@lherrm
Good day to you. Read your OP. Yes, the disbursement will be important but you can't do any wrong with the Genelec W371A/8351 combo.
I, for one, find it beautiful and the combo is worth considering as an endgame for me too. Not that
I need to at this point in time
. You get a pair of this combo W371A/8351, you're set with a superlative system for years to come. A system that will allow you to enjoy music with no fuss and with great reliability. Some would claim the ultimate to be the 8361/W371 combo. I surmise the differences in a real world Living room, to be slight to nonconsequential.
On the subject of room treatment. I have come to realize that the best sound from the multiple systems I have heard and possess in my audiophile life, ranging from less than $2000 to over a Million dollar systems (no , not me, friends' systems), the better systems have been those without epic and spectacular room treatments. I would even go as far as saying that the best systems I have heard featured little, to no room treatment. It is perhaps a debate for another thread...
Some rooms do present problems in the upper end of the spectrum, that is tue, correct. I can safely advance that all domestic listening rooms , present most of their problems in the lower, say from 500 down to 0 Hz
.This job of negating the effects of ALL rooms in the lows can be dealt with room treatments: Epic, colossal endeavor that will cost more than the system itself and transform your living room in a way most partners and even the audiophile, will not find attractive, convenient or livable...On the other hand, DSP and EQ can mitigate these effects considerably. On top of that the W371A provide also cardioid bass... an are extremely potent low frequency addition that can play louder than the audiophile can tolerate or
should subject her or himself to, down to 18 Hz if I am not mistaken. And there in the lows, many rooms tend to provide some reinforcements and I wouldn't be surprised if a pair of W371A in the room you are considering, provide healthy (>100 dB at the listening position) output at 10 Hz....
All that to say do not overthink it: if you can, grab the W371A/8351. Do it. You'd be glad you did.
Other options, I would like to see reviewed by
@amirm ,
@hardisj ,
@napilopez , et al, would be the Bang and Olufsen Beolab 20 and 50... No joke. They, Bang and Olufsen , would not be the audiophile choice but they are a company that know a lot about sound reproduction. They are much more than a Lifestyle company. If one has the opportunity please listen to the old , now discontinued, Beolab 5.. it is one incredibly great sounding speaker system... The Beolab 50 is current. You seem to be in Europe, it may be possible to get the Beo 50, at your budget. An audition will remove many prejudices: It is a serious speaker that check all the points...in line with what you are looking for. It is also, likely to have the highest spouse acceptance factor.
Peace