Bookshelf speaker recommendations

If you are into DIY I would give the Criton's a go. A little bass heavy with a soft dome tweeter is right up my alley though. 

Other than that I would be hittin' up my local Marketplace. Where I live most speakers sell for much cheaper than what I would normally consider a good deal on the regular second hand audio markets. But legitimate good speakers don't pop up everyday in my area. I grabbed some Sourcepoint 8's a few weeks ago for a grand. I think they were worth it. I've also grabbed the older Jamo's, Mourdant Short, PSB speakers for well under a grand. With good equipment, & maybe replacing an electrolytic, or a dome tweeter, well designed speakers still sound good in 2026. 

Other than that you have received good advice from the other comments left. I personally like the idea of the CSS speakers. 

Yes the CSS sound like much higher end Dynaudios with better bass IMO. Driver and crossover quality is very high. I also happen to have some factory built 2TDX for sale right in your price range. 
 

if you want to keep that Luxman however you might want to look for something more efficient. I do play them with a Simaudio I-5 and it pushes them without much effort. 

I have multiple bookshelves/monitors and I will struggle to let any of them go when the time comes. I have a rather small listening area so that’s why I gravitated to this size speaker. Then obsession kicked in and now I have 6 sets of bookshelves/monitors. I started with the Graham LS6’s about 8yrs ago. Love the midrange these give you, and plenty of punch in the bass for the listening area I have. They do really need abit more power to drive properly so I usually always have them hooked up to my G.A.S equipment, or a Classe’ CAP151. I picked up a beautiful pair of Omega Sam’s a year or so later for the Will Vincent Baldwin I had as they are more efficient. The Sam’s have the beautiful Alnico midrange and again for the space I have the bass is sufficient, a bit more room and they might be best with a sub. I bought a pair of Audel Magika mk2 from direct from Walter. I had wanted a pair of transmission line speakers for awhile. The build is unique and the drivers are tonally amazing in this design. I can use them with tube gear or solid state and be amazed every time. I jumped on a pair of Trenner & Freidl StoneArts knowing they would not last long, and being only 06 in a limited batch of only 20 made I just wasn’t going to pass them up. Are they amazing? Absof@$?inglutly! I have heard them with equipment I will never be able to own. They disappear, and just deliver sound that should not be possible from a cabinet this size. They will be the last to go! And just this year I got great deals on 2 other sets that as you can see I didn’t need, but life is short and music lasts forever. I got a fantastic pair of High Moon Yakisugi’s, if you have never heard of them check them out! These are the burnt sinker cypress builds, small outfit in Austin(husband/wife) These are fun to just look at and admire the craftsmanship, the listening experience is maybe one of the most non fatiguing, musical and easy to listen to. I also bought a pair of Black Ocean Nick Nack Masters, beautiful little speakers that are solid in their build. They can be used in any system and will floor you with their detail! And I might as well mention another pair, although not bookshelves, they don’t take up any more room than stands and a bookshelf. Probably the most beautifully crafted of all my speakers, a design that had its day in the sun years ago, and IMO are still a wonderful pair to sit and spend time with. The Meadowlark Kestrel 2, the build, finish on these could not be done today for the same amount, even factoring in inflation. Pat really pulled off an amazing feat with this cabinet finish! They are a transmission line design and although not a big speaker they give the listener plenty of bass response if in a small listening area. The angle give the listener phase alignment and these speakers image amazingly well. So there you go, from my little crazy space that turned into my own private audio store. One does not have to get this obsessed in this hobby, at some point I will have to start letting some go, but not just yet:) I really hope everything does not end up in a yard sale! I think that’s every audio nuts greatest fear! Just find a speaker you can live with for years, something that has a sound you can really settle in with and a look that is pleasing to the eye. Now I just need the grandsons to get to the age that they can appreciate music through an audio system, and they might get some great speakers. And I won’t have to worry about them ending up in a yard sale!

I have a pair of Triangle Borea BRO 4 speakers, great value $649 a pair. They look great and come several finishes. I’m very happy with the sound. I have them on floor stands. 

https://youtu.be/60JN7VNb_OQ?is=dmqGMFxxWus9Dtzk

https://youtu.be/UFxK44Qi_-M?is=Z3ZtFMPz469Wifdk

I have recently created a different layout in the listening space as well as introduced additional Power Amplification.

Older owned Speakers do not enable me to have Power On to the Amp's allowing them to idle in use.

Small Dimension Speakers do allow me to have idling Amp's and not interfere with the space created for other Speakers in use.

I am looking at a wide range of small dimension speakers. as used items for sale in both commercial build and kits builds, built by the hand of a tech savvy individual. 

I have a digital archive of a Audio Magazine that is from 2023, extending back to the 1990's

There is a lot of info on the table about olden and more recent designs. What has really stood out is models from the early 00's are only a little less in cost in the current market than their 20-ish year old retail price. This does force one to look at more modern designs, as reliability concerns and high prices with Olden models are not easy to rest with in this purchase planning. 

As for a kit to be built, I am looking at designs incorporating Purifi Drivers, as these designs have great reports and there are Subwoofer designs also seen to support the small dimension Cabinet designs. 

Budgeting is important, but learning about all options is free, if you don't calculate the consumed coffee.