Upscaling Speakers, Downscaling Amp...What to Do?

Well, you have a lot of fantastic options at that price point. I just wanted to butt in and say that I have just done the same thing at much lower price points. And even going to a sub $500 amp in order to upgrade speakers made a great improvement in my system.

First priority of the new amp will be matching with speakers. I'd ask Joseph Audio or your dealer what they recommend. Also get an impedance plot vs. freq for the speakers if possible. And I'd try to get an idea of what sort of damping factor the speakers might need. That would be my starting point.

The Modwright isn't a full-balanced design, so you won't see as big an advantage of going with a balanced amp as you might with a fully balanced pre (like the 36.5 or an Atmasphere pre, etc).

Then, turn your attention to the synergy between amp and preamp. Major rule of thumb is that the amp's input impedance should be at least 10x the output impedance of the preamp.

Do not upgrade your speakers and keep the VAC.
Listen to your wife, I suspect that she is correct. This is not about money. And give her a hug for such a good advice.
Marakanetz, I would agree with you if you were not so simplistic and expensive. LV purse? It's a few thousand dollars.

Inna, from dhgate you can get LV purse around $400... Wife wouldn't know about fake:-)

I'm sure you realize you are not just enjoying the Pulsars,you are enjoying your complete system.
You might be moving up speaker wise but you may lose the magic.
Keep your system as is until you can buy the new speakers without going backward in amplification.
And DO buy your wife something nice for Valentines Day

Sounds a lot like my better half. Patience is not a heralded virtue in audio but I would exercise it here. There is a real risk of going backwards or sideways at best. Save your pennies, and upgrade the speaks in the future. Buy your wife that nice bag to grease the wheels...