Hunt for new floor standers

Might check out Fyne Audio if any dealers in your area have them.

My dad has a pair of ML 60XT towers and they are great sounding speakers. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone. At the current $900/each clearance price they are a great value.

That being said, I have a pair of Revel Performa F208 towers I picked up used and they are superior. The Revels certainly have more low end and image better (at least in my mind). The Revels will probably be closer to $3000 used for a pair but it would be money well spent (imo). Good luck with whatever you decide. 

check out the wharfdale evo 4.4  $2k

I recently bought a second hand but immaculate pair of Martin Logan Vantage. They would fit your price range and for me they have it all. Bass aplenty, incredible dynamics but best of all the three dimensional soundstage..its the closest thing I've heard to live music. If you haven't auditioned electrostatics then you really should 

To answer helomech's suggestion for additional information: my musical tastes are very broad; from classical, jazz, blues, rock, folk to old school country. Insofar as loudness, I would like a defined, well balanced soundstage at lower volume and maintain that soundstage in those moments higher volume madness. Doesn't everyone? As far as bass is concerned, I should clarify I don't need a ton of bass at a cost to transparency, which I'm not exactly sure how to qualify, and dynamics. The dedicated listening room is a rectangle, 15w' x 20'l x 9'h with preferred speaker placement along the 15' wall, hardwood floors with a 9' x 12' area rug.

To those who suggested Martin Logans, I did audition a pair against B&W's, neither model do I remember (in the $2.5K new range), and I liked the ML's more. But to be fair, the salesperson at my local Magnolia just didn't have a clue as to how to run the source for either, so I left disappointed. I also listened to a Pair of Paradigm Prestige 85F that were very nice but over my budget. That shop was nearly as dysfunctional as Magnolia. I've yet to find a good audio shop in my area, Sarasota, FL, but would hope to find one or two in Tampa. That said, my ability to audition is really limited. The Vandersteens, Revels and others are worth investigating on all of your suggestions, which I greatly appreciate.