16K to Spend. Help me make the end all Upgrade.

Take a listen to the Gradient Helsinki 1.5 or Pioneer S-2EX, both $7.5K, and put the rest of your budget toward the Spectron.

Avalon Indra has been favorably commented upon in the threads, and deserves a listen.

Now I'm debating as to whether to move up to the Salon2's; much better bass response than the Studios.

Check out the PBN Audio Montana KAS being sold by AudioGon memeber, Kenan. You can buy a demo pair from The Sound Station for $14,500. You won't be sorry.

Commenting upon some of the above items:

Generally, I would not spend all that money on speakers for a medium to small-size room that will also serve as a dining room. I would budget $10k for speakers and spend the rest on the other parts of your system.

Beauty is of course perceived by everyone differently, but I saw the EgglestonWorks The Nine last year at CES and thought they looked really sharp and was impressed with how compact they are (while still basically being a full-range speaker). I do not want to comment about the sound, as I heard them at a show. Audiogon member Talon4 is a dealer.

The Studio2 is appropriate for a room of your size -- as a former Salon owner, I cannot imagine a pair of Salon2's in an 11' x 19' room. I think the new Revels look like cheesey Canadian speakers, incidentally, but that's just my opinion.

I have not heard the Dynaudio Sapphires, but I have owned Dynaudios and found them to be superb speakers -- I have no doubt that the Sapphires are likewise superb and they will be impressive in the flesh, as they are very well built. Someone mentioned the C-2's and C-4's. The C-2's would be good for your room and are great speakers, but most people find the looks to be laughable (I'm one of them). In terms of bass performance, the Sapphires would be about as much speaker as you would want in a room that size.

The Aerial 9 will impress you with the quality of the cabinet finish (about as close to Sonus Faber as you will find) and they would likely work well in your room.

You will miss the smooth sound of your Pass amp, but as someone who ran high-powered monoblock tube amps for six years, I appreciate the concern about heat.