Exceptional value in speakers today?


I'm looking for "sleeper" speaker companies - brands that aren't well known and offer exceptional value.

For years I have been a fan of ACI speakers - the company only sold direct, didn't advertise, but their speakers were consistently compared favorably with speakers costing many times more - in both "professional" reviews and end user reviews.

I am fortunate to have some of their speakers, as the company is no more. Which leads me to my question - there must be a similar company (or several) doing something similar today. Since these tend to be small companies that don't advertise, I thought I'd ask here for some pointers. The big guys are easy to find...

Thanks in advance.

(BTW - my current shopping list is for a pair of monitor speakers for a recording studio. I'm looking for un-powered speakers of exceptional quality (and at a price point <$1k). I need speakers that are good at revealing any flaws in the mix. I already have some high end professional near field monitors (Genelec) and am looking to augment those).
mark_scrivener
Value is a relative term. You might be wise to look for well-known company speakers that have been passed over by average, less value-conscious audiophiles. When you go to sell them you won't have to re-list them endlessly. I'm referring to companies like Hales and Thiel. They have products in their line that were quickly superceded by a newer product. I have seen items here that I would happily buy at the prices asked, but how many speakers does one audiophile need? No need to answer that, the question was rhetorical.
Thanks - keep the responses coming.

BTW - lots of studios have at least one pair of typical consumer speakers (car speakers in a box were popular for years). This is to check the mix on an average system. While I plan to set up some inexpensive speakers for such purposes (the Mackie's might do well for this, even though they are "pro-audio"), the goal is to find a really great pair of speakers (the Shelby+Kroll's look very interesting).
Volent, Vapor and LSA would be on my short list. Dynaudio has always been a favorite and has a short lifespan on the classifieds.
I've been using a pair of smallish KEF Q10s for nearfield studio stuff for years...bought 'em new. Front port, coincident tweeter, not expensive, kick ass. I'm sure newer ones are even better.