I bought a pair of Energy Veritas 2.8 back in the early 2000s. I was looking to replace a still working pair of Kef Reference 103.2 speakers. The Veritas 2.8 was a very smooth contender, without any sonic "bunions" that I could discern. Front end was vinyl (Oracle Delphi Mk 2) with Audio Research Pre/Phono and Nakamichi PA-7 at the time. They really did a nice job with scale and soundstage, without being aggressive in any way. I kept them for about 2 years, and sold them to a friend. He had a much simpler system, with less power, and kids. they blew them up...twice.
If you are going to go the Energy route, definitely look for the older models used. You'll get a great deal for the money. But ask about driver replacement, etc. before you buy. The older speakers drivers were made in Canada, and they had better QC than the MIC models of later years.
At this price point used, check out the Proac Response 2.x or Aerial Acoustics Model 6T (Audiogon 6T). They can pull a disappearing act similar to the Joseph Audio speakers and sound beautiful, especially with tubes, but they need POWER.