Can you get "bookshelf sound" from a floorstander?

Sorry all.

Got involved in the debate at the expense of the OP, but won't go any further. At $1k, I'll defer to Tvad, the Prelude is a good call.

Marty

Eyediver,

You may just be "monitor person"

Some floor standers worth a listen that I thought sounded especially "coherent" and right in the price range you suggest (under a thousand used [or new?]).

Totem Arro (OK, you already rejected these)
Quad 21L2
Dynaudio Audience 72 or 72SE
Paradigm Monitor 9 (new, large, truly remarkable for money)
Monitor Audio RS6

> Can you get "bookshelf sound" from a floorstander?

Sure, but note that

3-way designs can have double the parts cost of 2-ways since the bass drivers are expensive, the mid-range needs to be a band-pass instead of a low-pass, and the low cross-over frequency calls for bigger reactive components. Where retail markups mean 'decent' but not exceptional parts put a $2K per pair price-tag on 2-ways you're looking at $4K a pair.

A floor standing two way is long enough to have audible resonances from standing waves within it and is likely to have larger areas of unbraced cabinet (Siegfried Linkwitz suggests no more than four square inches of unbraced panel).

Marty: No offense, but unless you've published papers in peer-reviewed journals, I don't think there's a whole lot you can teach me about audio. I've been at this a long time, have heard hundreds of high-end systems and am a trained musician. I have a pretty good idea of what live acoustic music is supposed to sound like.

Your comment about the REL sub is totally unfounded, for example, as REL used to make a fine product. My Von Schweikerts operate full range and have plenty of dynamic capability. REL doesn't use a crossover between the sub and the main speakers. I've gone that route with other subs and hated the results.

My guess is that you prefer a pro audio high impact kind of sound instead of the refinement and purity that I demand. To each his own.

As for Eyediver, the Totem Arro is hard to beat for about $800 used. It is simply amazing at its price and in some ways makes it hard to justify purchasing speakers costing a lot more.

[Editing previous message for typos and adding one clarification:]

Much of this debate is interesting and informative enough in its own right, but please remember that OP's budget is $1K USED. Presumably that means speakers that sell/sold for up to $2k NEW. You can start another thread for other issues, focusing here to help OP and others with similar quest.