Bookshelf speakers - Paradigm, KEF, Totem

I recently auditioned a pair of KEF LS 50 Meta's with a friend who just got bit by the audiophile bug. My jaw dropped!! There is nothing that competes under $5K with these. The room was 12x16, and I swear there was a sub connected! They are a better speaker than R3. We directly compared to the R5 and the LS 50s were better. R series is old technology; they have not incorporated the Meta drivers as of yet. As far a Paradigm, they are bright sounding speakers across the whole line. To my ears, "nails on a chalkboard." I just purchased a pair of Reference 1 Metas. I am anxiously awaiting an 8-10 week delivery!

Best of luck!

Sonus Faber Salk are on my short-list ... Actually, Salk has the edge ...

I really enjoy my Harbeth M30s, also have Primaluna equipment and similar listening tastes. You can usually pick up a decent used pair of 30.2s for under $5k, definitely 30.1s. Some speakers do not respond well at lower listening levels, something to consider in your auditioning. The Harbeths are great at lower levels. These speakers are really great with jazz. Rock is not their forte but not bad in any way. Why? Jazz is usually recorded unamplified in a live venue. Rock is not. The Harbeths excel at reproducing acoustic material, so if you like that sort of music the Harbeths (spendor are nice too) are very good.  They do need to be placed away from walls though to get the best out of them, something else to consider.  For your smallish room you might even want to look at the smaller P3s.  

You should really have one of the models of Fritz speakers on your shortlist.

I have owned KEF and Totems, both are very good for the music you listen too. I currently own Harbeth I love them but they are not Rocknroll speakers. Jimmy is correct on those. I’d suggest trying the larger bookshelf Totems if you can.