Best speakers under $500? Fire away!

I've heard no speakers that compete with the ELAC speakers,  at or close to there price range.

At that pricepoint and the specs of your NAD, here is another contender.

Wharfedale  diamond 10.1

google the reviews 

Wharfedale denton, new.  Superb cabinets, laid back and smooth sound, good soundstage, at this price no problem.

Infinity Primus 363 - great small floor-standers, very efficient

Agree with paraneer. I’m sure the ELAC UB5 is a fine speaker, but not a good choice for the 3020 since it is very inefficient speaker. Take a look at it’s specifications here,

http://elac.com/product/ub5/

Since it is a 4 ohm speaker. that 85db sensitivity is actually a 2 watt rating, and it’s 1 watt rating would be 82db. That’s 13db lower than the Klipsch RB-61 which is 95db. The UB5 needs more power than the 3020. Elac recommends 40 -140 wpc and I’m thinking at least 100 to be somewhat comparable to the capabilities of the Klipsch/3020 combo.

When you are playing your system at it’s loudest, how many of the lights above the volume control blink? That can give you a good indication of how low you could go in speaker sensitivity.