your description of Totems is good . . . and they would be at the top of my list. Used Hawks, maybe Forests fit your budget. I had a pair Sttafs that I bought new (for $1500). I A/B'd the Sttafs extensively vs the Vandersteen 2ce and chose the Sttaf because they were equal (at least) in sonics, but more compact.
Another speaker you may want to consider is Von Schweikert VR2.
I'm running Totem Mani-2s in one of my systems and Von Schweikert VR4 Gen IIIs in another . . . so you can see I have a little bias.