There are guys out there who love the Barnetts and have great luck with them.
Maybe they are not as bad as their rep. I however put the effort into buying a bow with a good rep and the best warrantee. IE. If it breaks in ANY way they will fix or replace it. I also wanted a bow that I could work on myself and change the string without a bow press.
My Excal Pheonix is out of you current price range but there must be a quality bow out there thats somewhere in the middle. Don't be afraid to watch EBAY. Nice used Excals pop up now and then and the warrantee goes with the bow and not the original owner.

Ps.. The Excal's wing span is just about the same as a 747 so rule out still hunting.