Very small, warm and dynamic speakers

I can definitely recommend Totem Mite speakers. I have a pair in my office... the are very high quality and simply gorgeous wood finish. The image extremely well and are natural sounding and punchy for their size. I also have a wee matching subwoofer that gives them an amazing kick. Very high class speakers for the money. I see some on Audiogon for sale in the $900s.

rega rs6--impervious to placement

Thanks for the suggestions so far, does the ProAc Tablette fit the bill?

@nitewulf   How have you been?

This set of attributes: "Highly resolving and dynamic and warm and musical" in a small form factor with placement challenges and budgetary constraints will be tough to accomplish. 

I recommend enjoying whatever speaker it is, for what it is. 

If you can find a used pair, within your budget, I suggest Air Tight's Bonsai AL-05 / MSM-1 as another option to look into.

All the best in your search and final choice.

I can vouch for the ProAc Tab 10s. Super clean, articulate, musical, absolutely outstanding for a small room setup. But they're more than your $1000 budget new.

@david_ten , how have you been? I'm doing well considering the global situation.  For this pair of speakers, to be honest, I want something very small and sweet sounding, basically like the Totem Model 1 SEs, or similar sounding speakers. I'm ok with bass trailing off at 60hz or treble rolling off at 14KHz, as for resolution, I've found "well made" two way monitors to always be very resolving. The constraints are either they have to be front ported or be portless, I think that's really the main issue.

@hoytis, yes the current model, but older ones may be within budget. I've heard one way back when I first got into the hobby, and it sounded quite nice.

The problem is I am not seeing any applicable speakers for sale in used condition so I may have to opt for a new pair, which is absolutely fine, but it limits my options.

Would love to check out a P3ESR or a Spendor S3/5.

Wharfedale dentons....

@nitewulf   The Air Tight MSM-1 is front ported, which is one of the reasons I suggested it.

http://www.airtight-anm.com/components/msm1.html

Dali Mentor Menuet, rear ported but can go close to the wall.

I had a set of Sonus Faber venere about two years ago and ended up trading them straight up for a set of the new Maggie LRS. Went to a set of spendor after that then tannoy then klipsch. There was a lot to like about all these speakers but I realized that I was comparing them to the venere which had somehow become my benchmark for sound. I finally broke down and bought a set of sonus faber chameleon B. I cannot tell you how overjoyed I am with the sound of these. Smooth articulate quick not a big footprint and front ported. Find a set of these used under $750 and you are golden

Have you heard the Totem Model 1? Though I've not heard the Model 1, my impression of Totems from listening to different models over the years is that they are the opposite of warm sounding. 

Sonus Faber would definitely be warm sounding as would a speaker built on the BBC LS3/5A formula.

@david_ten , yep those look good, I am currently using tiny single driver speakers actually. I am also interested in the smallest model by Omega. I will have to look into that.

Any of the wharfedale speakers would fit the bill and you would save yourself a few hundred..the diamond line or Denton are warm sounding yet dynamic sounding. They are wonderful inexpensive speakers.

Hello,
+1 on the Dali minuets. There are wall mount versions of this too. They sound incredible. These are on my short list for my office. The bookshelf version would work great on a set of those ISO-Acoustic small table top speaker stands. I was thinking of pairing them with a Rogue Sphinx integrated amp and a nice turntable. I am working on my current TT setup. The new Hegel V10 phono preamp is really good. I almost pulled the trigger on the Totem Rain makers a few months back. 
I hope this helps. 

@calvinandhobbes, I haven't heard the base Model 1, but the Model 1 Signatures, yes.  That was a special speaker, some of the best holographic imaging I have ever heard - that's why I keep looking for a pair. 
I will look into the Dali Minuets as well. I do like Dali speakers.

Legacy Audio Studio HD.

Cambridge Audio - Minx XL

https://www.audioadvice.com/cambridge-audio-minx-xl-bookshelf-speakers-pair+color-White

Small / Dynamic / warm / with a large soundstage for a smaller speaker.

These are not talked about much but they are the real deal.

The Minx XL are rear ported but come with foam plugs if you need them. 

Sound Artist LS3/5A:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMPnTmEZaZw

Energy rc- lcr pair. 
Energy rc-10 bookshelf pair. 
Martin logan - bookshelf’s. 
 

After a lot of searching, I was able to setup my bedroom/office system.

https://imgur.com/ShhbnpO

https://imgur.com/nqQjoty

https://imgur.com/Rc5K1nN

https://imgur.com/7LoFAOG

I wasn't able to find the Totems in the condition/color I wanted. I wasn't able to get any of the British stuff within budget either: Harbeth, ProAc etc.  

I was always intrigued by Audio Physics, and heard a pair of Joachim Gerhardt Sonics Arkadias when I stepped into the audio world. The Arkadias sounded amazing but I was influenced by a dealer into buying Dynaudios, which was a mistake. 

So I searched out his recent designs, currently he collaborates with a furniture builder who builds the cabinets and Joachim Designs the speakers. These are essentially the current versions of the Sonics Anima speakers. I snagged a pair in Zebrano finish. But initial setup wasn't proper, just by the monitor on my desk. Too close to the walls and to each other. They sounded too boomy, I definitely needed to put them on stands. 

Fellow Audiogoner Terry built me the wonderful stands to my specification. Not only do they look beautiful, they complement the room, the speakers and now I was able to set them up more properly. Not perfect positioning mind you, as typically I would give them more space on the back, but that's just not possible in my bedrom. And this is a work meeting, conference calls and listening to music while working setup, so practicality applies.

However, they sound amazing now. Completely disappear. Amazing nuanced, details just emanate from them when all is quiet, at night. They are a bit warm, just like I prefer, and these small speakers do not go down super low. But boy do they sound good, and fill up the space. And they are driven very well by the 45 WPC Leak Stereo 130, which itself is a great kit for this kind of setup. Spotify -> Bluetooth -> Amp -> Speakers. Done.

Congratulations. Looks great, sounds like they sound great also.

as calvin said, totems are great speakers, but they are not, repeat not, warm

for a smaller quite affordable speaker with a nice warm tonality, consider buchardt s300’s...