B&W 805D alternatives


I've got the upgrade bug and want to get a new pair of speakers. I currently have a pair of 805D's with the following: McIntosh MC275, VTL 2.5 preamp, Moon .5 CD player, Concept Turntable with Moon phono stage, all cables and interconnects are Nordost. I have the opportunity to home audition a pair of Sonus-Faber Olympica I.
I would like some suggestions on what would be a good upgrade. I would sell my speakers and put $2000 towards the new pair.
maddog66blue
I agree with James633 for the Vivid v1.5 I have them...have had many dynamic and planar speakers....combine best of both with natural, unboxy, detailed but coherent sound...best speakers I have had...have had them for 3 years ...I would only upgrade in Vivid line if I had a larger space...also the v1.5s are so good you really can play them up and pair with very high end electronics, sources, cables....
I would find a speaker that you love the sound of and then build your system around those rather than trying to match your current gear. Lots of great options in your price range just get out and demo as many as possible.
About two years ago my main speakers were a pair of B&W CM5's, the third pair of B&W's in a row (I have a Velodyne sub woofer as well). I had the hots to upgrade, listened to the PM1 (which was a step up from the CM5's), but had my heart set on the 805D's...until I was invited to an event opening my eyes to the Totem Element Fire monitors.

I returned to the showroom, stack of CDs in hand on a slow day and spent nearly three hours doing some careful comparisons and ended up ordering a set of Totem Element Fire's.

The Fire's are in a 13.5' x 22' living room, close to the back wall, driven by a 200wpc McIntosh solid state amp (and they sound fantastic). I don't listen to music at ear-splitting levels, but when I'm listening to them loud, the needles on the McIntosh hover around 2 watts. I suspect your MC275 would drive them beautifully!