Imaging

If you like how Mirage does it, check out their MRM-1 Reference Monitors. I'm running mine with a pair of VAC PA160 mkII monoblocks and they disappear on a daily basis. Well suited for small to medium rooms. I would not, however, recommend them for a large listening room.

I think that smaller speakers ( especially two ways ) have several distinct advantages over larger speakers:

1) The drivers are closer together, creating more of an illusion of a point source

2) There is less baffle area for diffraction

3) There is less cabinet to resonate or create a "boxy" sound

4) There are typically less components in the signal path / crossover to get in the way

Having said all of that, there are some larger speakers that can "disappear" wonderfully. Much of this is obviously their design. The other variables would be placement, room acoustics and the quality of signal being fed to them.

I have changed components within a system and gone from having two speakers in the room to having live performers in my room. The speakers didn't change, the room acoustics didn't change, but the signal chain did. Don't overlook your system and room as working as a "system". It all adds up or subtracts from the total presentation of what we hear. Sean
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My 2 cents.
I have found the Paradigm Referance 100 ver.2 to completly disapear when I installed the AIG Imagers II's with Aragon 4004's MKII's. Image better than my B&W 802 w/BAT VK-60 mono's. ????

First of all let me compliment you on your choice of amps. The Aragon beats a good percentage of the known higher end amps, regardless of the price! Imaging and bass with the Aragon is incredible. My next step is Aragon 8008BB. I am currently using the 4004MKII which is pretty close, minus the balanced outputs that I am in pursuit of. If you would like an excellent match with your system, try, if you can find it somewhere, auditioning the Epos ES14. Incredible speakers. They are larger than your average monitors and ideally require their own stands. You will not be dissapointed. Don't play the price tag game. Because the speaker costs more does not make it better. I have had Martin Logans, Pro-Arc, Dynaudio, KEF, Vandersteen, B&W, and Sonus Faber and have still not been able to obtain audio erection. My favorite speakers have been of a little known nature. I have a pair of KEF Q60 speakers that I paid $300 for that have sounded as good and better than the B&Ws and the above mentioned.

Check out Totem. The Forest is a bit over your budget, but there are a couple of speakers in the line that are less, I just haven't heard them. The Forest images like crazy, has a wide and deep soundstage and can move a fair bit of air. The Aragon would be a good match, too. It is true, though, that imaging and soundstaging are very dependent on speaker placement and room acoustics, so keep fooling around with treatments and positioning. I improved my system a lot by moving it to a long wall setup, as described elsewhere on this site and on the Immedia and Audio Physic web sites. Noise on the power line also needs to be reduced as much as possible, as many spatial clues are very low level. Good luck.