I'd get a demo, even if it's not a home dem to start with, from a reputable dealer. Don't know where you are in the country, but e.g., Rick at Audio Images has different size demo rooms, lots of second hand speakers as well as knew, and also deals in high end analogue gear of other makes (e.g., Naim). You might be able to do a good dem, comparing some of the different Meridian speakers old and new, to a high end analogue setup and see if it even floats your boat at this stage before you buy stuff too blind? Remember that on here you're getting the opinion of people who generally speaking like the Meridian 'house sound' in some way.

By the way, I'm not sure if they've been mentioned yet, but when I demoed my 818, Rick used DSP7000, which in quite a small room impressed me greatly - none of the slow, boomy bass I found with the 5200s in a similar sized room. They might be within your budget too?

HC: 861v4/ID40/LPS, DSP5000, DSP5000VC, DSP3100, SW1600, HD621, Oppo BDP-105, Sony VPL-HW55ES
2-Channel: TEAC VRDS-7/Trichord Clock 3/PSU, Avondale S100, Harbeth Compact 7ES-3
Previous Meridian: 5000C, 5200, 7200.2, 6000, 562V.2, 568.2mm, 800v4, 808.2i, 818v2/v3, 861v8, 551, 502