Best speakers under $500? Fire away!

I own a set of the B&W 685s. I have been driveing them with the NAD 326BEE. Recently purchased the 356BEE to provide a little more power. Do not believe the 3020 is a good match for them.

I  have a pair of Infinity primus 363’s that I use for two channel and multi channel, I will say that for the price the p 363’s are a darn good speaker, I recently bought a pair of wharfedale Diamond 220’s online, the 220’s are pretty good but they DO NOT compare to the Infinity p 363 in my A and B test, that said... I returned the wharfedales, the p 363 sound really nice with a small tube amp.
Another good sounding speaker is the revel f12, I bought a pair used a few years back for $600, these sound even better than the p 363 if you can find a pair used.

I agree mesch.  The Infinity's are 92db and would probably match up well to my 3020.  

34Dean - 

About 10 years ago I picked up a pair of Bowers & Wilkins DM604s locally on Craigslist for $250 (a steal).  They were absolutely amazing speakers, particularly for the money.  They are 90db and I recall having powered them w/ a 100WPC Denon AVR at the time and that was plenty to fill a large room.  If you can find a set locally at a good price, they're going to be pretty tough to beat for under $500.

BTW - It's a 3-way floor-stander w/ two 7" woofers and are good down to 30Hz.

Greg

Your rebuilt 3020 should not have any trouble driving 6ohms 86db as you listen to normal levels. The 3020 was renown to drive difficult speaker loads. That’s what made it a best seller. I have had the 315 driving such loads and it was just fine (before the pre-amp section started to short... but that one was a cheap made in china).
I would definitely not limit my search by speaker efficiency if the goal is not too reach the highest db possible with the given amp. But I agree, the 3020 would be a bad choice to drive MMGs or, given the specs and reviews, the Elac.
Also, keep in mind that you can try for 30 days and return if it does not fit...