Upgrading bose 301's .. the next step ?

First, get a can of gasoline and a book of matches...just jokin'. Happily, there are a number of good speakers that you can acquire used for $1k or less. Here are some ideas to prime the pump:
1. Vandersteen 2Ce's (excellent nearly full-range speaker);
2. Thiel CS .5;
3. Reynaud Trente's;
4. PSB Stratus Bronze or Stratus Mini;
5. Paradigm models in this price range (can't think of the model numbers right now);
6. Magnepan 1.6/QR (even used, they may be a bit more than $1k);
7. Coincident Speaker Technology Triumph Signatures;
8. Joseph Audio RM7Si.
These speakers give you a pretty wide range of styles and sizes to choose from. I'm sure you'll get some good suggestions from the other faithful 'philes.

SD: Meant the Reynaud Twins ($845), which I own and highly recommend. The Trente's are over $2.5K.

Correct-a-mundo, Dekay (as Ed McMahon used to say). Sometimes my fingers don't always type what the brain is thinking. I meant "Twins", not "Trentes".

Bu-dum-bum-bump.

B&W DM602-S2 $600 new list. Not too much $ and is a big improvement over Bose. B&W 602s have great re-sell value if/when the next time you upgrade.

Screw the 602's new for $600 and used for $400.Get a pair of B&W 805 Matrix III's for $800-1K.602's are too bloated on botom.Late Model 805's or a pair of Joseph 7's.If you had 100 plus SS watts than the Maggies would be great.But you will want some thing that is 89db sensitive or better @ 8 ohms with that amp.Don't move to quickly deals are out there.Picked up my $2600 tweaky german speakers for $875.

For the 805s to sound good, plan on spending $300 to $500 for decent stands. If we are talking used for 1k max then I would go for the original B&W CDM-1 or CDM-1NT (don't care for the CDM-1SE that came in between).

Don't use the B&W's with a great vintage tube amp, no matter what they say the cdm's and especially the matrix 805's are little power hogs, don't forget to factor in some long green for some sturdy speaker stands, the 602's can induce vomiting and wopuld be a criminal waste of good tubes. You need an efficient speaker like the beautiful meadowlark kestrel, easy to drive and will givw you a reasonable bass with a low powered tube amp. They are much better than the PSB's and sounstage like crazy. The Reynauds are french, hey viva La France but for bang for buck look no further than sunny California. and don't forget a tasty new SACD player. Sony 333es $550 at Oade Bros.............Hey have some fun!

The suggestion by Newkstime (a Sonny Rollins fan, perhaps?) regarding the Meadowlark Kestrels is a good one. I forgot to mention it in my list above. The other speaker that I should have listed that has gotten favorable reviews is the Totem Arro, which sells new for about $1100.

i use the 805 matrix with a cj mv52 45wpc tube amp and have plenty of volume in a moderately sized room 14x24 they sound wonderfull you can pick them up used for 800-1k

We really need to know what your musical listenting habits are. If you like classical, jazz and accoustical music, the Magnepan MMG's at $550 direct from Magnepan are hard to beat as an entry level audiophile speaker. However, they are harder to drive than the Bose and would require that you upgrade your existing Amp as well.