Which is Best loudspeaker in the $1000-1200 range?

i second spendor(maybe s5e), for its outstanding midrange performance and polite though extremely tunefull bass.

"Maybe that's why the cost of a pair of B&W's in the US is the same as the cost in the UK!"

Agree but price differential may also come from market-specific pricing to remain competitive and adjust to the strength/weakness of their currency.
In the last 2-3 years, European brands have suffered from very strong currency that almost put then out of market in some cases. It was not uncommon for them to cut down on margins eventually (all things relative though, they usually cut channel markups, not their own profits!)when selling in NorAm. That does not make their product a real value winner as they usually benchmark with other international brand prices (think B&W vs Dynaudio vs JM Lab in NorAm).

The reverse is also true: Canadian brands have been privileged with a very weak currency between 2000-2003 and companies like Totem or SimAudio have raised their international prices to equal or about nominal value (Arros sold for about $1,100 CAD in Canada and $1,100 euros in Europe, a 200% difference!...SimAudio W5 sold for about 4,500 CAD, euros or USD). Think about the channel margin paid by your cousin in Italy on a pair of Arros at close to $2,500 CAD at the time!!!!!

Figueiredops, at the end, the true economics of buying local and as direct as possible makes sense in terms of value, at purchase and during the course of ownership(if and when the offering makes it possible). At one point, I had to have my Totem and SimAudio gear checked and was happy to have both manufacturers at driving distance or at least domestic, easier, cheaper, faster than when I had to have my Unison Research checked (they had to order a part from Italy!). I am far from saying one should only buy domestic or basement brands but if the market permits, this is a good idea in order to get closer to the $1,000 item that sounds like the $2,500 (although this sentence makes little sense in the context of today's diverse supply of sometimes questionable quality). The internet has allowed little known domestic one-owner brands to get as much exposure as the large one spending $$$ in print media. 20yrs ago, it would have been hard for Tyler Acoustics to get the level of awareness in the audio community if they had had to rely on small printed columns at the end of TAS. Today, tks to Agon and other audio sites, Tyler products get the same level of exposure as a B&W. Anyone should AB a N703 and a Taylo 7U to see what value means.
Note: I am not affiliated with Tyler at all, never owned any of their products but always been impressed at shows or friends.

If you buy used you can get a pair of Vandersteen 2ce Signature's in that range. A VERY nice, full range(or close to it) speaker for the money. Sound is more on the warm side.

Brian: you are right, these were estimates only, I may be underestimating the figure by another 10% or so as I have bought three European speaker sets at 40% discounts directly from their NorAm distributors (not end of the line). I guess they covered landing acquisition price and some holding costs.
The channel mark-up, advertising contribution and supply chain costs on your 802D may be over $6,000 in fact. Did anyone ever compare a 802D at $12k and a Tyler Taylo Ref3 at $4,600? at that price point, value is not necessarily what people look for, they want the best sound so this is somehow irrelevant to the OP yet I would be curious to know the answer.

But at $1,000, better run out of direct then domestic then 100% Chinese options before buying heavily channeled European(ized) brands. I made the same mistakes myself when I got started.

I have no desire to get in a pissin match with you Beheme, if you don’t like B&W speakers I couldn’t give a flip. The reason I posted was because you freely make claims that you have zero knowledge of. Furthermore, a company that has the finances to advertise can generate those finances in many ways, one being that they sell a lot of product. If I sell one widget I make a little money, if I sell a lot of widgets I make more money, having more resources to work with. Putting down a company because they advertise is foolish in my opinion. I suspect that these smaller companies you praise would love to sell greater volumes and have the ability to market their product on a grander scale. Advertising is just one benefit of more resources.