For nearfield listening: which of these towers?

I have owned Bach Grand and Arro, used both in small room, SS integrated and no sub, and much preferred the Bach. The Arro impressed me very much at first, but much less so after a few weeks.

I initially replaced the Arro with the Quad 21L which I also quite like, and still use.

Yes, I've had both in 13x15 room and Silverline bass IS all of above,IMO a better speaker than Arro . Never heard the Bachs.
Preludes do better single not bi-wired . PRAT as the Brits say, is outstanding, they have no faults I've ever heard.
Easy to drive as well, mine do well with 8 tube watts from an Eastern Electric Mini-max 6bm8 integrated.

What about a monitor instead of tower? Something like the Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1? Still, would be nearfield listening at my desk, fairly close to wall, low to medium volumes, and still no sub. Would a monitor be better for this type of listening?

I currently use the Vienna Haydn Grand for desk top - sounds great...