Are you sure the 8' X 8' dimensions are correct? If so, the most difficult thing is that you don't have a "fairly small room", you have an incredibly small room. So small as to not be able to overcome the room issues that will present themselves.
While it may be surprising to many of us here, because we tend to deal with 4 to 5 figure pricetags, you can pick up a lot of good loudspeakers in your pricerange. You just need to play in the used speaker lot. Early 1970s Japanese loudspeakers from the likes of Sansui would be something to look at, they are very easy to drive and have a really engaging, yet not harsh, tone. Also, maybe a pair of used Vandersteen 1, Dahlquist, ESS, or Fried loudspeakers.
While it may be surprising to many of us here, because we tend to deal with 4 to 5 figure pricetags, you can pick up a lot of good loudspeakers in your pricerange. You just need to play in the used speaker lot. Early 1970s Japanese loudspeakers from the likes of Sansui would be something to look at, they are very easy to drive and have a really engaging, yet not harsh, tone. Also, maybe a pair of used Vandersteen 1, Dahlquist, ESS, or Fried loudspeakers.