Best Two-Way Monitor Speakers under $700 New/Used

Gvasale: The use of the term, "bookshelf," has fallen out of use
because these smaller speakers are no longer designed or marketed as
bookshelf speakers. I.e., they are not designed or intended to be placed on
bookshelves.

Bookshelf speakers are usually oriented for horizontal placement and have a
sealed or front-ported enclosure. The speakers of the OP have neither
restriction; many stand-mounted speakers now have rear-firing ports to get
more back wall bass reinforcement but they won't work that way if placed on
bookshelves.

Technically one might refer to the speakers under discussion as a
"compact stand-mounted speaker," but that's four words and
seven syllables when in most cases "mini-monitor" or
"monitor" will suffice. There's not a word in the English language
that has only one meaning. Nor do meanings of words remain static through
the decades. Your strict definition of "monitor" was already
weakening by the '70s, four decades ago. The finer meaning of a word is
determined by context, and the OP was plenty clear on this: small, stand-
mounted, must be available in espresso or gloss black and fit with modern
decor. I think we can safely leave 140-lb. battleship grey Altec A-7s out of the
discussion.

After reading your last reply, then doing a quick websarch for "bookshelf" speakers, I got plenty of hits from different brands, and only a few came back with the refined description of "monitor." But that's neither here, nor there. I have been also checking into what are also called "studio monitors" as well and I do see where smaller speakers than the JBL L100/4311 have come into play. Combining those particular trends and the fact that some pretty poor varieties of speakers have been used by recording studios to give passable sound quality for the boombox and step above variety. So we both understand each other, I assume and I'm being careful here. I also tend to think you're not angry trying to express your point of view either. But I'm not sure. I guess one can no longer just accept the request for "the best performing speaker for XX$"

Ascend Acoustic Sierra 1

Have a look at the Dali Zensor 1. Great sound at half your friend's budget.

At the beginning of this year I bought a brand new pair of Quad 12L Active stand mount speakers for $750 ($1,700 retail). Each speaker is bi-amped, with a separate amp for each driver. The detail, and dynamic capabilities of these speakers is truly incredible. Why waste money trying to find an amp that will have good synergy with speakers...when you can buy speakers that already have an amp designed for every driver in them.

They have an active crossover, which has tremendous benefits over passive, and a beautiful piano finish. I recommend checking out active speakers, as the bang-for-the-buck factor is huge. Unless you want to spend the time and money on separates...which admittedly, can be fun. :-)

My 2 cents,
Mot