Daddicus,

Speakers are a very individual thing.What one person thinks is great another will things is terrible. For instance, a great many people rave about B&W speakers, personally I just don't like their sound nor their look. I am, however, a huge fan of Sonus Faber. I absolutely love their sound and they look amazing. With a $10K budget you can do quite well. You certainly won't be at the top of their line but even their entry speakers are amazing. Also, don't be afraid to buy used speakers. Sonus speakers last forever! I have a set of Sonus Electas in my office that are about 30 years old and the sound every bit as good as they did when I got them.

If you want new, I would look at the Venere series. You could get a pair of Venere 3.0 (front towers), a pair of Venere 2.0 (surrounds) and a Venere Center for under $7K. If you want to step up a level it would be the Olympica, but they would blow out your budget. I currently have Olympica III and they are the best speakers I have ever owned (at any price). I previously had the Luito series and I really loved them. If you look around (especially on Audiogon, or Ebay) you could probably get in to a used set of Luitos, towers, bookshelf and center all within your budget. That would run around $6K and they are a step up form the Venere series. The center might be hard to find, but I have one that I would consider selling.

OK, I'll get off my Sonus Faber band wagon now. You mentioned you would buy Outlaw speakers if they made them. Well, the next closest thing would be to look at Atlantic Technologies, https://atlantictechnology.com , speakers. I think there is some sort of connection between the 2 companies but I don't know for sure exactly what it is. I am sure there are others on here that could provide those details. I think you can get in to a set of theirs for just over $5K. I have never owned them but they have gotten very good reviews.

A couple of other suggestions. Don't go cheap on speakers. Buy the best speakers you can afford. This is not 100% true, but I look at like this; you're getting married to your speakers and you are just dating the rest of your equipment. The only other piece of equipment that I upgrade less frequently are my amps. Everything else is changing frequently, but my speakers I commit to, just like my amps. Also, listen to as many different speakers as you can. Make sure you take into consideration the showroom where you are listening. Room acoustics and overall setup can dramatically change the sound when you are demoing the speakers. Be especially careful in small demo rooms. The sound in those rooms can be very misleading. And finally, once you have selected your speakers make sure you do what it takes to get them setup correctly for your room. I can tell you several horror stories about people who have spent a lot of money on speakers and just stuck them wherever was convenient (or where the wife would let them) and were very disappointed with the sound. I have on more than one occasion had to help voice speakers for friends who were amazed at the sound different once they were setup correctly.

Well, enjoy the adventure! I hope you find something really special. OK, one last plug, but if I were buying the last speakers of my life, I would absolutely want Sonus Faber! Good Luck.