The current situation: Yamaha HTR-5760 110x7 receiver, Philips SACD/DVD/CD player, Denon DP-45 TT, Infinity Delta 60 (x4 - LR, SL, SR), Infinity Delta Center.

The Deltas are great, but they're *huge* and I know there's better sounding speakers out there. I'd like to upgrade sound but downgrade size. Sound quality *and* aesthetic beauty are important to me (these will be part of a modern living room environment). My target is $1500 for the front LR, maybe up to $2000 if I can justify it.

What I've auditioned:
Monitor Audio RS-6 | $1000/pair | Beautiful rosenut cabinets and aluminum woofers! Great, warm, full sound from a *tiny* floor standing box. Imaging is decent. A little lacking in bass "oomph"

Monitor Audio RS-8 | $1500/pair | Same beautiful cabinet and imaging, but with fuller, more dynamic sound, but not as rich of a midrange as RS-6. Fantastic bass for what's still a small tower.

B&W 704 | $2200/pair | Nice rosewood finish. Interesting cabinet design - I'm not sure if I like it or not - yellow kevlar woofer is a little weird looking. Fantastic sound, imagine, and rich midrange. Lacks bass oomph. Corresponding center/surround speakers a bit weird / expensive.

Paradigm Studio 60 v.3 | $1700/pair | Also available in a rosewood finish - although not as bright and glossy as the MA's. Beautiful sound - almost as good as the B&W's. Most bass oomph of the bunch. Front black fascia & drivers are a bit ugly.

Martin Logan Clarity | $2600/pair | Cool-looking speakers - unique. I always dreamed of owning Electrostats as a kid. Wide open sound - most lifelike of the bunch. Lacks bass extension (has mid-bass oomph, though), finicky with positioning, expensive to setup as 5.1 system, towers are "visually" very big (biggest of the group). Also very expensive. No rosewood finish available.

B&W XT4 | $2500/pair (going on sale, though...) | Awesome-looking - super slim and sleek. Sound is "narrower" - lacks bass extension and midrange is more closed. Very cool aluminum finish (& matching surround speakers)

Paradigm Monitor 7 | $1100/pair | not much to say... may as well buy the studio 60's...

DefTech something... (big black monolith thing) | $1000/pair | big, powerful bass (powered sub), somewhat more ambient sound from bipole (but not a "good" ambient like the Martin Logans). Great HT speaker, but otherwise uninspiring (and big and ugly!)


Can you get a feel for what I'm looking for?? I'm looking for other suggestions on what to audition or research on.

Any help is much appreicated - thanks!!