Recommendations for bookshelf speakers


I hope some of you knowledgeable folks can help point me in the right direction here. I've just sold off a pair of venerable old Celestion SL600s to a friend who's setting up her own system. I've been using these for casual listening, mostly as computer monitors (YouTube mainly, and some streaming broadcast services, with very occasional forays into higher-res formats) and as musical as they are, I think it's time for something more modern and more efficient.

Well, this is where I get lost. I'd like something that approximates the Celestions' musicality, but scouring the internet for information on speakers of appropriate size and price (I can go up to about $1000 for these) just seems to muddy the waters. I'm happy to go with either used or new. A few that I've looked into but been put off by various aspects of their reviews: Monitor Audio Silver 50 and RX1, Polk Audio LSiM703 (there's a really good deal on these on Polk's website, but they're quite a bit bigger than I'd like), various models of Elac's bookshelf speakers, PSB Imagine Bs, and even a few used B&Ws, a brand I've never really liked all that much.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions you might have. There's an endless variety of speakers out there and I feel I've barely scratched the surface. Your suggestions would be gratefully received. Thanks!
cooper52
I bought the SVS Ultra bookshelf speakers about a year ago. They are fantastic. Silky smooth, tight bass. I’d check them out for sure. Good luck.
Thanks for all your suggestions. There are a few speakers presently listed here on A'gon that I'm very interested in: Some Spendor SP 3/1Ps and the above mentioned Focal Aria 906s. From this you might get an idea of what appeals to my taste. Speakers like the KEFs (and a lot of other modern speakers I've heard) are clean and tight with great imaging, but I find them uninvolving, sometimes downright shrill. I'm also interested in LSA .5s but I haven't seen these for sale anywhere recently. Discontinued, I think. 

A bit more detail about my system: amplification is an Arcam A85 integrated, and between the computer and the amp I'm using a Musical Fidelity VDac II (basic but very serviceable DAC). Digital optical cable between computer's sound card (Soundblaster Z) and DAC.  



I doubt that you would go wrong with the Spendor 3/1p. I’ve never owned a Spendor that I did not like!
Just a quick question for the Spendor owners, if you've heard both of these: considering their English DNA,  I'm wondering how these speakers compare to Harbeths. I'm not a fan of the latter, as I feel they err too much on the "warm and fuzzy" side. Thanks.
I personally would not screw  around with The wharfedale speakers, to me they sound terrific just the way they were designed. I like to leave the sound signature to the designer, as I'm not one.