Good starter speaker

You have a nice selection at that dealer. Set up an appointment and have them play your favorite music (you bring your discs) though their entry level models. That should get you started. Then see if they’ll let you home audition a couple of your favorites. Take your time.

I would recommend you to skip the entry level speakers and go right to the next level up, as they will give you more liquid smooth sound with transparent highs (pleasant treble). Among the ones you mentioned, my favorite are the spendor, but then that could depend on the type of music you mostly play. 

The previous poster gave you real good advice about auditioning them yourself and going slow, because in the end, you and only you got to like the speakers in your room, so while it's good to ask here and also read reviews of the pros, let your ears be the final judge.

I would shy away from Klipsch - the bright top never was my thing. Also, the Audio Engine speakers are powered so you couldn't put your pre-amp to use. The power section is not bad with toroidal transformer giving it smooth sound, but not powerful.

On the power amps, I would like the sound of B&K ST-140 off ebay used for far below your budget - around $300 shipped, and they will give you quite enjoyment for a long time to come.

Go slow and audition as many speakers as you can before buying. I also like Dali Zensor speakers, is you live near a dealer...

Hope this helps and welcome to this gloriously fun hobby - just don't waste too much money and become a hoarder like some of us here including myself. I wished I had skipped the entry level stuff and went straight to good high mid-fi gears like the ones I mentioned, and saved myself money and effort.

Also, I wish I had stopped there, instead of going to true hifi gears, because honestly I get 90 some % enjoyment out of my $1000 system compared to my $63,000 main system. Please don't answer every upgrade bug you get with a new gear, but just get a decent high level mid-fi to start with, and enjoy the music for a long time before upgrading, and your bank account will thank you...

Find a Vandersteen dealer. Definitely worth your while.
Bob

This amp will fit the bill!
https://avahifi.com/collections/solid-state-power-amplifiers/products/vision-set-120-power-amplifier
Or this one!
http://www.odysseyaudio.com/products-khartago-stereo.html