Need to Downsize: Small Speaker Recommendation

A lot of recommendations and yet we have no idea what the room size, or shape that potentially will be used here. Not much to go on...

There two separate pairs of Dynaudio Confidence C1s with Dynaudio stands listed in the A-gon classifieds right now. One pair are Signature Mk II in Bordeaux wood finish; the others are Series 1 in piano black. Both are within your budget.

Also, the Joseph Audio Pulsars sure look like another good candidate. The Stereophile measurements of the C1 and Pulsar are very similar in most parameters including very low cabinet resonances, linear and extended frequency response, dispersion pattern, and even step response.

The Pulsars have a true 8-ohm impedance where the C1s are 4 ohm. However, I also read the test of the Sonic Frontier 3 monoblocks and they perform well into 4 ohms as long as the internal connections are set to 4 ohm. The Stereophile review mentions this; it's evidently user-settable.

I would explore the world of active studio monitors. You can keep your preamp and sell the amps and speakers. ATC and PMC can take you anywhere you can afford to go. Focal and Neumann offer excellent but somewhat more affordable options. These products are serious tools of the recording industry and will more than hold their own against audiophile toys. Check into it.

+1 on the LS50s, Fritz Speakers and the Josephs.

Try the LS5os or Fritz and then see if you feel like you need anything more.

Both deserve all the praise they get.

Meadowlarks?