Smallish floorstander that sounds good placed just

The older version of the Merlin VSM (SE or earlier) actually benefits tonally from such placement (tho the imaging is slightly traded off). The speaker was a little lean thru the mid/upper bass and the reinforcement/rise in cancellation frequency from near wall placement fleshes it out nicely. It might be a bit pricey for use with a Nova in a second system (but I bet it mates very well, sonically). You might find a 10+ year old that makes sense $-wise.

Good Luck,

Marty

Sorry, I just saw the budget note. Merlins will almost certainly be too expensive. I also use Preludes (in my gym) as recommended above. They sit near wall with pretty good results.

Marty

What about the Ohm Micro Walsh Tall? A used pair should be under $1000. Output is attenuated in the rear, to prevent problems with reflections. Might be a great choice.

I second the Rega RS3 or RS5 speakers. Great floor standers. They have a front facing port on the bottom. That makes them more easy to place near a wall. They are also easy enough to drive with your Nova.

Arros are very good - strengths are imaging and tone. They were designed to sound good placed near the wall, which will give you more bass response and weaker imaging, but if anything, makes the excellent tone stand out even more. Tuning with mass loading is necessary as suggested above to avoid bloated or one-note-ish bass from port reinforcement. I second the Silverline, Rega and Walsh suggestions given above as viable alternatives.

One caveat, I have not heard any of these speakers with the Nova, but feel the Arros have tremendous latent capcity to reward and sound much better with higher end electronics. I have heard the Nova with Sonus Faber speakers and it was a very good match, but would not place the Fabers next to the wall. FWIW.