???YOUR Personal Favorite???Why???

One more vote for the Joseph Audio Pulsar.  I owned a pre-graphene pair for several years and they were an excellent speaker across all types of music.

MBL 126 are pricey at just under your budget of $15K but the price includes the stands and they're an omni.

I can only say KEF Reference 1’s because that is what I have. I am open to new ideas though not sure what would beat them. 

I am very pleased with my pair of 15-year-old PSB Image 2Bs for which I paid $200!!!! My top 2 replacement choices are the Goldenear BRX and the Genelec G3 based on numerous stellar reviews I've seen and read.

1st place- Green Mountain Audio Chroma w/ the upgraded crossover. Unflappable, completely transparent and if you like SPL they have that in abundance.

2nd place: Nola Brio w/ the Nola Subs… Something about that Nola sound is so captivating. I made a clone of these cause at the time I couldn’t afford them. Amazing with small jazz ensembles, vocals , acoustic guitars… they don’t reall “rock” but that’s not what they are designed for.