1K used, full range and decent looking

also came up with the odyssey nightingales and...

Bohlender Z7 - but where can you get these?

PSB Stratus Gold (i).

imho you cant beet a pair of vandersteen 2 signatures which new are around 2k or even the quad22l 1600 retail and awesome review from absolute sound. quad looks gorgeous bty

For just at $1K, you can go with a pair of very good looking B&W DM603 S3's 3-way floor standers. In the Sorrento finish, they are gorgeous. I just auditioned a pair last week and the detail, balance, and soundstaging are superior. I have a pair of the DM601 S3 standmounts which I absolutely love but am consdering upgrading to the 603's sometime in 2007. You may or may not even need a sub depending on your preference for bass. If you've never listened to a B&W loudspeaker, stop and don't buy anything else until you give yourself this opportunity.

NHTs are really good bargains in the loudspeaker world. They're not given props by the audiophile community, but they make good music, IMO.

Also, you would be very surprised by the sound created by Totem Arros. They don't fit my definition of full range (30Hz-20kHz), but they sound really good, and their bass is incredible for such a diminutive loudspeaker.

It's not easy to find fullrange loudspeakers that aren't "too large", and even less so for $1k. There are several small footprint subwoofers that would make a very nice full range system in combination with the Arros. Purchased used, you could likely do this for under $1250.

Thanks for the replies, very helpful. Let me complicate this even more....

Using a Dared mp-5 as a source (15 wpc) am I going to get away without a sub? (not anticipating playing organ recording on this of course) Compressing the dac and amp into one like this would help with the bottom line. Otherwise I'm stuck with getting either a reciever or some really cheap SS and a zhaolu for the price of the dared (~350).

No. Nor will you be able to drive the NHT 2.9 or the Totem Arros I mentioned.

The Celius 202 is your only choice among the speakers you have mentioned.

Look for speakers with at least 92dB sensitivity, nominal impedance of 6 ohms, and minimum impedance of nothing lower than 4 ohms...and higher if possible.

Your best bet in your price range is Klipsch Forte II, but they are a typical vintage box design, and not the most elegant speakers. Forte II can often be found around $700/pair.

Thanks Tvad, just read a arro review, and yeah, you're definitly right. Some bookshelves I just sold had a related peerless drive, quite impressive for the size.

One more potential choice for anyone who's finding this useful - Energy RC50 - on sale @ amsound2.com. Floorstanding cousins of the rc10 that just got a really good review.

I have KLIPSCH speakers in like-new condition and original boxes for less than 1K. They are (2) RF-15 Floorstanding and (2) RS-25 Surround. Original cost for the four was 1K. They would ship from Denver, Colorado USA.

Thiel 3.5's.