Talk me out of purchasing another pair of vintage speakers...something new for under a grand?

It's funny because I had a lot of people tell me twenty years ago that Klipsch was only good for headbangers.

There is a lot that can be done to improve Klassic Klipsch speakers but for most people the first move is to replace the godawful T-35 EV Avedon driver.

 

KEF did something similar with their Uni-Q drivers. Various models over the years. Not sure about others, but KEF and Tannoy have pretty inpressive histories.

 

The Uni-Q and Tannoy Dual Concentric are coaxial drivers, like Altec's famous Duplex line, and others made in the US, Japan and others. SEAS in Norway makes this:
http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/coaxial/seas-prestige-t18rex/xfc-h1353-7-coaxial-clear-cone/

The Tannoy DCs were and are superb drivers but Tannoy has decided not to sell the classic driver except as part of their big, ugly, and grossly over priced cabinets, which drove me to the Altec 604, which is not quite as nice as the DC but is still a great speaker.