A used pair of Platinum Solo's on stands would image well in the nearfield and for a room your size when sitting back from them still sound great. The bass is unbelievable for the size. I feel the bass is truly deserving of special mention as you specified that as a desired attribute. This speaker has been periodically appearing on Audiogon, and is a "sleeper." Currently using in my second system with enjoyment. However, when I feel the need for an almost sub-woofer sized bass "fix" I have my transmission line heavyweights in another room. Appearance is fine for the Platinum Solo's making them household friendly, too.
Need monitors with a BIG sound
Well, the better half just found out the size of the Vandy 2c's I purchased & is NOT pleased. Seeing how I can get rid of speakers easier than her I need to demo a few monitor sized speakers to see if I can find the same big sound in WAF speaker. The monitors can be pretty big but not as big as the Vandy's so a mini-monitor is probably out of the question. Right now I'm running a pair of B&W DM303's on loan from a friend. I'm not overly impressed with these at the moment b/c of the lack of bass in particular & veiled sound they offer. I listen to mostly live recordings of "rock & roll" (i.e. similar to the Grateful Dead) & like nice tight powerful bass with excelent imaging. I'll have a CJ MF2200 & DNA-1 to run the speakers with my CJ PV10AL pre-amp. My intent is to sell one of the amps after I settle on a speaker that will fit our smallish living room that is 14'X 16' X 7'. You guys haven't let me down yet so fire away.