommodate; from singer and guitar to large orchestra. That is enough about me.   I like the suggestions so far about Sonus, Canton, and Tannoy.  You can add Triangle and to that.  In particular I think the 'paper driver' comment is right on the money.  I think little boxes - Harbeths, LS3/5a, Kef LS50 - wont cut it.  These days manufacturers do sterling work with getting bass from small designs but the bass - while there - seems a little contrived, without real body.  Sorry for the abstract language, but hopefully you are used to it by now.  Or as has been said 'There is no substitute for cubic inches' - or was that in relation to vehicle engines?  :->  I know there is already enough to think about but (& sorry if I have missed it) what amp is to drive the speakers?  The relationship between those is the most important issue in system matching, in fact this is why 'active speakers' are inherently right.  Good luck.

Listen to these:

• Monitor Audio Silver 6 or 8. Pick whichever one works for your listening room size.
  
• KEF LS50 plus a good subwoofer; the sub could make it work for the both of you.
  
• Magnepan 1.7, with or without subwoofer. This is the one that my wife picked over several others including the GoldenEar Triton 7. You can also add a sub to this one to give it more low end oomph while being free of boomy, boxy resonances. This is a *fabulous* speaker for the money. It's the one we bought, and it captivates me every day.
• Sonus Faber Venere 2,5; voluptous, seductive, and engagingly musical. Also beautiful.

Speakers will depend on your budget, amps and room size. But considering all +/- average, I would go for Tektons or for near perfect unbeatable sound beauty and balance for pounds/sound: XTZ Divine 100.33 http://www.xtzsound.eu/product/divine-100-33 

If your budget will allow, try a pair of Wilson-Benesch Vertex Loudspeakers. No serious listening for about 200 hours of break-in.. Extremely revealing of your upstream components, but they absolutely disappear. Plus a very Hi Wife Acceptance Factor!

Look up Tetra Loudspeakers from Canada. Not that it matters, but a few Jazz greats, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter endorse them. I own the 222's and am waiting for the 111's (bass units) to arrive shortly. I have owned a lot of loudspeakers over the years, Klipsch, Duevel, Magnepan, Ohm, Trenner & Friedl, Silverline, Vandersteen, Infinity, Polk, Bose, Pioneer, Avid, EPI, A/D/S, Fritz and the Tetra 222's do it for me. They sound natural, without any emphasis on certain frequencies. The 222's are running I think $2750.00. They make stands for the 222 which were made for them. If you think, you need more bass, you could add the 111's later but they are quite a bit more in cost. Adrian is the owner and builder of these speakers. He tunes everything by ear. I am not a spokes person for his company just a satisfied customer.