The Gentlemen here will eventually chime in with all sorts of OEMs for you to consider near your price point. I'm assuming your budget is in US Dollars (I'm Canadian and have to deal with our shrinking Loonie these days
).
The 3 front speakers are best positioned at, or near, ear level when seated. (As are surrounds.) It is best to keep the 3 fronts from the same OEM, and usually the same product line.
Personally, I too am close to pulling the trigger on a LCR speaker package to replace my very aged front speakers. After doing a lot of research and posting; my current choice is a bit unusual, and they never go on sale (Which I've never heard of in audio equipment before. Discounts usually abound. I've been waiting for months, but no big incentive for me to pull the trigger. I also get distracted by many other things in my life.).
The ones I'm considering are from HSU, who are normally thought of as a excellent Sub OEM. The model of the speakers are CCB-8s.
HSU CCB-8s
All the reviews are excellent, and you can place them vertically or horizontally with no negative impact. For me that's a big deal, as below my TV is just enough space for the center to be placed horizontally while keeping my TV at the right height.
Traditional 2 or 3 way bookshelf speakers don't function well when you turn them on their side. That's why "special" center channel speakers were developed to try to overcome those issues. Some do it better than others - some don't. And some center channel speakers are a hefty premium over the L&R ones. The CCB-8s do it perfectly according to the reviews, as they have a coaxial type design.
SVS makes their Ultras which also have excellent reviews, but may be a bit above your budget. In Canada they don't want to sell direct like in the USA, and insist you go via their Canadian distributors - like Electronics for Less Canada. They even block Canadian IPs from seeing US Prices, so there are no bargains on Black Friday, or other "sale" days. If you are in the USA these may be worth your consideration, especially if your Screen is acoustically transparent and you can use 3 bookshelf speakers all vertically (but I doubt that as you mounted your present front speakers so high).
The SVS speakers have a 5 year warranty and a 45 day trial period, whereas the CCB-8s are 7 years but only 30 days. Some folks order both (and others brands) and audition them to find out what works best for them in their environment. Even if I was in the USA where returning them wouldn't as much of a hassle as in Canada (no border issues),I doubt I'd do that. But each to their own as they say.
I hope this is helpful.
