Is $3000 pushing the limits for a geat monitor??

be careful with monitors (or floorstanders that lack stability) if you have cats ... I speak from experience :(

This is why I went with Magico S1. I hoped to get the coherence of a 2-way monitor speaker, with the cat-proof stability of a stable floor stander.

So far, the sound is fantastic, and they have remained vertical!

It's surprising that no one has mentioned the Evolution Acoustics MMMicros One's (also referred to as "Micro One"). If you look through the threads, you'll see that the issue is not whether they sound great - pretty much everyone who has heard them thinks they do - but whether they sound better than much more expensive monitors (many believe that they do). I've heard one system with them and think they're incredible for the money. Disclaimer: I own the big Evolution Acoustics MM2, so I obviously like the house sound.

As for other monitors in that price range, I also like the Dynaudio Confidence 1, but they need a lot of power to come alive, which is problematic because most high-powered amps use a lot of negative feedback, which I am very sensitive to and can't tolerate.

Both of these speakers use very simple crossovers that cause little phase shift - if used with the right electronics, they deliver truly high performance.

I had a pair of the Confidence 160 a while back and my purchase was made after listening to a few other monitors in the store. I walked in leaning toward B&W, walked out with the Dynaudio. Sorry, but I don't remember the model of the B&W. The Dynaudios were just more accurate to my ear, with pitch perfect midrange and surprisingly deep, true bass. I had a small REL sub at the time, and the only reason I sold them off here was because I grew weary of all the wires, the plugs, etc. You may want to audition Totem Rainmakers, or even the Hawks which I just picked up. The Rainmakers are monitors, the Hawks towers but, they certainly don't weigh as much as my Thiels!

I have not heard a better pair of speakers than the unassuming Spiral Groove Canalis Anima for $3,250.

I don't own them so there is no bias here...but they are certainly on my "dream' list.

Best monitors I have heard that are within your budget (2nd hand) are the Totem Mani 2, Dynaudio Special 25, Dynaudio C1.