Ahh... sweet. This will be fun.
For most bang for the buck, You just can't beat the BMR. Great Bass extension for such a small speaker, with expansive mids and the Raal 64-10 tweeter tat has ruined many an audiohead.
(I've seen more than a few threads that detail whether you can go back to another tweeter after hearing Raals...
)
The Ascend Sierra Towers. Great Speakers by all accounts. They will play louder than the BMR. With the Raal upgrade, which you should count as compulsory, there isn't going to be a lot to dislike. Careful review of the FR charts will show that Dave voices his high end up a little bit, and though I have heard some say they come off a bit bright, once they get used to the speakers, they are very happy owners.
Now Salk on the other hand, has so many options that its hard to decide where to go. You can be frugal and get a very good experience in the Song 3 especially with a Raal upgrade. you can play around with any of the 2-way Transmission line speakers, too.
I've always said that if I were going to go for a 2-way, it would be one of these! Simply because of the care Dennis puts into his XO and Voicing work.
Anyway, the real treat would be, of course depending on how deep you want to go... upgrading to one of the models with the Satori Be Tweeter. The Song 3 BeAT or the Encore. These models start at $4500 and $6000 respectively.
The Beryllium tweeters are the only thing I've heard that makes me want something other than a Raal.
One last note: Dennis will be releasing a BMR Tower using the same Raal and mids in an MTM alignment with the 8" Scan Speak Revelator woofer from his previous flagship Phil 3s. These should likely rival the Sierra Towers for output, and should outstrip them quite handily in extension. Pricing hasn't been set for these, but I would expect them in the low-mid $4K range for the pair.
Get your drool on!