[James neutron]

I'll just chip in another recommendation for Adam A3X.
I have their bigger brothers, the A7x, and they were worth every penny and more.
They replaced my former Dynaudio speakers and Parasound power amp setup (which cost me a a few times more than the A7x's), largely because I had the hardest time finding a good placement for them when I moved into my new apartment.
The Adams were literally fuss-free to set up and I ended up preferring their sound by quite some margin.
 
The A3x I never listened to, but I have quite an extended experience with the Artist 3 model, which is somewhat similar. Their owner is a close friend of mine and he's the one who pointed me in the Adam direction to begin with.
As to the Artist 3 they're really incredible speakers, especially if you compare physical size to sound. Despite being absolutely diminutive they manage to pull out quite a big sound and presence. For the price and the size, they're hard to fault.

 

[TheChosen0ne]

Any other suggestions that are $500 or cheaper?

 

[Aggie-Luna]

what about Audioengine A5+?
 
anybody with experience with these speakers?..I am considering them to pair with my Asgard2

 

[corporatetool]

Slightly unrelated question... Can you guys recommend a dedicated speaker and amp forum? I only see headphone gurus here.

 

[cel4145]

AVS Forums is to home audio as Head-Fi is to headphones. Go here and you'll find dedicated sub forums for different audio components.

 

[Deltrus]

Excuse me for being a new user, but please consider my opinion:

Since the OP did not mention whether they picked up speakers or are still looking, I thought I'd mention the Presonus Eris E5 monitors. If you can stretch on the width, they are 7" wide. I just got my Modi and Asgard 2 yesterday and have these plugged into the back of the Asgard 2, while I already thought they sounded fantastic out of my ASUS Xonar DX and not sure if there is a difference, it is a lot easier to switch from speakers to headphone and back.

The Eris E5s are not to be trifled with, especially for the money, $125-150~ each. They are very well amped, and were a huge step up in sound quality from my Samson MediaONE 3A monitors I had before. I listened to them at Sam Ash in  comparison to some KRK Rokit R5 G2s, which were at max volume mind you, and these blew the KRKs away at half~ volume. They have not only more volume, but also sounded more alive, yet still being flat, as studio monitors should be. The  KRKs just sounded very quiet in comparison.
 
Again, this suggestion is mostly if you can stretch that extra inch, and if you can, I think you'll be very pleased with the results.

 

[audioflatz]

I think you really need to make more room.. But there are some alright speakers that fit into that space. But very few. And I don't know if they would be considered audiophile grade. My advice would be to use high end custom builders.