What Speakers ??

I agree with the above...If you don't include the Vandersteen 1C and 2CEsig on your list to listen to...you may wish you would have. They are among the very few speakers that can be called classics.
The Meadowlark Kestrel and Thiel 1.5 are others to listen to.

well, You dont want to get a speaker that is to to revealing because if you have anything in your system that is not up to par your speakers will reveal it. If your thinking of building by always upgrading you should find a speaker you love and build around it. b&Ws have a very nice midrange you should try to get a pair of n805s or I agree with the psb idea. They offer a great value for the money. They can sound Dark and cold at times system matching can be rough. We all have diffrent tastes and ideas its up to your ears no ours. Listen to as much as possible but dont by polks they are nowhere near the speaker a b&w is. I would recommend a pair of Martin Logan Aerius i you can get them for 1,100 on the used market and what they do in the midrange you would need to spend 15,000 to get that in another brand of speakers but they lack bss so you will need a sub but at that time you will have a really large and wide soundstage with holgraphic sound. And thats where an electrostatic excels over a box speaker it doesnt hurt to try them. Good Luck

I have been using Vandersteen 2cis for many years, and they have sounded fine as I have upgraded my electronics from entery level high end to mid high end gear. However, I am mostly playing acoustic music at moderate levels. I do like some rock, but not heavy metal at very high levels. The Vandy's always sound good tho, and will support better front ends as you move up.

The Vandersteens are very good. You might also try the NHT 2.5i, which may have the best bass of any speaker in that price range. It images great, and is overall very stroing although it is perhaps less refined than the Vandersteen.

It might be even be available new for ~$1k, and used seems to go for roughly $600-700.

Ccla,
I don't know the specs on that receiver, but please make sure that you check the impedance level rating to match the speakers that you get. It would be a drag to bring in a low impedance speaker that your receiver can't drive. bummer