seeking advise please on my short list for new speakers? (15k budget)

@deep_333 The Z1 Cryo is just shy of 15K. Perhaps some might recommend the cheaper Borresen X3. I've heard both and I think the Z1 Cryo is worth the premium. I forgot to mention TAD-ME1. It's fantastic and still within OP's budget. 

For active, I think Dutch&Dutch 8c is hard to beat at this price range. 

I'll add my list for when/if I upgrade my Buchardt Audio S400 MKIIs:

Dutch and Dutch 8C - Active $14,000 a pair

Borreson X3 - Passive $11,000 a pair

Joseph Audio Pulsar 2 Graphene - Passive $12,500 a pair

Fyne Audio (Several options) - Passive

Tannoy - Turnberry Passive $9,000

@vthokie83 I would consider Audiovector R1 Arrete and Triangle’s Duetto 40th. I’ve listened to Duetto very recently and it was a fun and detailed listen. And driven only by Marantz 40n! 
 

For 2.1 setup, nothing IMO beats a Cabasse Riga and Baltic setup at this price point. I love my Riga setup. It is as good as those more expensive brands I mentioned above. 

+1 for the Volti Rivals. Of course it all depends on what you most value. For myself, I think dynamics is what makes music come alive & sound close to the real thing. Many of those suggested require heroic amplification to get there if at all & struggle to do so in a big room. The Rivals accomplish this w/ ease w/ just 10 or so good watts & can maintain the detail, nuance & rich body & tone of the music as well. I think the only thing they may lack is a sense of depth at least in my system. Imaging otherwise is very good. They are pretty big & heavy too & certainly won’t disappear in a room if that matters. 

ATC SCM 40As can be an endgame speaker.  Owned a pair for 5 years and loved them.  Only replaced by ATC SCM 50As.  

The ATC 40s will reflect each upgrade you place in front of them.  They particularly like the Gaia ll footers and XLR interconnects at the preamp side.  I doubted that until I converted unbalanced to balanced.  Of course you will need run XLR at the speaker side.

Sub is optional.  I found them quite adequate, but then mostly listen to non-bass demanding acoustic and vocal artists.  The attack speed on these is ridiculous. The immediacy of the performance is where they live.  

Best of luck finding what works best for you.