Decent speakers for mid-level AVR

All decent suggestions.  I am definitely looking at the used market. The reviews for the Focal Aria 948 seem really good but I will certainly look at the Tekton speakers that everyone keeps mentioning.  Anyone have any feedback on the Focals? 

oh yeah... motorcycles :) 

GSXR 600 full race bike 

2012 ducati multistrada

2023 ducati scrambler 

2021 Aprillia tuano factory team 

1974 canam MX 1 

2023 Ktm 300XC 

KDX 200 that I honestly can't remember what year. 

The 300xc and the Tuano are the two that get ridden most.  The tuano is like riding a rocket ship.  I had a cruiser for a bit, was a huge kawasaki vulcan.  Heavy and kind of fun to ride but not really my jam. 

Since you thought the Paradigms were bright sounding I’d avoid Focal for sure, and at this price level I’d avoid metal tweeters in general as well.  You might consider some of the direct sellers who make pretty solid speakers and offer returns in case they don’t work out.  These Ascend Sierra Towers (with RAAL tweeters) and Aperion Verus speakers are in your price range and should be a good step up from your Polks.  Just a couple ideas.

https://www.ascendacoustics.com/collections/sierra-series-pairs/products/sierra-tower-v2-pair?variant=40599146725430

https://www.aperionaudio.com/products/verus-v8t-tower-speaker

+1 @soix this was going to be my recommendation as well in addition to utilizing the preouts which had already been suggested by @deep_333. 

Many years ago I also had the Polk Rti8s, Rti4s, Csi5 center, and PSW 505. I then purchased the Ascend Sierra -1s (first generation with SEAS tweeter), which steadily took time away from my Polk 5.1 system. The Sierras were not only in a different ballpark, but a different time zone compared to the Rti8s. 

I still consider Ascend Acoustics “boutique” in terms of being an almost one-man operation, or perhaps now a family owned operation, which I strongly value.

If I wasn’t regulated to the mains being on the wall by the spouse, I would definitely be eying those Ascend towers and center speaker. 

Still regret selling the Sierras - they were phenomenal for the price, while also helping me lean into 2-channel listening.

The Ascends are a great choice.  Would also suggest checking out Philharmonic Audio.  They have 2 different sets of towers that are just over $4K for a pair but I think their sweet spot are the BMR monitors which are $2K for a pair depending on the finish you order.  3-way speakers that sound amazing without being bright.  

Three brands that have models in that price range that I really enjoyed & had minimal if any listening fatigue are: the Relatively newer KLH models, Mofi & Elac. In that price range, of course there are trade offs but the one thing for myself that is not negotiable is whether after a short time, I’ve heard enough because something is too far off. This can happen to me even with very pricey systems too.