I'm not much of a fan of consumer-grade speakers. They're mostly tuned to have "good" bass according to prevailing tastes. But most consumers don't even know what good sound is like these days since they rarely attend live events, have no musical training in school and all they ever hear are terrible systems in car stereos, consumer electronics, and horrible night clubs.
There are a lot of good speakers out there. If you're not familiar with most audiophile brands, go browse the listings at Audiogon. You can sort by price, size, type, and other factors. If something looks interesting, Google it for reviews. Also, Audiogon is a great place to find used speakers. You'll save a lot over buying new and speakers are stable gear - they rarely have anything go wrong with a few exceptions like electrostats which occasionally destroy their panels. They can be fixed, of course, but dynamic speakers rarely go bad.
One brand that gets a lot of attention here is Magnepan. Great speakers! I'm partial to Quads, but they're electrostats - I think they're worth the maintenance. But there are lots and lots of other brands and some very good speakers. Go look around - you should find some high-end speakers in your budget that are better than the Polks.
