16K to Spend. Help me make the end all Upgrade.

Commenting upon some of the above items:

Generally, I would not spend all that money on speakers for a medium to small-size room that will also serve as a dining room. I would budget $10k for speakers and spend the rest on the other parts of your system.

Beauty is of course perceived by everyone differently, but I saw the EgglestonWorks The Nine last year at CES and thought they looked really sharp and was impressed with how compact they are (while still basically being a full-range speaker). I do not want to comment about the sound, as I heard them at a show. Audiogon member Talon4 is a dealer.

The Studio2 is appropriate for a room of your size -- as a former Salon owner, I cannot imagine a pair of Salon2's in an 11' x 19' room. I think the new Revels look like cheesey Canadian speakers, incidentally, but that's just my opinion.

I have not heard the Dynaudio Sapphires, but I have owned Dynaudios and found them to be superb speakers -- I have no doubt that the Sapphires are likewise superb and they will be impressive in the flesh, as they are very well built. Someone mentioned the C-2's and C-4's. The C-2's would be good for your room and are great speakers, but most people find the looks to be laughable (I'm one of them). In terms of bass performance, the Sapphires would be about as much speaker as you would want in a room that size.

The Aerial 9 will impress you with the quality of the cabinet finish (about as close to Sonus Faber as you will find) and they would likely work well in your room.

You will miss the smooth sound of your Pass amp, but as someone who ran high-powered monoblock tube amps for six years, I appreciate the concern about heat.

" I can't figure out for the life of me why people are raving about the Revels."

Most high-end equipment will sound very, very good when used in the right system. Otherwise said, synergy among speakers and electronics is crucial. Taking your experience, the Revels in one system will fail to impress, while their performance in another will explain their excellent reputation. As for my own experience, I always thought the first-generation Salons sounded lifeless, saying to myself "I don't get it", until I heard them run with a top tube amp. I then bought a pair. Getting to the heart of this, one of the most important matches is speakers, amp and speaker cables - some are reluctant to say for commercial reasons, but ask the manufacturer of whatever speaker you buy what amp and speaker cables they are particularly fond of - it will help you avoid a misfire.

In addition, everyone perceives sound differently -- what is your preference in speakers and electronics will not be for others.

If you really want to do it right, demo a pair of speakers in home for a couple of weeks before buying. If you are sold on Wilsons, remember that the Watt Puppies have strong bass (and a notorious midbass hump), and may be too much for your space -- it could be that the Sophias are the better match for an 11' x 19' room. TAS reviewer Tony Cordesman auditioned the Dynaudio Evidence ($85k) and Evidence Temptation - the $55,000 cheaper Temptation sounded better in his room, the bass matching better - he bought the Temptations.