Best bookshelf speakers

Dali Zensor 3 all the wayyyy!
 They need a LOT of running in for the bass to come alive..

There is a pair of LSA 1 monitors in Black Ash for sale here that are a SCREAMING deal...

Check out the mini Philharmoniter at Philharmonic Audio. Dennis makes some outstanding speakers that are hard to beat in their price range.

are you handy and can you assemble something fairly easy? then maybe a kit speakers is for you. i was thinking about entry level speakers and one thought is to build your own out of a kit. I'm talking a kit with precut cabinets so a little glue and a screwdriver and your covered. then its up to you on how you finish them. there are quite a few quality kits available in your price range and you could get much more bang for your buck that way if your mildly handy. partsconextion is a good place to start then I'd search these forms as there has been a few good threads on the topic here. for $500-700 you should be able to get an equivalent sounding $1500-3000 speaker. just will be unfinished so painted is the easiest and you can get good results for less money then a veneer.

Not sure you can save an all lot DIY these days because of the many speaker companies opening or using factories in low cost Asia. But this is how I treated my ears to good sound in the 90s 2000s... Seas, Dynaudio, focal kits that were just unbeatable from a cost perspective, but requiring work with MDF, glue, screws and veneer.