I need advice on a good value for speakers

Dali Ikon 6, Vienna Bach Grand, Era 4 with Era 8 sub.

Check out Vandersteen speakers at your price limit. They all are good value for the sound they produce

++Marakenetz. And if you find certain brands you like then check here on AudiogoN (and maybe other sites...) and with a little luck you can find speakers that retail ~$2K but now sell in your budget. I will freely admit I haven't bought "new" speakers at retail in quite a while - but I've found stuff here that I really like, that were much more affordable than new, and were graciously broken in by someone else...

Great advice guys. Have him go audition stuff at a dealer's place, then turn around and buy here.

Wonder why independant dealers are going the way of the dinosaur?

For the record, I'm not a dealer. Have no financial interest in what anyone buys. I just think its absurd to have a dealer do a demo, explain what's what, then have someone turn around and buy the same stuff at a discount on the web.

Independant dealers are going the way of the dinosaur because people forgot about customer service. It's still around and your local dealer is waiting for you. I used to buy from the web but found that building a relationship with my local dealer and purchasing from him made my life a whole lot easier. If I have an issue with something, it goes to him. If my stuff gets damaged, he has to deal with it. I've also built a great relationship with my local dealer so I get stuff like speaker cable at cost. I recently bought new speaker cable and saved $400 from the best price i could find online after a week of searching. This is just a little perk he does for his customers. Also, I get invited to demos of new equipment where there might be food and cocktails served and we have the same interest in music. he burns CD's for me that he thinks I might like......the list goes on. Of course your local dealer has to carry gear you like, which mine does. I guess maybe I'm lucky because my local shop is amazing and makes it worth it for me to deal with them directly. In fact, my shop is so amazing that expats from all over the world buy from him. The respect I have for this guy I wouldn't trade for the best internet deal on the planet. I'm not a dealer or anything like that. I just thought I'd share my experience so you know some of the benefits of buying local. If you have the option, you should look into it. I don't have any audio friends with the exception of my local dealer and it's helped me a great deal.