If you want sounstage & imaging you CANT beat a Magnepan 1.6 for under 2k. Nothing's close in that ball park. The 1.6's will make you think the center & rears are on, and I am NOT exaggerating one bit. You would however have to accept its large, yet extremely thin size, and not to use a sub is a HUGE mistake with any speaker, including the 1.6's. If you can do this, you will have exactly what your looking for in a speaker times 10 fold. 3 ft from the front wall isnt hard considering the speakers are under 2 inches thick. I find 34-40 inches to be perfect, not 10ft like some people. They also excell in small rooms, and sound great at nearfield listening. James Tanner (Bryston president) also stated this himself. Dont be affraid to use the high tonal controll on your prepro, and bump it down a db or 2. It does wonders. You can also use a resistor, but in the end I chose to roll them off -2db.