I would rather have a little more backward than forward sound.
I wouldn't call them "mini" monitors, but if you like a laid-back sound I might suggest listening to the Harbeth line. I've listened to a friend's Harbeth Compact 7's at length and they are very nice indeed, but in fact a bit too laid back for my taste. I was not using them near-field so could not comment there. He loves'em and I can see the appeal if you are into that kind of sound. I'd say the SR17's I prefer would be somewhere in between, but definitely not a 'forward' sounding speaker that puts the performance out front. They use the Dynaudio Esotec drivers (both woof and tweet). They definitely do a disappearing act like nobody's business. I wouldn't call the midrange "thin" so perhaps, again, not the right recommendation for you. Take a listen to the Harbeth's if you have the opportunity.
Marco