I helped my in-laws out, purchasing and setting up a pair of ELS-3's in a small room. Not bad, but I think you can do better. They don't come up that often, but see if you can find a pair of Soliloquy Sat-5 monitors. I have those in my kitchen and they sound really good. None of those small, bookshelf monitors are going to yield much tight bass in that pricerange, but the Sat-5's do really get the midrange right and image very well. The company is no longer in business, sadly, but that means the deals on their speakers have been better than ever. You might check with A'gon seller Underwoodwally to see if he might have a pair (he had some of the last remaining leftovers from the company).
Marco
Marco