What's your picks

I heard these at the Pacific Audio Fest and I gotta tell you, I was impressed:

https://vanatoo.com/shop/speakers/transparent-one-encore/

I don't even need a pair and I wanted to buy them. And later on if you move, you can pair with a sub and they're really amazing. Happy hunting!

Happy listening.

Magnepan LRS+ or .7 might be a good recommendation if you like that sound and have the proper amplification. I'm certainly having fun with my .7's and I've had probably close to a dozen speakers. 

the two main options in this price range are to go with an entry model of a boutique brand or the middle of the road model of a commercial brand, and mostly I mean used.

such as

boutique | mainstream

Fritz          Dynaudio

Spatial      Klipsch

Totem        Revel

Buchardt   Polk

Nola          Wharfedale

etc....

I had a pair of Magnepan 1.7i in a room that size an the sound was exceptional. You should be able to find a used pair in that range. Hopefully you have the space to properly set them up. I have since moved up to the 3.7i in the same room.

@johnto , my speakers have to be close to the front wall and 1 corner wall due to the floor plan and walkways/ doors. Great suggestion though. I'm so tempted to get those Salk and try to make them work, but I think I really need to resist forcing a speaker into my room when a lower quality one might give better overall sound simply because it fits the space better. I really need to remind myself that bigger doesn't necessarily equal better in this situation.