I was just shopping based on the same criteria as you have and have attached a summary of my impressions of the 11 speakers I auditioned below. I was going to pull the trigger on a used pair of previous-gen Monitor Audio Gold 200s, but they literally sold an hour after I left the audio store so I got a current pair of Monitor Audio Silver 300s. When listening at home, I can't imagine getting more detail than the Silver 300s provide though I do know that the Gold 200s have more detail. So FWIW, the Silver 300 sound very transparent and detailed for me. No regrets at all. They are transparent and detailed enough that I'm getting more critical about the quality of my source material. (i.e., Only Qobuz and Spotify for me, no Tidal, Amazon HiFi, or IDAGIO for me...impressions on those as well below. FWIW, better transparency can also come from Qobuz vs these other streaming services) The B&W 704 S2 had a similar level of detail but the Monitor Audio Silver 300s hit that knife-edge balance of speed and detail vs. smoothness better. The B&Ws erred on the side harshness for me.
(Listed in order of preference):
1. Monitor Audio Gold 200 (previous-gen): These were a real WOW. All of the dynamics and musicality of the Silver 300s but with an additional level of detail and insight into my music. These made easy-to-reproduce music sound even better and difficult-to-reproduce music sound good in a way that my lower ranked speakers did not (all of the speakers ranked lower than the Audio Physic Spark).
2. Monitor Audio Silver 300: Though not inexpensive, it seems that quite a few publications are right on the mark when they describe this speaker as a great value. These have the clarity and quickness in the mid-range and treble that my Linn Index speakers had with the addition of a tuneful and rhythmic low end. These are a LOT of fun to listen to and can really boogie when presented with interesting rhythms in music.
3 (tied): Paradigm Prestige 95F: The tonal quality of these speakers is really pleasant to listen to. They are less clear in the midrange than both of the Monitor Audio speakers and the B&W 704 S2 and a little slower in pace than those speakers as well. The pace issue seems like it can be somewhat resolved by quicker sounding amplification.
3 (tied): Bowers & Wilkins 704 S2: Has a similar level of clarity, quickness, detail and smoothness as the Silver 300s. (Close enough that I need to hear the Monitor Audio speakers again to figure out which is better) But is $1000 more expensive than the Silver 300s. The Silver 300s also have a smoother top end while not yielding any clarity or quickness to this speaker.
5. Audio Physic Spark: Very musical sounding, but less low end punch than the Silver 300s.6. Triangle Esprit Gaia EZ: These sounded fairly precise and had a nice fullness of tone, but was lacking in pace and timing compared to my higher ranked speakers.7. Totem Sky Tower: These sounded quick and provided good definition to the leading edge of notes, but I would have difficulty listening to these for an extended period due to their aggressiveness in the high end.
8. Dynaudio X34 Excite: The sound felt a little loose and not so well controlled, but worked great for rock and metal.
9. Goldenear Audio Triton 5: This would probably be a better choice for a home theater speaker as they had a "big" sound though not as articulate for reproducing music.
10. Rega RX-3: It played music okay, but lacked precision.
11. Bowers & Wilkins 603: These speakers were a bit of mess. Their sound seems to be the result in trying to design a speaker that can play lower in the low end and higher in the high end without sorting out the fundamentals of how to play music first. Kind of boring to listen to since it fails to reproduce so much of the music captured in recordings and fails to play rhythms well.
