Budget Speaker Recommendation?

This is my own ignorance, but if they are on a bookshelf (there would be about a foot clearance from the back of the speaker to the wall), does it matter if they are ported in the rear)?

it definitely matters if they're rear ported--i did a very similar search recently for a near-wall placement monitor and some very good speakers, such as psb and proac, didn't work in such configuration. for your budget, i'd find a used pair of rega r1 or rs1--they're indifferent to placement and forgiving of electronics. alternatively, focal cobalt (which i ended up with) or chorus; cantons are a good budget rec as well.

Rear ports are generally designed to be used away from rear wall.

BEst to avoid in general for bookshelfs. Front ported works best. Acoustic suspension will work also but will either sacrifice low end or tend to be much larger.

Earlier this year, I bought Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 based on the strength of reviews I read (Stereophile and elsewhere). You can get them new for less than $250. I got mine from Wild Electronics.

They seem to scale well with whatever equipment you use. I had been using my 12-year-old Denon mini component system with them and they sounded OK. But when I upgraded the source recently (MSB Platinum DAC), the speakers offered much improved sound. I'm now very happy with the Diamond 9.1. I should add that they are used in my office rig for nearfield listening.

Triangle Titus 202 are better than any other speaker mentioned, though the Quad 11 come fairly close.