under $300 bookshelfs: does excitement exist?

They are better than the Mission speakers that come with the Denon UD-M31 mini-system. On Sade's "Is it a crime" they have outstanding balance between cymbals and sax. The Tang-Band W3-871's are MUCH flatter than any Cain&Cain etc. single driver speaker recently reviewed in Stereophile. Like +/-2dB from 100 to 10K. +/-3dB from 10k to 20k.
On studio mixed music, B&W is very good but on acoustic music the "rightness" of these single driver speakers is way better than B&W. You loose high volume levels since they are paper and maybe dynamic punch too vs. B&W.
I spoke with the designer and he said these $125 ELF 1.5's are very close in performance to his JordanJX92's which he also did a design. Maybe in some ways better since the Jordans have a rising response curve and can get bright. ALl I can say is a lot of people can get unhappy with even $2,000 speakers but if you can live with lower volume levels and limited bass (I put mine on the mantle up against the wall so bass is good to 40hz) they make me question why spend more/ do I really need to.
NOTE: the second driver is only to give bass boost with no phase shifts etc. So this is a TRUE single driver design.

Swan Diva M200 - comes with 36 watts/ch built in - good for computer as well - and looks good too for $250 online.

I liked the Athena AS-B1 the best - better than bigger brothers - had prettier mid sound. Mate it with a sony amp sa-wm500 (eBay $150), and you have a nice and full sound. I was mesmerized to hear female voices on the setup. Try to hear this combo - made me want to dance the night away - good for the exercise room.

Gonglee, I've been an Athena convert for a long time, it's that dance factor which gets to me: it helps me forget about all that audiophile crap which is 70% worry and analysis and 30% enjoyment. With the Athenas, 100% pure enjoyment, they are the best I've heard at timing, and they are quite good at the other audiophile crap! Cdc, I've been meaning to experiment with single-driver stuff ever since I bought my Wave 8s, do the ELF 1.5s have a website, or any reviews with info? I've never heard of them. And I've never personally liked the B$W sound, though their build quality is tops: I always hear an upper midrange hardening, though the latest line seems better in this regard.

Johnnantis here is the site:
superelf
They used to be $64.00 + $58 for two cabinets = $122.00
I don't know if they have cabinets anymore.

I guess the word I was struggling to find was "natural".

That is why they have a satisfying sound. You can get a $2,000 speaker with bass, detail, and dynamic range but if it does not sound natural, I can't relax and listen to the music.