best bookshelf speakers for < $2000?


I have Studio-20 V5s on stands right now for my living room 2.0 music system and, while I like the sound, I need more bass extension.
I don't want to add a sub due to room clutter concerns.   So, I am looking fro an upgrade from my Studio20s.
I have been looking into towers but now am thinking, why not stay with sand-mounted speaker since I have the stands already.   This is for 2ch music only.  My amp is Emotiva UPA-2 SS amp.

Would I do better to go towers or go higher-end bookshelf speakers?


The towers I've been looking at have been 
Salk SongBirds/Towers
Ascend Sierra Tower
Silverline Prelude Plus

Thx.
albireo13
Gee, I take it back. It seems that the OP has started two threads, one in which he says he’s looking for bookshelf speakers, and the other in which he says he’s looking for floorstanders.

He also says in this thread post one, that he definitely doesn’t want to get a sub, and in the other thread he says maybe he should get a sub. I say come back when you know what you want. But the first thing you should do is get a serious amp and try it out on your Paradigms, that Emotiva thing won't make them sing, or any serious floorstander either. 
I tend to agree with 213.  That's one of the things I was trying to say in my posts.  Folks forget about the amps way too often.  You can get a basic NAD BEE integrated and make great speakers sing. Rotel also makes some great integrated amps.  A used Ayre AX7e is another choice.  
I've decided to focus on upgrading my amp for now.  
We plan to sell the house and move this year so the living room size/situation will change quite a bit. I'll wait for that to settle out before upgrading my speakers.

a better amp can definitely help the bass.  don't let the fact that you own stands play a part in your decision.
I have had a pair of Totem Fire monitors for a while now, and every time I venture out to listen to other monitors, the result is the same (the other speakers sound "different", but not "better").  These babies have pretty good bass (for monitors), but I've used a sub woofer with them.  They have excellent detail and imaging, and don't seem to be "picky" about room acoustics and placement.