Which speakers should I get. $500-$1000

Mirage M5si's. These are GREAT on jazz and classical. They have a fast,
transparent midrange and bass extension down into the mid-20's. They fire both
forward and rearward, energizing the room similar to the dispersion pattern of
live singers and musicians. You can consistently find these in like new condition
for around $700. They were $2K new in the mid-'90s. I bought my pair in 1996
and still listen to them daily.

They scale up and down according to ensemble size very well. Tonal balance is
realistic. Easy to lose yourself in the music. And with good amplification and
cabling, they will maintain soundstage and clarity with big band and large scale
orchestral music. Small group jazz is effortless and natural sounding. Plucked
string bass is particularly realistic sounding.

PSB *is* an excellent speaker with an honest tonal balance that works well with acoustic music such as classical and jazz. So is the new Monitor Audio Silver RX series, which has a smoother treble than the older RS.

A third option, with a Canadian tonal balance similar to the PSB, is the Mirage OMD15. It's $800/pair in gloss black or $1K/pair in rosewood. The speaker was originally $2500/pair but are being sold direct now from Vanns.com for much less, but with return privileges and the full factory warranty. I've had a pair of these anchor my 2-channel system for over 4 years now, and I listen to *a lot* of classical and jazz. The OMD-15s always sound smooth, natural, capable of excellent detail, and have a dispersion pattern that energizes the room very much like acoustic instruments.

At $800, highly recommended, and unlike most used purchases, your decision is protected by a return period and 5-year factory warranty.

09-26-12: Unsound
Shubert, To each his own indeed, *if you're smart enough* you can maximize the potential of an inherently neutral superb value without spending riches in the process.

I don't think the OP is looking for something with a long learning curve. Thiels are great, but are pretty demanding on system matching. PSB, Monitor Audio (esp. the new RX series over the RS), and Mirage have a natural tonal balance while digging out a lot of ambience and detail. You can match any of them with a Marantz PM8004 integrated amp and get *really* excellent sound without a lot of tweaking, fiddling, and component swapping.

Speaking to the Sound Dynamics 300 ti's, the ti signifies the titanium dome tweeter. SD was a division of API, Audio Products International, which also produced Mirage, Energy, and Athena. Mirage also uses a cloth-damped titanium dome tweeter and has that same relaxed yet detailed treble.

I recommended the 300 ti to several audio newbies back when SD was still in production, and everybody who got them was ecstatic at their performance vs. the price. But that was back in 1996-98. Still a great speaker if you can find it, but if you can't the currently available Mirages will definitely do the job while having broader dispersion and lower box resonance owing to the curvilnear enclosures.

^^^

I missed the part where the OP said he was looking for a science project.