Best Speakers - low volume & nearfield.

I second that. Very detailed without having to be played at high volumes. I've heard the steps, the tempo III and the virgo - all great speakers. The only negative is that for them to get the spooky imaging thing to work, they have to be placed well into the room and be away from the sidewalls.

Seek out KEF Reference-II ($2700/pr or so). Their tweeter is built into the midrange driver for perfect time alignment at close range.

Also look into the Audio Physic "sparks", they are a slim floor standing speaker with a little more bass than the "steps". Check out http://www.audiophysic.de/ for the complete line.

Revel Salons have a great close presence. The back fire tweeter will open it up for you at 6 feet. Also any of the mid line SoundLabs.

Reference 3A MM de Capos. Only one capacitor between 8" driver and tweeter. 92dB efficient. WOn best in show honors at Montreal. Read about it in "$10K System" at www.audiotweakers.com

I love my Spendor S3/5's. I have them matched up with a pair of Sunfire True Jr. subs to fill out the bottom end, but at nearfield, I really only need one. At the same price for two Jr.'s, I could have gotten one Signature, and that's what I would recommend.

The Merlin TSM-SE!!!!! pair it with a 10 watter SE tube amp and you are in heaven! I have one paired with the Audio Note OTO SE and its great! The Unison Reserach S6 would match well with it also!

Swan M1. This little 2-way compact has an excellent ribbon tweeter and really makes the music sounds alive at low volume in a way most speakers can not compare. Not an expensive speaker and even available as a kit, it is surprisingly good.