I am gonna toot my own horn and say Closer Acoustics OGY. The ASR community will vomit in their mouths hearing this because single driver speakers = poop (in their dogma). But hear me out:
- In a flat room configuration and speaker placement is usually compromised. You can't beat the off-axis response of a single driver.
- You can't beat the midrange clarity and bass speed of single driver speakers with transmission lines. There are so many speakers around 1000€ which measure well, have good reviews but you struggle to hear dialog during movies and everything sounds warm & chesty. I am referring to Dynaudio specifically.
- Single driver speakers are so easy to drive. Even the worst 10W class D chip amp can drive them.
- Even the $5k MoFi speakers aren't built as well. The cabinet on the OGY is a laser-cut plywood sandwich. You can pay extra for a corian finish. It's way sturdier than veneer. They build kitchen countertops with that stuff. The driver is hand-built in France with a field-coil. So it's ridiculously fast.
Other speakers I liked:
- KEF LS50 Meta active (I am sure the passive model rocks too).
- Q Acoustics 3020. Don't let the rock-bottom price fool you! I could happily live with these. The bass is a bit loose. But the midrange clarity can almost compete with my OGY.
I don't like:
- Dynaudio Xeo 10. Sounds chesty and muffled. But the bass is nice. At a 1000€ you're better off saving money and getting a Denon RCD N11 + Q Acoustics 3020 + speaker stands and have spare change.