I was literally minutes from purchasing the Special 40's...

I’d consider trying the LSA-10 Statements available here for $2500 and offer a 30-day trial period to see if they indeed work for you in your room/system.  Sold direct so you’re getting good bang for the buck considering the engineering/development and parts quality that goes into them.  Read reviews for more impressions, and best of luck in your search. 

The Dynaudios rock.
the Harbeths croon.

be careful....

ive owned both. I like to rock.
I like the Dyns.

what's your room size?  if you have a small room, i suggest spending a third of your budget, and get a pair of proac tablette 8 reference signatures.  better than the 1sc's; i've heard 'em both in my big room, (as well as tablette 2000's), and the ref 8 signatures are better, from mid-bass on up.  in a smaller room, it shouldn't matter.

in my big (26x38x8.5) room, they were crossed at 60hz to vmps larger subs, and it was amazing what room filling sound i got - it remained clean even at way-loud levels.  in a smaller room, subs would be optional.  (for most folks, that is - even in a small room, i'd have a pair of subs; not necessarily as large as my vmps' - which you could afford, if spending ~$1k on the monitors. in fact, i'd choose subs/monitors over only monitors any day, regardless of budget and room size.)

doug s.

I recently heard an original LS3/5a (15 ohm) in a direct comparison with a current ProAc Tablette.  Both sounded very good.  The Tablette had a more open and extended top end, and in that sense, it is more comparable to other "modern" speakers.  The old Rogers BBC monitor  LS3/5a (it was actually bought from a BBC auction) has a more meaty, full and dense sound.  If I had to pick between them, I would go with the older model. 

This past weekend, I heard the latest Harbeth P3ESR, but not in comparison with anything else.  It sounded quite good too.  These tiny speakers are quite amazing.

I really appreciate all the responses here. A lot of food for thought. While still ever-so-slightly leaning toward the Dynaudios, whichever I choose are going to share a room with Spatial M3 Turbos and be primarily for more late, intimate sessions. Not going to rush this. Definitely going to give the Harbeths another listen. Man, I would love to see a shootout between the P3ESR and the Falcon Gold badges. Also, whoever posted about the LSA-10 Statements, you got my attention. Wow, those look nice.