Speakers under $50k that rival $200k+ speakers?

I don't believe you should try to find $50K speakers. Find the best speakers you can afford, and if they cost $20 each then so be it.

The idea that you MUST spend a certain amount because that's what you have is the tail wagging the dog.

@ smodtactical
Your room size is about the same as mine (11x15.5x8). I have had towers(Snell CV),  OB (Caintuck Betsy w/ Hawthorne OB bass augmenters), 3 different Omega speakers (Compact Hemp, 6 Alnico monitors,and XRS 8 Alnico all with Omega Deep Hemp subs),  and Shelby+Kroll monitors with matching subs. With the S+K I used the Dspeaker Dual Core for room correction and sub blending. Of all the systems the best sounding was the S+K Dspeaker combo until the set up I have now. Read on...

Right now my system is PC > SOTM 200 ultra > Denafrips terminator > HE9 > dual 4bsst bryston monoblocks > Paradigm signature s8 v2s (and dual PSA V1800 subs). Its a great system especially for the money imo. My room is small, 12 x 16 x 8 ft. But was thinking of a dedicated listening room and was wondering about upgrading my system to get even more.

The way I see it is you have two choices with your current room size:
1) Add a Dspeaker DX4 as a dac, preamp and room correction device. I listened to a system that had diy horns with subs and it was completely transformed and made "right" with the DX4 in play. You could sell your front end or keep it and add the DX4 in the chain. The DX4 is completely transparent with its analog to digital conversion.
http://www.dspeaker.com/en/products/anti-mode-x4.shtmlhttps://www.underwoodhifi.com/products/dspeaker

2) Purchase pair of Charney Audio Companion horns with the Voxativ AF 2.6 ($8900) or with the Voxativ AC 2.6 ($12,100) I have the AF 2.6 in my room and want for nothing in sound. My digital front end utilizes a nos chip as well but my preamp and amp are tube (300b). Don’t let the size of the driver fool you these are serious producers of clean deep coherent bass with highs and mids that draw you deep into what the artist is conveying. This is all due to the cabinet designed on the Tractrix theory which you can search or read about on the Charney site. No room correction needed, minimal room treatments, and no sub needed!

I banged my head on the wall for years trying to get sub(s) to integrate musically in my room. Spent a lot of money and was always frustrated with the results. Now with the Companion horns I don’t need to think about it and just listen to sweet emotionally involving music. If you can, get to NJ and make an appointment at Charney Audio. You’ll be glad you did on many levels.
http://charneyaudio.com/
BTW The Charney Concerto with the AER BD-3 ($28,000) will rival all speakers in the 200k range!

Magneplanar!

Altec a5 with modern crossover and a good tweeter will be as good as $250,000 speaker systems plus they are far more fun. 

I believe in the law of diminishing returns.

I believe the law law may kick in as low as $3,500.

I believe it kicks in for sure at $5,000.

I believe that it seriously kicks in at $10,000

Someone said that everyone’s ears are wired differently. I agree. Over $20,000, it’s personal preference for sure.

The same folks who wanna spend $600,000 on a pair of speakers wanna spend $500 per foot on speaker cable (I use chicken wire 🙄).

Then, surely you’ve heard the joke that the size of a guy’s speakers are inversely proportional to the size of his dick?

My speakers are pretty damn big, 😳, ... but my wife hasn’t been complaining.