I need some clarity

ZaiK:

Looks like we agree more than disagree.

What do you think of our future Lawman trying some DIY diffusion panels for the back wave (place them on the front wall behind the speakers)?

There are some examples of these @ the Cain & Cain website (photos of their listening room) and it looks like two panels could be made with a single (4 x 8) sheet of MDF and a scroll saw (glue them up).

I had once considered using these with a pair of the little Acoustats in our spare bedroom which is about the same size as a typical dorm room and in which the speakers would have had to be approx. 24" from the front wall. I gave up on the project as the room was converted from a non-cat zone (we needed to add a second litter box in the bath off this room due to the addition of a psycho cat).

A friend and I went and listened to a bunch of <$1K monitors, and the Meadowlark Vireos were hands down the best of what we auditioned (I forgot all the models we listened to... sorry!). Very BIG sound, filled the room. I loved them, and my speakers are hybrid electrostats, so they must have been relatively transparent. I've seen these on Audiogon for about $600 used. Front ported, so they can be placed right up against a wall.

Since there are not much options with monitors in my price range, should I go for floorstanding speakers?

There are a ton of options - why not give us your budget? Other things being equal, floorstanders will cost more, not less, than 'bookshelf' speakers (the term "monitors" is used interchangably, if not entirely correctly, and is derived from the smaller size of recording-studio or remote-location 'desktop' playback monitors). The cabinet is the single biggest expense in a conventional box speaker, so in general the smaller the cheaper. Maybe also give the dimensions of your room. Of course, given that most respondents here have chosen to recommend tweaks over fundamental upgrades, your most productive strategy may be to start a new thread or search the archives...