Imaging

My 2 cents.
I have found the Paradigm Referance 100 ver.2 to completly disapear when I installed the AIG Imagers II's with Aragon 4004's MKII's. Image better than my B&W 802 w/BAT VK-60 mono's. ????

First of all let me compliment you on your choice of amps. The Aragon beats a good percentage of the known higher end amps, regardless of the price! Imaging and bass with the Aragon is incredible. My next step is Aragon 8008BB. I am currently using the 4004MKII which is pretty close, minus the balanced outputs that I am in pursuit of. If you would like an excellent match with your system, try, if you can find it somewhere, auditioning the Epos ES14. Incredible speakers. They are larger than your average monitors and ideally require their own stands. You will not be dissapointed. Don't play the price tag game. Because the speaker costs more does not make it better. I have had Martin Logans, Pro-Arc, Dynaudio, KEF, Vandersteen, B&W, and Sonus Faber and have still not been able to obtain audio erection. My favorite speakers have been of a little known nature. I have a pair of KEF Q60 speakers that I paid $300 for that have sounded as good and better than the B&Ws and the above mentioned.

Check out Totem. The Forest is a bit over your budget, but there are a couple of speakers in the line that are less, I just haven't heard them. The Forest images like crazy, has a wide and deep soundstage and can move a fair bit of air. The Aragon would be a good match, too. It is true, though, that imaging and soundstaging are very dependent on speaker placement and room acoustics, so keep fooling around with treatments and positioning. I improved my system a lot by moving it to a long wall setup, as described elsewhere on this site and on the Immedia and Audio Physic web sites. Noise on the power line also needs to be reduced as much as possible, as many spatial clues are very low level. Good luck.

try Von Schweikert speakers
VR4mkii's are legendary for disappearing in the room and giving great imaging

I have the old Vortex screens and they are marvelous
in a 15 by 27 long room I have them along the long wall equal distant from me (9 foot triangle).

spend time on the setup for imaging, move the speakers an inch at a time from the wall then from each other.

I get pinpoint imaging even with a 36 inch proton tv between and slightly recessed from the speakers. I get depth and sound extending beyond the speakers.

the speakers literally disappear in the room

tom

small versus larger speakers

my von schweikerts are large monitor floor standing speakers but are designed to disappear in the room

when I sold B&W the larger speakers nautilus 801, 802, 803 were too caught up in cabinet noise, but the 805's with Vandersteen subs sounded better, less cabinet reverberation.

my old B&W matrix 2's have great sat characteristics
the cabinet's matric deadens the sound, none of the less expensive B&W monitor series today come close

tom