16K to Spend. Help me make the end all Upgrade.

Does WAF include placement in the room of the speaker? Most speakers sound their very best well away from back walls and sides. Some are designed to be a bit more flexible in placement.

I thought that one of the better sounding speakers that was not excessively large in size, and more importantly, worked very well close to a back wall or corner, is the Gradient Revolution. I heard these in a small room backed up against the back wall and they sounded pretty good in such difficult setups. Audionote speakers are good in that respect too, but, they are pretty ugly looking.

Some of the Sonus Faber speakers are reasonably compact, very nicely finished and can (though not optimally) be placed fairly close to walls.

The Magico minis would also fit the bill, except for the price. These sounded very good to me and surprisingly "BIG" for such a compact speaker.

Another compact, nice sounding speaker, is the Gryphon Cantata. I believe it is no longer a current model, but, perhaps there is a suitable replacement model or you can find a used or demo pair.

I heard the Classic Audio Reproduction T-3s powered by Atmasphere's OTL amps and the combination is fantastic. I know looks are in the eye of the beholder, but, it does not strike me as being high on the WAF scale, particularly give the size of these speakers.

Perhaps, an appropriate bribe could result in a more favorable rating -- factor that into your price range.

Good advice from Sbank. It would be a pity to spend big bucks and not get good sound because of placement issues. Aside from size, the suggestion of the Vandersteen has the advantage of the speaker offering some flexibility as to bass response should you require placement close to a wall.

Again, I suggest looking into the Gradient Revolution because of its great flexibility and intended placement close to back walls and corners.