Looking to upgrade my towers

Jmccl,

If you have the room you might check out the Tekton double impacts,your xpa3 would drive them just fine.

Kenny.

Ok. Price is really the biggest factor here. And the two I've been looking at are pretty reasonable im trying to get the most for my money without being too cheap. Thanks

You'll never get good 2 channel sound quality running the signal through HT gear. If you have a source with a volume control, plug it directly into the amp and see how it sounds. If not, you can get a passive line stage. You don't have to spend a lot of money on one. That should do more for your current system than a new pair of speakers. If you buy new speakers, you'll just have the same problem.

Jmccl12 - 

I've used a PRSC-5508 for both home theater and 2 channel stereo and for 2 channel stereo it sounds absolutely spectacular provided that you run in Pure Audio mode with all Audessey room correction and EQ fully bypassed.

Back in the day, I owned a pair of DM604's and they were amazing value for what I paid for them at the time ($250 from a local private party).  These would be a step above the DM603s so you might consider holding out for a pair at a good price.

Greg

@jmccl12 - the Mirage speakers use a diffused tweeter setup to give it that 360 degree dispersion. This is supposed to give a wide open, wall to wall sound stage. However, as the higher frequencies are dispersed around the room, and not directly toward you, I could understand how you feel they may not be crisp enough for your liking. 

Any traditional speaker that has the tweeter and mid-range pointed directly at the listener is likely going to sound more crisp, and definitely different, than the Mirages.

If possible, I would recommend you try to audition another speaker in listening room before committing to a purchase. You may, or may not, like the direct sound.