Passive speakers for desktop

You know, it might be fun to try the single driver kits from Madisound.  They use a coaxial driver with a mechanical crossover.  Fun project!

Well, if you’re gonna shoot the lights out the QLNs seem like a great choice if you can handle their size on a desk.  I like that they’re slightly angled upward on the front that would seem to be beneficial on a desktop, but they’re rear ported so placing them near a wall is a big no no if that’s an issue (unless you plug the ports, but that may or may not cause other issues).  With the roughly $3k left over in your budget I’d definitely upgrade you’re preamp that would now be outclassed by the rest of the system.  If you’ve got extra $$$ available for a new preamp, which I assume you do if you can spend 10 large on desktop speakers, I’d add the Joseph Audio Pulsar 2s to your list of potential candidates.  Anyway, best of luck. 

Thanks everyone for the recommendations so far. I'm a little hesitant with the LS3/5a just cause of the less than neutral signature but I haven't tried them so I can't say for certain that wouldn't be for me.

The ARA are actually DIY speakers which are supposed to compete with higher priced speakers but without testing those higher priced speakers, I don't know for sure where it lands. That's kind of the reason I'm looking toward something in the $5k-10k (10k is really pushing it) so that I can get a discernable upgrade from what I have now. Comparing the ARA with the BMR Philharmonitors was pretty interesting. I think the BMRs definitely present music differently but technicals are around the same level. From what I've read BMRs also punch above their price point.

Anyways, @soix the Pulsars were definitely on my list before but from my friend's experience, the Qln seemed to be better off the same system when he heard them at CAF. Whether or not that will be true in my system, I'm not sure but one thing that drew me to the Qln is that people who have heard it felt that vocals sounded extremely natural. The biggest thing I don't like about them is the looks. I don't find them particularly attractive.

I've actually been shopping for preamps before looking at possible speaker upgrades. Depending on what deals I find, one might have to be delayed until a later date. The Bel Canto has been a very good stop gap so far. 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Usher Dancer Mini-X that I’d put right up there sonically with JA and QLN monitors at a big discount, plus they’re flat-out gorgeous and employ their top diamond DMD tweeter that’s the same as the one used in their top $28k flagship speakers yet cost only $3990/pr. That they can do this I believe is because Usher is one of the few speaker manufacturers that make their own drivers in house. Plus they’re front ported so placement isn’t as much of a potential issue as a rear-ported design. These could be the perfect premium desktop speaker and save you thousands of $$$ you could put toward a preamp, and BTW I agree the Bel Canto punches way above its weight as a transparent and neutral pre. Personally, I’d be all over these in your application, but that’s me and just another option for you to ponder. Read reviews of other speakers in their Dancer line and you’ll see superlatives and high value mentioned in every one. Usher undeservedly flies way under the radar in the US IMHO. BTW, if you join the Sound Approach email list you’ll get 10% off, which is significant.
https://soundapproach.com/usher-dancer-mini-x-bookshelf-speakers-pair.html

Are you placing the speakers on the work top, or on speakers stands to the side?

If you have not tried stands (and have the space to do so) I suggest that you try that first with what you currently use.

DeKay