1K used monitor with wide/uniform dispersion


My wife and I are moving, which means a new listening room and the need for a new set of speakers.

I'm looking for a monitor that will meet three criteria: 1) a very natural, lifelike midrange with a sweet top end; 2) the widest and most uniform dispersion, so the speaker will have not only a wide sweet spot but sound good all over the room; 3) good dynamic capabilities.

My short list right now includes the Totem Model 1 (which I owned very briefly with a weak amp and shrill CD player; I've heard it in other contexts and liked it a lot) and KEF XQ20 (my first speakers were cheap KEFs, so I have a sense of and like the KEF sound). What else am I missing? What else is out there? I don't know that I'm interested in Ohms, and planars wouldn't fit the space.

The new room is 13x18, and the speakers will be on the middle of the long wall (so side-wall reflections won't be a worry). I'll be able to follow the rule of thirds for speaker and listening position, and so will be listening in the near-field. My current Vandersteen 2ce sig IIs will be too big for the room--too much bass with our proximity to neighbors, for one thing, and I won't be able to sit far enough away for the drivers to integrate. I'm bummed that they'll have to go. The rest of my system is an NAD C372 integrated and Rotel 1072 with Tributaries and Signal cabling. I listen at low to moderate volumes, usually in the 60-75dB range. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
ablang
ABlang,

Spendors are fine speakers; while they are not my cup of tea I don't know anyone who would classify them as bright or fatiguing. Have you considered your room? Maybe it would benefit from some treatment.
Br3098,

Thanks for your response--and I know my room does need some treatment, as it has wood floors, plaster walls, and a couple of very big windows behind my listening seat. I have bookshelves behind the speakers to provide some diffraction (and they do help the treble and soundstaging; I checked with and without). The speakers are far enough from the side walls (7-8 feet) that I don't think first reflection points are an issue, and the ceiling is high (12 or 14' I think) so that I doubt that I'm getting many problems from it. The floor and windows are problems, though: I'm looking for a rug and planning on some curtains. When I walk around the room or listen from another room the sound is very "live".

A few observations since I wrote that last post: I've moved the speakers again to do what I'd first intended and set the room up by the rule of thirds. At first I placed the speakers closer to the wall thinking that would give them some boundary reinforcement, but now that they're 4.5 feet into the room with my chair 4.5 feet from the back wall the bass has actually filled out and seems more solid. This is a good improvement, though I do think the treble character seems much the same as before--possibly because I'm closer to that very reflective wall and windows behind me? Second observation--after I wrote I switched my IC from a Tributaries Silver to a cheap pair of Markertek interconnects and found the treble a bit smoother and better integrated. I've never invested much in cabling and it may be time: my speaker wires are Tributaries-branded 12G zip cord that I've had forever. Now I'm thinking of trying Anti-Cables for ICs and speaker wire--they'd fit my budget and hopefully be a step in the right direction.

In any case, I'm going to take a little more time to try things out and see if I can make these little guys work for me. I have a few hours tonight to listen and work on set up. Thanks again for any and all help along the way.
I want to thank everybody for their input on this search. After two+ months of working with the Spendors, they're still unfortunately just not working for me. If you look at the measurements in the Stereophile review (of the 3/5 and the 3/5SE) the 3/5's tweeter is a little higher in level with an off-axis flare in the same region (4-10 kHz)--and lovely as they sound otherwise I think that's what's getting to me. It's surprising, as I don't think I've ever heard another person call the Spendors fatiguing, but that's what's happening for my ears.

So...I've posted a wanted ad for a pair of Revel M20 and am hoping they'll be a better fit. Any thoughts or other suggestions would be welcome. Thanks again.