For 1500 or less, there are a lot of great choices out there. First I would recommend the B&W CDM 1 NT. I owned this a while back and it can do really great things. Also, the Paradigm Studio 20 v.2 is an excellent speaker for its price. 650 for laminate or 900 for the wood veneer. Also, the Revel M20 sells for 2000, but you can talk dealers down some. Most likely not to 1500, but if you can stretch the budget just a hair, I promise you will not be dissappointed.
Quality Bookshelf Speakers
I am looking to upgrade an older pair of Thiel SCS bookshelves running on a 10 year old NAD 80 watt per channel amp and preamp. Have a BW ASW2000 sub. Demoed a pair of BW 602 S3 bookshelves and they were amazing compared to older Thiels. My price range is up to about $1500 for new speakers but want to keep the look fairly small and likely bookshelves - have stands. Provide me with a list of 5 fairly accessible bookshelves that I should also listen to for my price range and amp - given that I might also upgrade the amp in the next year or two. Getting into listening to well recorded music and love what the two channel plus sub does for movies. Thanks for any advice.