KEF R3 META or Dynaudio Special 40?

Get these Yamaha HS8 active monitors ($800/pair new, also found in white, grey) that have a lot of sparkle, clarity, resolution etc.. the other 2 options you were looking at are not very good at all.

Surely you jest! I have a pair in my project studio. Not bad to work up a rough mix, but they aren’t in the same league as the KEFS or the Dyns. Hell, even my little KEF LS50s have more "clarity & resolution, etc.." and much better imaging, which is almost non-existent in the Yamahas.  Also, the Yamahas are designed for near field monitoring, which is not what the original poster is looking for. 

You probably need sub in to have more satisfactory fuller range sound experience with KEF (58hz -3dB). At $1400, Special 40 (41hz -3dB) is a no brainer, more dynamic and punchier than KEF. Let me know where is the deal in case if you don’t want it. The red birch version is a collectible.

However, since you have a relatively small room, if placing speakers close to the wall is a priority, the KEF R3 might be more suitable due to its recessed bass response, as highlighted in yellow. Don't get me wrong—KEF is an excellent performer, but I just prefer the Dynaudio house sound more.

(Taken from Erin's website)

Surely you jest! I have a pair in my project studio. Not bad to work up a rough mix, but they aren’t in the same league as the KEFS or the Dyns. Hell, even my little KEF LS50s have more "clarity & resolution, etc.." and much better imaging, which is almost non-existent in the Yamahas.

Not really!.....Something tells me you were very very unjust with this monitor because the audiophile that you are heard the words ’yamaha’ and ’pro-monitor".

If you even have it, the exact hs8 model (the 8 inch model with the ab amp in it and acceptable cabinet volume.... not the littler crappier ones, hs5, etc) . treat it fairly and give it a front end, like a hifi preamp and hifi dac, the same that got used with dyning audio or your ls50 squawk box in the same position, same room,, because you ain’t rough mixing in the garage this time.

Also, the Yamahas are designed for near field monitoring, which is not what the original poster is looking for.

His room looks very nearfield, dont you think?. When he leaves the requisite 5 ft behind the monitors, he’s all nearfield with his 9 ft office room. (You never even read the hs8 manual, did you? If you even have one? Or thought you didn’t need to comply with the manual’s recommendation???) You can also use these in midfield or whatever field for ’audiophile’ listening.

I used the R3 Meta for a short time. It's a easy speaker to live with. It does do well in close boundaries. Pluggable back port to switch up how it sounds depending on your front wall distance. One of the few speakers I used in my wonky living room digital set up without needing some type of DSP or PEQ. The directivity & coaxial driver make it perfect for most rooms. I feel like it's a safe speaker to buy. It sounded good with all genres of music for me. Didn't seem picky about amplification types. You can go into an adjacent open room & still hear a pretty balanced sound. I found a subwoofer to be necessary for my tastes. 

So while there was inherently nothing wrong with it I didn't keep it long. I bought mine on a cheap open box deal & it was not hard to get back almost what I paid for it. Like one of the posters in this thread mentioned I moved onto & enjoy a Fritz speaker. I have not listened to the Special 40 so unfortunately I'm no help there. $1400 is a better than average price. Killer price but yours has that little imperfection. 

If your normal range of speaker prices is $1 to $2k I think you will consider the KEF a pretty dang good speaker. For some reason I can't remember if it had "sparkle" . It just seemed well balanced in my room..no extra emphasis in any area of the FR. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCOfGmUdhjo