I have narrowed it down through help from here and abroad. I have a two week Christmas break and will get some speakers to audition over that time period. I can do some private listening and some listening with my lovely wife. I am still looking for a killer deal on some used speakers but here is my list of new speakers I will be trying.
Monolith THX-365T. I have seen a number of excellent reviews of these speakers (including here) and while I probably won’t do it it would allow me to start easing into Atmos. Strengths are overall excellent performance and as I said it would allow me to ease into Atmos. Negatives are they are a bit large for bookshelf speakers and they are by far the most expensive on the list. They also have the weakest warranty at 1 year although my credit card will extend it to 3 years.
The Triangle BR03. Again, very well reviewed. Strengths are good sound, compact compared to some of my other choices and front ported for placement. Weaknesses are it would be a bit more expensive than some others if I ever decided to switch my home home theater system over.
JBL A170. Strengths are again it is well reviewed especially for rock music. (Love my classic rock!) Also it is definitely the most affordable when on sale and with coupon and cash back. Also if I ever want to switch over my HT system this is the most affordable way to go. Downsides these are rear ported towers that will take up space and the recommendation I have seen is they need to be 30" from the wall.
Ascend Acoustics CMT-340. These are generally well received speakers and I got fabulous customer service from them when I asked some questions about buying some of their speakers used. Not a lot of negatives come so far but I will have to see how they compare to others.
Paradigm Premier 100B.Strengths are again a well reviewed speaker and I also can buy it from my local dealer. Weaknesses are the shortest, if any demo time and maybe the weakest value.
I would like to thank everyone that has given constructive input.
