Best speakers to "abuse" for around $2k ?

JBL L65 Jubals or L300s would work exceptionally well in your scenario. They are hard to find in good condition, but well-worth the search...

-RW-

Legacy Focus.

07-19-12: Mapman
Ive never heard a pair of cerwin vegas that did not sound bloated and undefined in the bass but maybe i never tried the rjght amp.

The reviews that showed up both in Soundstage and Absolute Sound indicate that the bass in the CV CLS-215 speaker is reasonably quick, or at least not notably slow or thick. They *do* tend to have diecast frames and very powerful magnets, which helps. TAS also praised them for overall neutrality and for providing the bottom end to do Mahler justice for the price of a decent minimonitor. They also verified that they can play LOUD distortion free, and with a 90+ dB sensitivity rating, can safely absorb 500 watts input. That's a usable max. SPL somewhere around 120dB.

If you want faster bass at the OP's max budget, then CV's new CMX-212a towers give you twin 8" woofers on a narrow baffle, augmented by powered side-firing 12" subs. No doubt that would tighten the bass significantly.

Using a more modern amp with higher damping factor 50 or greater might help with CV bass as well.

I have not heard them in years so its quite possible things have gotten better.

07-20-12: Mapman
Using a more modern amp with higher damping factor 50 or greater might help with CV bass as well.

Frat-boy speakers were most likely powered by a frat-boy receiver--some over-sized walnut-encased monstrosity with more knobs than you could count, with a marginal power supply and low damping factor.

These days, inexpensive high current separates and integrateds are all over the place. Witness this 125 wpc Emotiva power amp on sale for $314.10 with a damping factor of >500!