Both Spendor and Harbeth have strong followings among those who listen to a lot of vocal and acoustic music. I have the Spendor SP1/2E and I simply love its naturalness and ease with well recorded material.
The only problem is that you will spend less than your budget if you buy a pair used. (I think the new SP1/2Rs run around $5K and SP1/2Es run $1,200 to $2,500 used depending on age and condition.)
Harbeth is also very well regarded and run slightly higher than Spendor.
They are well worth an audition.