Thought I'd start a thread as my system is finally nearing completion (i.e. I'm finally becoming satisfied with what I'm hearing). The next step is to decide on speakers, but I'll provide a little background first.

I recently replaced my Exposure 2010s2 amp with an Audiolab 8000S. A little bit lost in terms of sense of pace, but the 8000S gives a more full bodied sound, with a soundstage that is both deeper and closer to the listener. It's got greater peak power, has plenty of control over the speaker drivers, and is really well built (it's heavy, put together well, knobs and buttons don't feel cheap). I like the trade off, mainly because what bugged me about the Exposure amp was the thinner sound that felt like it was a little too distant.

So then it was time to decide on a new source (replacing my Exposure 2010s2 CD player). It really came down to the Rega Apollo or Arcam CD17. When I found out a local dealer had the 35th Anniversary Apollo still in stock I jumped at it. Picked it up two days ago. It's gorgeous. But also faulty. It wouldn't stop playing the first CD I fed it. I knew this might happen, these complaints are all over the Internet. But I bought it anyway knowing I've got the warranty if it should give me problems. Well, it's not working at all now, but it's going back to the dealer tomorrow to get fixed. Let me just say, that the sound it produced while it was playing for about a half hour was awesome. I felt like I got back some pace, but didn't lose anything. It seems to be a great match with my 8000S and Quad 12L2 speakers.

But now I've got this Exposure gear sitting here and I can trade it in, along with the 12L2, for some speakers. That was the plan from the get-go. To get the amp/CD player I wanted, and the best speakers to match. To get that full bodied, detailed, bigger soundstage, and bigger scale sound. Perhaps the 12L2 is what I'll keep, but I'm considering the following:

PMC TB2i - had these for an in home trial. They've got a nice open sound, with well defined and deep bass. What impressed me most was the detail they brought out. You can really follow every instrument and the separation from other instruments is top notch. Frankly, I think this is a must. How are you going to understand the music, have conveyed what the artist intended, if sounds are blended together and you can't hear the smaller details? A fabulous speaker, but the most expensive on my list. If I can get close but spend $1,000 less, I'll be very happy.

Monitor Audio RX2 - big 8" woofer. These just overwhelmed my room. Felt like they'd be a great speaker in a bigger space, but in my room they pressurized it too much and sounded boomy. When I plugged the port the speaker felt like any other smaller speaker and was a lot less interesting. On softer songs without a lot of bass they sounded great. Monitor Audio did a nice job reigning in the brightness of the old RS line, but these are now off my list.

Dynaudio Excite X16 - big sense of scale, deep bass, and sounded really musical, like the emotion in the music really came through. Are still in the running, though I'm concerned about placement with the rear port.

ProAc Studio 110 - will get to hear them soon.

Paradigm Studio 20 - I'm really excited about hearing these. Reviews make it seem like they provide everything I'm looking for, and it's a bonus that they've got a woofer that is slightly larger than average for a 6.5" model, and also a front port.