i looked at the standard fare from the chain "higher end" retailers, such as magnolia inside best buy and HiFi Buys (part of Tweeter). polk LSi15, polk rti10, Def Tech 7002, 7004. Martin Logan, Vienna Acoustics, etc.
I basically stayed away from anything rated <8 ohms, which eliminated Polk Lsi 15 and ML. Def Techs sounded good, but each has a power cord for the built in powered amp and i have too many plugs as it is. and, i didn't really care for the all black look from top to bottom on the def tech's. i wanted something with some real wood look to it. vienna acoustics sounded good, but was very expensive and i simply couldn't justify the price difference over the VR3's. i found the Polk RTi10 to be hollow and it just didn't sound full to me.
the Boston VR3's had a very good sound at a competitive price point for me, along with a nice cherry finish everywhere except the grill and general classic good looks. plus i previously used Boston HD10's as my main speakers and they always performed admirably, so i was a little biased to BA going into my research. the VR3 provided a little more thorough sound than my HD10's, so i will use the HD10 for a bedroom or basement application and i now use the VR3's as my main home theater/music listening speakers.