I have been following that thread. Looking forward to reading more.

And while the purpose of this thread is to get ideas from as many people as possible in regards to different speakers to test, one that is of interest is doing some $1000 towers - M50, SVS Prime, Home Theatre Direct Level 3 Floor Standers ...

This seems to be a market without a lot of "love". Since one does not need to purchase stands with these speakers, the relative affordability against bookshelf speakers is enhanced.

This also hits that magic "$2500" for a 5.1 channel system price point as well.