Why restrict yourself to the usual run of the mill makes? It's not that they're not good, but they're certainly not the only contenders. Have you considered the likes of Neat? Totem? Quad?
There's a group test of sub £1k floor standers in one of this months hifi magazines (I'll look when I get home) and the B&W 683 for instance, gets quite a panning, whilst the JM Labs plus A N Other get a glowing appraisal.
FWIW, I don't think what I've heard from either of the speakers you're interested in would make me get my cheque book out, but that's just my opinion and it's worth no more than your own.
Don't be scared to go listen for yourself. You can either buy what everybody else recommends - in which case you'll just end up with what they've got, or you can go and see what you actually like. Remember, one mans 'detailed' speaker, is another man's 'harsh wallpaper stripper' and there's a significant number of people who wouldn't actually know a good speaker one way or the other.
Try the same speakers in more than one dealer. See what amp/speaker pairings the dealer recommends or what alternatives they offer. You're spending some serious cash, so demand some attention and remember, yours is the only opinion that matters, so you need to go demoing to form one.
Russell