Requesting Advice on Speaker Upgrade

Thanks Bomd,
Zu sells direct, but you can find them used here on Agon and Ebay.
If you buy new, they do give a trial period, but I have to say they do require break in to sound their best.
One of the reasons I recommend Zu and Vandersteen is that they stand by their products. I own Vandersteen Treo's (3a sigs beforehand). If I needed help, I could call Vandersteen and would receive a call back, often from Mr. Vandersteen himself. Zu, also is very accommodating. They repaired a defective binding post at no charge even though I was not the original owner(-I also had some other work done, which I paid for).
I own a pair of Zu Union (Omen predecessors), and compared to my new Treo's, I have to say they were remarkably close in reproduction. Though the Vandies are much more refined, I was impressed by the fact that the Zu were doing it with a single driver.
B

I'm a big Vandersteen lover. I don't know why more people aren't. But that can be good since you can buy 2C's between $400 - 650, depending on condition, and where you are in the country (local market). I can tell you that I have owned the 2C's and now the 3A. When I got my 2C's, I was in a 10x10 room with wood floors and slanted roof. Easy to dial in and easily the best speakers I have owned up to that time. I kicked out some JBL Jubals (L65), Dahlquist DQ-8, and a few others. Vandersteens are fairly efficient, and are designed to be forgiving towards the source power. Case in point, my brother in law just picked up some 2C's for $400 in 8.5/10 condition and running with a Pioneer SX-850 ... they sound great. His mind is blown.

I loved mine so much, I jumped on a mint set of 3A's from the original owner. I was in a 15x20' room, but now in a 9x10. I have them positioned so they still sound great. Of course, I can tell they would bloom more with more space, but that will be next year in the new place. But I'll tell you that if you do buy Vandersteen, make sure you get some good quad cable (Canare) and bi-wire. I know the idea doesn't seem to make sense, but I've done testing in my own system, and found it does make a slight difference. Enough to be worth it.

If you like mid century modern look and want something off the ground, I would take a serious look at ADS. They have butyl rubber surrounds on the woofers, and I have never seen a bad one. Some models are better than others, and some have metal grills, and walnut veneer. 

Dahlquist makes some good shelf speakers like the M-905 and M-907. Build quality is good, they use good drivers, and they are under most people's radar, so you can usually find a good price.

As you can see, I'm not a big fan of new speakers, for your price range. You can buy so much more speaker for that kind of money, that are built like furniture, and hold their value better. Just buy smart.

Matt, email me  at  abruder1@mail.com and I will help you out.  Al

Haven't listen to a/d/s for a while, but sold them throughout the 80s and owned the floorstanding, mirror imaged L-1230 model, (dynamic full range speaker but room dominating). My favorite "bookshelf" was the L-710. I say "bookshelf" as they are 21 5/8" X 12 1/4" X 10 1/2" and weigh 35 pounds. They would fit in a mid-century inspired room very well, especially on their factory metal stands. Some preferred the larger L-810 or later L-780 or 880. All are beautifully built, unique aesthetically and well engineered, but time marches on- I suspect today's class leaders would sound more open and accurate, (also not sure how well the a/d/s doped dome midrange & tweeters age).

<ELAC dealer disclaimer>
The UB5s are an amazingly balanced, detailed, satisfying, full-range, 3-way, bookshelf speaker system...and they are only $499/pair!  Awesome.