Hello, I was in Hawaii awhile back and I believe that there is a dealer there that sells Thiel. I.M.H.O. None of the speakers you talked about can compare to Thiel. JBL and Josephs are entry level speakers Thiel is highly thought of. You will need seperates as Thiel will show weakness's in a system but why throw good money away. You could get a pr. of 1.6' for that price or maybe some 2.3's. Check out the reviews at Stereophile or at www.audioreview.com But the MOST important thing is what YOU think sounds best!
Good Luck!
Good Luck!