Getting out of Electrostats

[nalthien]

Several years ago, I bought a pair of Martin Logan Theos speakers. While I've enjoyed them over these years, I'm considering moving back to more traditional speakers for two reasons: first, while great recordings sound amazing, bad recordings sound far worse and I'm tired of avoiding certain songs or albums because my speakers reveal how bad the engineering is. Second, I'm tired of dealing with what I heard Paul McGowan of PSAudio refer to as "vice grip" speakers--that is, the sweet spot being so small that you basically have one good seat and you feel like you need to put your head in a vice grip to stay in the correct position. I'd never heard the term before; but, when I heard Paul say it, I immediately felt a bit of relief that I wasn't the only one who felt this way about my electrostats!

Has anyone else made this transition? What brands have you considered or did you ultimately purchase? Did you miss the ultra-transparency of the electrostats? What was it that made you choose your new speakers? I've posted these questions in other places and I think I've received great suggestions as to speakers to try; but, so far, no one has been able to explain *why* their suggestion makes sense for someone making the move I'm looking to make.

I haven't settled on a budget yet; but, let's call it $10,000 to keep my options pretty open. These speakers will be driven by a McIntosh C1100C/T preamp and McIntosh MC452 power amp.