budget towers? $500/pair

Check out tsto.com

Michael does a great job with close-out pricing on floorstanders from Mission,Wharfedale and Mordaunt Short all for less than $500.

I have not heard the 9.6,but have heard the 9.4.I found them to be very good for their price(especially for the discounted price).I found the Mordaunt Short 914 to be even better.They are a little more forward sounding.I like their detailed presentation.I purchased a similar pair of MS bookshelves for my wife's sitting room.

Griffinconst,
tsto sells the 9.4 for $299.I am not affiliated with tsto in any way other than being a long time customer.They are one of my favorite local stores,especially for introducing younger folks to a decent pair of speakers at very affordable prices.

Klemke89,
Energy made a speaker that was very similar to the Millenia 200 called the Take Tower.I own a pair.They are terrific for Home Theater and are at their best with a sub.Anothe store near my home (World Wide stereo) was closing them out for $129 each on their website:

http://www.energy-speakers.com/na-en/products/take-twr-overview/

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/energy-speakers-take-fps-and-take-twr/

Klemke89
For two channel audio,you would probably be happier with many of the speakers suggested here(both used and new)than a more video/home theater oriented speaker.Good used such as the Vandersteen 1C suggested by Dmastri is always good "bang for the buck." Discontinued,Close-out and Demo with full warranty is another great option.I would recommend the Wharfedale 9.4,9.6 and the Mordaunt Short MS 914 over speakers such as the Millenia 200 0r Take Tower if listening to quality 2 channel audio is a priority.The sound will usually be more balanced and richer thsn with a theater oriented speaker whose design goals were slanted towards asthetics and the inclusion of a subwoofer was assumed.

Matching center channel speakers can be found for most all of the suggestions on this thread if you branch into full blown home theater.There are anumber of affordable subwoofers(such as the Rel T series)which are designed to mate with full range floorstanders for both music and movies.

If accurate music reproduction is a primary goal,I would opt for a speaker that was designed for first and formost for listening to music.

While there are some exceptions such as the Definitive Mythos STS,these are usually not inexpenstve.A used pair of Mirage OM-6 with built-in powered subs could be the ticket for an affordable double duty system.

BTW,
Paradigm does make very good affordable music oriented speakers as well.They would be a nice purchase if you can find good used or demo...