Want speakers for 700 but none sound good.

Used Meadowlark Kestrels !!!

I used to have the same sized room your in (10.5 X 12.5 X 8), and can tell you that you'll probably get no better sound for around $800-$1000 used from a set of Thiel 1.5's!!! You'll need to rig some stands, or buy later, for height adjustment however(floorstander/two way that needs more height), as the soundstage will be too low otherwise! TDhey actually make stands for these excellent speakers, that bring up the height about 11" I think. Yes, they are more than the $700 you mentioned, but way way worth, it, and you can get away with good sonics in that room with carful set-up! Don't go any more full rang however, as you'll have problems with boom in that room, and thumpy bass. You'll be ok with that wood floor however, if you can diffuse some sound in the room elsewhere on the walls somehow. Actually, you will be supprised at the sound with great speakers/set-up in there, wood floor and all.
another good bet in the $700 price range however would be some "sealed box/acoustic suspension design", or one with limited bass extension (two way monitor). It's REAL hard to get proper balance in very small rooms with speakers that play too deep, and that are set-up high on stands with your 8" ceiling/small room acoustics. Stay with limited extension floor standers, prefereably speakers that play no lower than 45hz or so. Unless your room is open to hallway's and unmentioned openings, you'll have very very strong bass modes in your lower bass region in most of the room. I know those Thiels will work, and sound world class if done right. They will do well with alot of music, and are an audiophile classic favorit(reviewed like 3 or 4 times in Stereophile over the years, and only class B due to limited extension/output.
There are other speakers in your price range that come to mind, but you'll be hard pressed to make a lot of em sound as good in YOUR small room, with world class sound potential like the Thiels. They actually sound best with tube gear/integrateds for best results though. Infact, I worked in a store that had Wilson, Thiel, Audophysic, Martin Logan, Magnapan, Celestion, Vienna Acoustics, etc, and the little Thiel 1.5's was about our best sounding set-up for quite a while!...no kidding!
Anyway, I like em when matched up right...they're very accurate sounding, ultra clear and detailed, and refined.
You could also find some smaller Spenders, B&W Matrix 805's used (soft plug the ports to limit extesion a tick) for about $600-$700 range, used Dunlavy SCI's for the same or less that you might find accomodating on some 24" stands or shorter in that room. Hummmmmm...other choices are tough.
Anyway, speakers is personal, and set-up is important. You may have been less than pleased with some of your choices i that room because of POOR SETUP!! yes, it's tough to set-up speakers well in smaller domestic rooms, especiallly that small! You have to spend time getting them in the right spot in the room, especially since your probably sitting next to the back wall!...right? good luck...I think you'll win with the Thiels or even B&W 805's if you do it right, and if you can spend a tad more if applicable. Good luck

Hi,

I would recommend EPOS ES-14. They are no longer made and you hardly see them in the used market. If you get the chance to hear these speakers, you will know why owners don't sell them. Good luck.

If you're able to audition a set of Rega speakers I think you'll be impressed. I was recently at a dealers & was just playing with some of the equipment & was surprised at how good these little speakers sounded.

Here is a company for you, HALES! Remember them?
Great speakers, and when they are available, very cheap.
A heavy speaker, so shipping (and risk with them OOB) could take you out of the $700 range. I have seen a few 3's for $800! Not to mention, my favorite monitor for less that $450, the Rev 1's!

Awesome!

Dan