Recommendations for small desktop speakers under $1500

Cabasse IO3 will be perfect for your usage. It will set you $1.4K for a pair. You do need a sub though because these are satellites.

Triangle Comete EZ is a good candidate also. It is not rear ported so you can flush it against the wall. 

The new Q Acoustic Concept 30 is excellent as well. 

I tried many speakers, including the LSX, and felt that I wanted more. If your desk is big enough to have it, I recommend looking at the Elac UBR62. They are usable down to 40hz and are front ported, so they will image better than other rear ported competitors. Also, the midrange has a dual concentric style with the tweeter and is closer to ear height compared to many other speakers.

i pair these speakers with a Gustard X-16 and a Class D kit amp and the trio sounds incredible for its price range. 

Thanks for these recommendations. The elac is what I had been looking at before asking the question. I was just concerned with the size, but I’ll give them a closer look. Maybe it can work. 

B452 Air and a small sub under the desk if you need low bass. Only a 5.5" X 5.5" footprint. Of course your source has more than a little bearing on the ultimate sound.

Currently priced at $50 up from $45, inflation.

Near field they are like putting on planar earspeakers.

@bobelton Elac also makes the smaller debut, but it won’t sound as resolving or full. I need no sub for the UBR62. Yes it is big, but it can sound holographic and I just have them a few inches from the wall directly behind my desk. I do have a larger desk, though, about 65” wide and maybe 22” deep.

My primary system is valued at likely over $200K-300K and I am satisfied with the Elac in my office, hopefully that stands for something!