Placement is important, but you have enough room. I use homebuilt subs also using NHT 1259s, and a pair of Martin Logan CLS - have yet to hear anything better, really. The only thing that comes remotely close is perhaps Avantgarde Duos, (though still not as detailed or smooth). No dynamic speakers compare. used you may be able to find within your budget. IMHO the best speaker made by ML (or nearly anyone, really), save for perhaps the Statements. I also used to have the Aerius i, and also have several pairs of dynamic speakers, inluding Aerial, Aliante, M&K, a/d/s/, etc.
-Ed
-Ed