Bookshelf speaker ideas....

Kotta is right on the money with quality stands for monitors. It should not be overlooked. I didn't believe that until I got quality monitor stands from Standesign that were sand fillable. Night and day difference between the the dinky little stands I had previous.

As for monitors in addition to the Tannoys and B&W DM303s that Kotta also mentions I say try to find the newer KEF Q100 speakers used. For a little more money used the KEF Q300s would really be nice.

well I don't mind spending up to $1000 max for the speakers. Ideas about stands are much appreciated--never gave it any thought! I did go to a store and heard the PSB Imagine B which was very nice indeed. Was told that it's the best thing out there in its price range and clearly superior in sound to many of the $600/pr options. Have also read good things about the Dynaudio Excite X12 but that might be hard to find in a store. Wonder if these others you folks have mentioned in a lower price bracket can compare?!

Hard to imagine you'd be disappointed with the PSBs, but then you never know which speaker will really "do it" for any individual's preferences (would help if you went into some detail in what you're looking for soundwise) so definitely try to get out to hear more. I've heard the Silverline Minuets sound fantastic with relatively inexpensive electronics, and Nola Boxers might be worth a listen as well (would need to get used to hit your price range). I just noticed a pair of Joseph Audio RM7si Signature MkIIs for sale here for 900 bucks, which I'd take over just about anything else listed here. But that's me.

Here's a link for stands that are probably at least decent in terms of price/performance (I'd get something fillable with sand or lead shot).
http://www.parts-express.com/cat/speaker-stands/2017

Oh, and I'd avoid $300 floorstanders unless you get a good deal on a used pair.

Best of luck.

This may or may not be helpful. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20099395-47/the-audiophiliacs-top-10-speakers-from-$40-to-$400/

I started 8 months ago with a pair of paradigm mini monitors (v.6 made in canada, not the current v.7, which is made in china) and they were good enough that I caught the upgrade bug and now have paradigm studio 20's, which I absolutely love. If you are really interested, I will connect them to my 55wpc onkyo to let you know how they sound with that amp. As for stands, I've always used cinder blocks as they are solid and heavy as hell, along with being acousticaly dead and cheap. I used to place my turntables on them with great results too. You can also stash your c.d.'s in them. You could get a pair of v.6 mini monitors for $200, or a pair of used studio 20's for $1,000.