Best speaker under $500

The stage and Maggies are great speakers. I will now beat the drum for the B&W CDM-1 ... used can be found in your range ... yes they need stands, and won't really sing to full potential without a good bit of amp driving them. When I bought mine, I has a 60W Sumo doing the deed, when I switched to an Adcom 555 I was blown away by the additional control. Buying used at this price point allows you many choices. Good luck.

If you have the room, amp power, and a sub, maggie mmgs for $550 are tough to beat.

I put a second in for the B&W 302sII. Great, accurate sounding speaker, easy to drive. Can find them for at least as low as $510.

Epos Es 11's, or ES 12's if your room is fairly small. Several steps up the ladder from the B&W's, IMO, but more expensive too. 400-500 used, plus stands. Superb midrange.

The B&W 302 list for $250 a pair brand new; not sure what speakers Puresound is talking about. For the CDM-1 used, get the original ones. They are the ones that won all the awards. The CDM-1SE is not as good. The new CDM-1NT are OK, but will cost closer to $1K used.