Wharfedale's Diamond line is very highly rated. They are also just as affordable if not more so. I can't think of no other speaker in its price bracket that sounds as good. In fact some say they sound better then speakers costing 5 times as much.
Only drawback for the Diamond Series is availability. Especially the almond color. Over the last few months they have really grown in popularity and they now have a waiting list. They do get continued shipments so the list is not long. I ordered some April 25th and they informed me they should ship in 2 to 3 weeks. Hopefully it will not be much longer or I might have to raise my speaker budget.
randall, before you plunk down 400 dollars for a pair of jbl speakers at bb (psst..you can find them much cheaper online) might i suggest you make a trip to a local home theater store, and check out brands that are not found in circuit city and best buy.
imo you can get a much better performance/value on speakers that arent sold in big chains.
i was looking at your choices, and imo mtx jbl and klh are not the best choices you can pick for musical sound, i personally think those companies lean more towards home theater since a lot of the sounds they produce are so raw.
take a listen at some nht, paradigm, mirage, and energy speakers, dont limit yourself to best buy and circuit city.
also remember bigger does not necessarily mean better, depending on the acoustics of your room and personal tastes in sound, a pair of bookshelf speakers and a sub can sound better then monolithic floorstnading speakers. audition speakers and purchase from stores with a lenient return policy