B&W 685C's

If you know how these pieces sound and you like them then no one sjould argue too vigorously against your getting them. The would not be at the top of my list but I am not you and I love tubes.
I might add though that tuners are becoming obsolete with internet radio becoming the more current choice. I however have multiple analog tuners which I don't intend on giving up. Even SS ones you might look at the less expensive Sasui tuners they are reall good.

Gonna need to know more about your speaker placement options. My options for speaker placement are very limited. Mine have to sit on a shelf in an entertainment center. The limitations that you have on speaker placement is going to have an affect on what speakers will likely work for you.

For me, the 685s didn't work very well. Don't get me wrong. They are very good sounding speakers, if you can accommodate them. For me, they were lifeless in the mid range and the bass was messy, due to required placement.

I know that not many people opt for tiny speakers, but I'm running Silverline Minuets with a sub now and I've found them to be very forgiving about placement. Although optimal placement is required to make them sound their best, they always sound at least good no matter where I put them.

I'm running an older NAD C162 pre with an Aragon 2004 amp.

It sounds like I confused you maybe. I have the electronics, am looking for new speakers, and wondering what the best choice of that electronics selection would be best to use, and would the 685's even be a good choice for my situation.

The only place I'll be able to place whatever speakers we pick is along each side of the fireplace of brick, on top of the heart(??). The areas are 11"w x 39"h and the fireplace is 7.5" deep on each side and I'd like to stay narrower than the 11" by a ways. I'm sure the brick will ruin any attempt at good sound reproduction, but I'm hoping the home manager won't bury the stands and I can bring them to the front of the hearth when I want to really listen. Still a major compromise but... There are several towers that fit in there nice but I find myself wanting to use a bookshelf speaker instead, and getting something bigger seems like I'd be paying for size instead of quality of sound, except for the sound a bigger speaker CAN produce.

Music choices are pretty varied really. In no particular order, hard rock, smooth jazz, bluegrass, latin pop, all the classic rock and such I still have vinyl of, there's lots of new music I'm hearing lately I'm liking but don't know what it's classed as. A sample of listening to the feed from KRVM radio in Eugene Oregon during weekdays will reveal that.
Hmm, what did I forget? Oh, considering chasing down another Nak 420 to bridge them for more power if it's a particularly good idea.