I Need Help: Best Near Field Desk Speakers ($2000 max budget)?

[johnation33]

Hi Everyone,
 
I'm currently in the market for new nearfield desk speakers with a max $2000 budget for a pair. I currently own 3 speakers (KRK Rokit 5, Audioengine A2s, Klipsch Promedia 2.1) and really want an huge, noticeable upgrade.
 
My preferences: Out of the three I already own, I actually like the promedia 2.1 better than the other two. For whatever reason, it's a lot more "fun" to listen to. I highly suspect this is the bass, even though I'm not a big basshead. The worst out of the three I think is actually the KRK Rokit 5s, I rank them lower than my Audioengine A2s. Just a very boring sound. I think the better way to evaluate my preferences are my headphones: I own the HD650, Grado SR225i, and Stax SR-Omega (electrostatic speakers). Out of the three, I love the grado and stax. HD650 are very, very boring and I can't stand them. The Grado is just so fun and punchy, great for pop, classic rock, rock in general. Stax are amazing for jazz, vocals, and classical music.
 
My setup would be very close to this guy's setup (not me): http://www.computeraudiophile.com/attachments/f8-general-forum/30135d1477410927-tell-us-about-your-desktop-system-and-listening-please-room.jpg
Just to give you an idea of where the speakers would go and how big my computer desk is.
 
I've made a list of desktop speakers that seem highly rated -- any here that I should cut out for near field desktop speakers? Any that I am missing that you think are amazing? Which one from the list do you think best fits my preferences? I haven't listened to any so I'm planning on going to a dealer to audition them and purchase one of them (except for the direct internet retailers where I will just order online to home trial).
 
List to Try:
*KEF LS50
*JBL LSR305
*ELAC B6
*ELAC UB 5
*Ascend CBM 170 SE
*Ascend Sierra 1/2
*Audience The One
*Audience 1+1
*SVS Ultra
*Adam A7x
*Mini maggie
*PSI Audio A17M
*Amphion One15
*ATC SCM7

As for the rest of my gear, I currently need to buy an amp. I'll most likely buy an amp after choosing the speakers first since it seems some speakers are very particular about pairing with certain amps. I'm leaning in general more toward the NAD D 7050 atm though.
 
Price doesn't matter as long as the pair together is less than $2000.

 

[akg fanboy]

sonus faber venere 2.0
kef r300
 
Generally speaking the sierra 2s are going to be the most detailed and revealing but won't sound as "fun" and have a less energetic bass. ls50s for the really engaging and forwards mids and upper mids for a very lively sound but also punchy bass. sonus fabers for a more relaxed presentation but without skimping out on details either, they will provide a nice bass impact too compared to the 1.5 model. The kef r300 will have some of the most authoritative bass response if you really want that bass punch
 
If you love the grados, I really think you will enjoy the kef ls50

 

[Jozurr]

You will first have to decide if you are looking for studio monitors or speakers, which are very different because with speakers youll have to think of preamp and amp pairing too
 
*KEF LS50 - Cant use them without a good sub, they dont have that good lower end.
*JBL LSR305 - Theyre very similar to HS8 Yamaha aka Not hifi but decent monitors under $1K
*Adam A7x - One of the best treble Ive heard on monitors except for very high end ones, but they lack sub bass.
 
I would recommend the Genelec 8040B for near field listening, they're exceptional studio monitors and go lower than the Adam A7X. Priced at about USD 2350 a pair.

 

[greenpsycho]

I'm going to throw the emotiva stealth 8's into the ring. I was looking for something similar and although I haven't listened to many of those speakers in your list (just the Kef's and the Elacs), I'm very fond of the stealth. The bass is pretty incredible, very punchy with lots of bite and I love the fact that I can just hook up my balanced cables directly to them and not worry about amping or anything.
 
They are going for just over $600 each right now, so may be worth a listen:
 
http://emotiva.com/products/powered-monitors/stealth-8
 
As a side note, they are quite large and heavy, so keep that in mind

 

[cheungbe]

Did you ever figure out your nearfield setup? I'm using DDRC-24 -> NuPrime STA-9 -> Amphion One15's. Wondering how I could step this up, sounds and images wonderfully right now.