Best speakers for $500 or less


I have a friend who wants to get a good pair of speakers for $500 or less, and was looking at Bose. I cringed. Though Bose does make some OK speakers for a very small size, I thought there is probably something better out there and I would turn to all the good Audiogoner's to help! My friend listens to a mix of 2-channel and TV/movies, and is looking to get two speakers now and expand later. What would you suggest???
linesplice
KEF Q1

I had a pair of these monitors, and i was really impressed.
They retail new for about 450 a pair, they come in some very attractive veneers, and they have some pretty wicked sound.

They are on to something with thier UNI-Q drivers. Excellent imaging, and impressive low end response from a monitor.

These are also relativll easy to find.

If you have a SoundTrack Audio, Audio King, or Ulitmate Electronics anywhere in your area, you can pick up a pair there.

I dont know if anyone has seen those places, but i love em. Big big store with Huge huge selection, alot of thier stff us Mid-fi, but they also carry the top of the line products from Infinity, KEF, Denon, Klipsch, Sunfire, Krell, Martin Logan, Definitive Technologys, and plenty others.

Of course, it has that supermarket feel, but thier sound rooms are not all that bad.
Thanks guys!
I think there is a shop near where we live that takes care of both Paradigm and PSB, so we'll start there, and see if we can find a Sound Dynamics retailer.
I appreciate all the input!!!