Best Speakers below $1000 for my needs

Sounds like a pair of Green Mountain Audio Europas. They image like crazy, are very neutral and while their following is not huge, they do deem respect from even the most demanding audiophile. Can be had new for a grand or used for $600-$700. Read the history here under "Europa". You may even be able to swing a home demo from them. http://www.greenmountainaudio.com

Strong second on the Europas. Simply amazing speakers.
John

The GR Research Criteron or Dilucio is one of the best bang for the bucks in monitor speakers that I have ever heard (and I've heard most). They use crossover components typically only found in $5,000+ speakers.

Creative Sound in Canada is currently selling both of them BELOW the $1,000 price point! Last year these speakers were selling for $1,200 and 1,500 respectively and I was recommending them without question. At these current prices they are an absolute steal.

http://www.creativesound.ca/index.html

BTW: I agree with the Green Mountain recommedations but these speakers are definately up another notch up in performance and value!

Thanks for the info guys. I really like the looks of both of those speakers. But, what are your opinions on the 3 I listed? M&K, B&W and Dynaudio? BTW...how do the europas and criteron's handle home theater use?

Out of your three in your original post, having sampled all three brands fairly intently, I'd go with the Dynaudio Contour 1.4s. ( They were at 1.3s last time I auditioned them.)

The Green Mountain Callistos I listened to at CES were awesome, although one poster described the midrange as muddy ( I disagree). The Europas are in the same family.

Looking more at your post, the word that pops into my mind is "Genelec" BTW. Not below 1 large though. I think they make some midfield products these days. NHT has some nice studio monitors as well that would serve your music listening needs too.

Dynaudios. You can listen to them for hours of great enjoyment and still want more. Its the tweeter and mid-range quality. Good luck.

JM Reynaud Twin MK3

I like the Dynaudio's.
Especially the fact that they use a huge voicecoil (3" in most woofer) to handle power, heat and dynamics. Sweet tweeter as well. I wish they hadn't pulled out of the DIY market.

If you can find these used they are the way to go for your exact needs! Read the reviews. I love these speakers.

http://cgim.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/bb.pl?dynaudio&zzaudience82&showmodl&zzaudience82&4&&

Another vote for the GMA Europa's.

And still another vote for Europas.

And now for something completely different...

How about the Epos M5s or the Nola Lil Rascals MkII, both under $700, but terrific buys for the money.

They are both outstanding dynamically, with large soundstages, clarity, good imaging, very balanced & natural sounding, and resolving. You say you don't care about bass but both have good LFs, especially for their size. They donlt need subs to sound satisfying.

The Epos are a hair more refined in the treble and the Nola is a hair more nimble in the mid-upper bass. NO brightness or fatigue in either. They're articulate enough for classical and acoustic but they can boogie too.

You would appreciate the dynamics - they will handle loud volumes without congestion or collapsing the sound stage. Big sound outa little boxes. Check 'em out.

Use the money you save to start a fund for better electronics.

BTW, I do like Green Mountain and Dynaudio, but I could never warm up to the afforable B&Ws and I don't like M&K.

I've owned a pair of B&W 602's for a few years. I have not come across a better sounding speaker for $600. The new series 3's sound even better than the ones I have. I would strongly suggest giving the B&W DM 602 series 3 a shot.