As I have often said, choosing speakers, or any equipment for that matter, is as much about you as is the equipment. One thing that is surely frustrating you search is that you are in a very high class of speakers. There are NO Bad speakers listed in this thread, only speakers that are more likely to match your specific wants and needs.
So, that brings us to the question - what is it you really WANT and NEED. Not just in generalities, but in specifics.
- How big (dimensions) is the room?
- Where will the Speakers be placed in the Room? If the Speaker must be close to the wall, and I doubt it, then that dictated a different speaker than if you can give the Speakers some space.
- What other equipment will you be using or anticipate using?
- Are there any aspects of the Room that need to be taken into consideration? Large Glass Windows or Doors? Fireplace? Odd Shape? Built in Cabinets or Bookshelves? Or any other factors?
- Room Acoustics - How are they now, and how far are you willing to go and how much are you willing to spend to improve them?
- What is your preference for Sound? Smooth and laid back? Forward and present? Room shaking bass? Clarity and presence in the Midrage? Other?
- Budget - Budget seems clear, but budget is always a limiting factor. You can get the
Monitor Audio Gold 300 (£3000/pr), but you can not get the
Monitor Audio Platinum 300 (£8000/pr). Even if by chance you can push yourself up into Platinum territory, you can't push yourself to the
Platinum 500 (£10,000/pr). The point is, there is no best, only the best for you within the working price range. And even if you can push to the
Platinum 500, you can not push yourself to the
£16,000/pr FOCAL Sopra N3. There is always something better, if you have more money to spend.
- That looks cool! - Believe it or not, you are allowed to buy speakers simply because the look cool. Aesthetics is a real and valid consideration. Again, in the price class you are in, there are no bad speakers, only speakers you like more.
You, your person preferences and taste, combined with the circumstances will help narrow the field.
The question isn't what works, but rather what works for you?
The
Bowers-Wilkins 700 Series are indeed good speakers. Well worth considering, but remember that the
DALI Rubicon are also good speakers, as are all the other speakers listed.
The
B&W 702 (£3300/pr) are stunning with the outboard tweeter. Excellent Sound Stage, good detail, well balanced, good Mid/High presence without being bright.
Indeed the choices are near infinite, but what do you want and what do you need? What compromises are dictated by your circumstances? What speakers will best fit your taste and your room?
Again, all the speaker mentioned are good speakers, and it is nearly impossible to go wrong. If we start with that premise, then it becomes a question of which speakers do you like?
Pre/Power isn't necessary, though certainly a valid option. There may be some circumstances where Pre/Power would be nice to have, but again, not really necessary except is special circumstances.
For examples, the
Rotel RC-1572 Pre_Amp (£945) pretty much as the identical features compared to the
Integrated Rotel RA-1572 (120w/ch, £1395). The nearest matching Rotel Power Amp would be the RB-1552MKII (130w/ch, £845). So Integrated is £1395, and Pre/Power is £1790 for pretty much the same thing.
The Integrated
Rotel RA-1592 (£2095) has lots of features and 200w/ch.
I would suggest, if you consider Rotel, that you only consider Class-AB Power Amps, though ultimately that is your personal decision.
For example, the
Rotel RB-1572 is 250w/ch Class D -
RB-1572
The
Rotel RB_1582MKII is 200w/ch Class AB -
RB-1582 MkII
Again, that is a matter of preference, mine is to Class AB, but that's not mandatory.
Of course, while you have considerably greater cost in a Pre/Power, you have more flexibility. You can buy the Pre-Amp for the features, and by any Power Amp based on the quality. It is after all the Power Amp you hear. So, Pre/Power can be desirable, but it is not necessary.
The core question around Amps is the same as with Speakers -
What do you want? What do you need?
Both the Rotel 1572 and 1592 have
Tone Controls, DACs built in, Bluetooth, and
Network Streaming. As an alternative you can find Amp/Pre-Amps that simply have a Source Select Switch and a Volume Control and that's it. Which of those do you want and need?
Again, in this class of speakers there is no wrong choice, that is, they are all good speakers. So, it simply becomes a matter of which one do you like.
Aesthetics are a real factor, if you keep the speakers long term, then you will have to look that them for many years, get speaker you like the look of.
There is nothing wrong with the original consideration of
DALI Rubicon. They certainly do look lovely in the natural wood finished.
I would expect these to be exceptionally present and detailed speakers.
Perhaps a slight bit more on the mellow side, the B&W 702.
Though the aesthetics are different, I would expect stunning results from the very highly efficient
Klipsch Forte-III.
Right now, because I like Old School Big-Box Speakers, the
Forte-III would be high on my list to consider ... if I had the money.
If fact, there last three
(with photos) would all be very high on my list of desirable speakers. I would have a hard time choosing between them, though no matter the ultimate choice, you really can't go wrong, they are all fantastic speakers, just in slightly different ways.
Steve/bluewizard