Within your price constraints, I would urge you to consider HT speaker sets by Martin Logan and Thiel. Both are well regarded high end manufacturers who have had a chance to develop speakers for HT. I heard the Martin Logans at the Stereophile show in NY and they sounded good, even though I wasn't really impressed by the surround sound effect. Thiel has done a great job of designing speakers specifically for HT. I'll bet both manufacturers can field systems that sound better than the powered M&K speakers.
