In that price range, I guess I would also have to throw out the mbl option as well, at least if you were interested in perhaps trying something completely different that might meet your criteria.
Normally I';d suggesdt OHm Walsh as a less expensive alternative to mbl, but those are not inherently bright by any stretch, though with the right amp and configuration feeding them, it might turn out to be a non issue. Also the largest OHMs, the 5000s, have onboard tone adjustments that are quite useful for matching speakers to room. Those even new would likely come in at ~ 1/5th your target cost and might be worth an in-home demo first if saving $24000 or so is something you might be interested in.
Normally I';d suggesdt OHm Walsh as a less expensive alternative to mbl, but those are not inherently bright by any stretch, though with the right amp and configuration feeding them, it might turn out to be a non issue. Also the largest OHMs, the 5000s, have onboard tone adjustments that are quite useful for matching speakers to room. Those even new would likely come in at ~ 1/5th your target cost and might be worth an in-home demo first if saving $24000 or so is something you might be interested in.