New Speakers for $2000

Given the list of qualities you lay out in your post its an easy recommendation. I would go with a pair of Vandersteed model 2's. At the $2000 price point, nothing even comes close. They are very transparent, neutral and have tons of resolution. In order to get the best out of them, though, there are some things you need to consider. They need to be placed and set up properly in the room. A lot of people just place them by ear like you do with most other speakers. Vandersteen gives you a simple formula that you use. It's not difficult; you just take some measurements in your room and plug the results into the equation and follow the setup instructions from there on. For equipment, since the Vandersteens are phase and time correct, they benefit greatly from electronics that are fully balanced and use 0 negative feedback. Just as an example, on my 2's, I have Wadia CD player going fully balanced into an Ayre V5 amp. Using those components, it allows the signal to stay in phase from the source so you can get the full benefit of what the speakers have to offer. Lastly, you have to do a real double biwire (2 separate runs of speaker cables). Makes a big difference. I use 2 runs of Audioquest CV-8. I know all this seems like a bit much, but if you take the time to build a system like this, you will not believe how good it sounds. For comparison, I have a pair of Wilson's in another room with even more expensive electronics. They sound great but my Vandersteen system is easily the better sounding. I hope this info helps you out. Good luck with your system and if you have any questions, just post them and I will check this thread and help if I can.

Unsound. Just to clarify, I didn't mean that you will not get good results if you don't use equipment that is balanced or any of the other characteristics that I mentioned. With Vandersteen it's not hard to get good results. I do recommend them if you want the best possible results. I am not talking about tweaks; the differences are large and easy to hear.

OP. I understand that you don't have all of the best equipment now. You can start with what you have now and get good results and as you upgrade over time, you have a speaker that will be worth the investment. As for the 1.7, you state:

My wants in order of preference are:
-Resolution
-Neurality
-Imaging
-Sound stage width
-Good highs
-Not so slow mids that it'd make listening to heavier music unenjoyable
-A decent amount of bass or even slightly weak on punch is fine

Most of what you are asking for on that list is the exact opposite of the Mag., with the exception of the bass. The bass is excellent, its the mediocre mids and the bright, metallic highs that are not good. Magnepan knows the highs are a problem for most people so they even include raw resistors that you are supposed to attach to the binding post to roll the HF off. More importantly, though, and I hate to sound harsh, is that you have already failed. At this point it doesn't matter what you buy, Vandersteen or something else, putting your faith in equipment reviews is the single biggest mistake you can make. The worst part is that you probably won't realize this until after you have made some very poor choices. Along with this, though most people will deny it, is that most audiophiles I come into contact with get their listening experience by reading equipment reviews, as well. Again, I hate to be so negative, but I just don't see any kind of success going down your current path. Better to just save your money or go to a casino. Good Luck.