Best speakers for max. $3000?

I've had a pair of the Ohm 1000's for about 8 years, and totally love them.  I started out with a pair of the Microtalls, and was so impressed I upgraded to the 1000's.  These speakers make me look forward to listening to my music.  The 1000's go for about $2000.00 for a pair.  Check out some of the Ohm threads on this site to get an idea how people feel about them.  You can audition them for 3 months, and if you don't like them you can send them back but you have to pay shipping.  It's the best chance I ever took.

@cd318 

The Linkwitz LX521 is showing up on the used market now that it's been around for a while, as are his earlier Orion design.   The problem for most of those is shipping.

The hardest part of building any loudspeaker is making it look good.  The LX521 may be close to SOTA, but nobody will ever call it good looking.

Any competent cabinet maker can knock together either the LX521 or Orion designs with ease and make them look as good as anyone would care.   One option for the LX521 would be to have it painted at an auto body paint shop.  Cabinet fabrication can be done by professionals for a very modest amount of money.  Both of these designs are trivial for a pro to build.

ANYONE can stuff drivers into an enclosure, and even if they're not sure about that, shouldn't have all that much difficulty finding help.   

The only real downside to DIY systems is that they have poor resale value.   Not being a commercial product, they just don't have that cache.   But because you spent so much less to begin with, you're not going to lose as much either.  That $25,000 loudspeaker you bought 5 years ago will only bring $12,500 today, which is why Audiogon is in business.

But you are correct in saying that DIY isn't for everyone.

@russbutton, thanks for the info on the LX521. Much appreciated.

No it’s not the best looking loudspeaker in the world but some finishes are more palatable than others. If one turns up in cherry (or any other light finish) here in the UK I’m definitely interested. 

Siegfried Linkwitz was nothing if not methodical and relentless in his efforts to continually perfect his designs with admirable attention to detail. 

We sell new and used equipment and we always suggest to our customers if they can find a used piece of equipment they like, to buy it instead of buying new. With used equipment you get much more for your money than buying new. Several people have suggested buying Vandersteen 2Ce Sig's and it is a good suggestion but for the same amount of money you could buy a used pair of 3A sig's. You can get much more for the same amount of money. These days with so few audio stores around more and more people find it impossible to find an audio dealer within a reasonable distance from them, many times good used equipment can found close by and at a reasonable price.
Planers are normally on our list of suggested speakers but since you found the Thiel's  harsh in your room we suggest you may want to avoid planers and horns for the same reasons you did not like the Thiel's.
Here is a list of used speaker that are our best sellers. Your budget will tell you what models you can afford.
Vandersteen, Focal, Martin logan, Gallo 3.5 ( try it without the sub amp first) PSB, Sonas Faber, Legacy, and  B&W.
If you are patient and are not in a hurry you can find some really good deals on used speakers. We just sold a pair of B&W 802N's in perfect condition for almost the same price as what your budget is because we did not have the original boxes and it would have not been worth the time or money to build crates and ship them so we opted to sell them locally cheap. When it comes to speakers and turntables (for us anyway) it is better to sell it locally at a lower price than to build shipping crates and boxes, pay the extra price for shipping, incur losses from shipping damage, to only come out a few percentage points ahead. If you are have cash at had and are fast making a dicision you can take advantage of these situations.                   

I'm no expert and so I'll confine my suggestions to what I own and know. The new Magnepan LRS are only $650 + $70 shipping (a fixed fee). I have a pair and I think they're an extremely nice speaker, especially for the price. I also have a pair of original Vandersteen 2c speakers. I like them too (and used pairs are pretty cheap). I prefer the imaging of the LRS vs. the 2c but the Vandersteens (not surprisingly) have much better bass extension. A problem with the LRS and other such is space for correct speaker placement. From what the OP wrote, I guess the listening room likely won't suffer from that constraint. In any event, good luck and have fun!
Keith