Hi Johnny,
I find very few absolutes in audio, but in my experience and in general monitors tend to pull the disappearing act better than floorstanders. My guess is that due to the smaller cabinet area around the drivers less sound is reflected that would otherwise give audible clues as to the speaker's presence. But, there are some floorstanders that disappear better than some monitors, hence my comment on absolutes.
That said, there are plenty of floorstanders that do a fantastic job of disappearing in a room and provide near full range performance, decreasing the need for a subwoofer. Some I've heard that do a great job of being heard but not seen that are in your budget range(no particular order): Soliloquy 6.2, Audio Physic Spark III, Joseph Audio RM22si, Silverline Panatella II, Thiel CS1.5(now 1.6), and the Triangle Antal(all but the Thiels should work fine with tubes). Although they are all excellent speakers and share the ability to hide in a room, each is very different sonically so, as always, try to hear as many as you can--but then that's half the fun, right? Best of luck.
Tim
I find very few absolutes in audio, but in my experience and in general monitors tend to pull the disappearing act better than floorstanders. My guess is that due to the smaller cabinet area around the drivers less sound is reflected that would otherwise give audible clues as to the speaker's presence. But, there are some floorstanders that disappear better than some monitors, hence my comment on absolutes.
That said, there are plenty of floorstanders that do a fantastic job of disappearing in a room and provide near full range performance, decreasing the need for a subwoofer. Some I've heard that do a great job of being heard but not seen that are in your budget range(no particular order): Soliloquy 6.2, Audio Physic Spark III, Joseph Audio RM22si, Silverline Panatella II, Thiel CS1.5(now 1.6), and the Triangle Antal(all but the Thiels should work fine with tubes). Although they are all excellent speakers and share the ability to hide in a room, each is very different sonically so, as always, try to hear as many as you can--but then that's half the fun, right? Best of luck.
Tim