I find that to get a sound a lot better than some of the bookshelfs costing around $1000 you have to spend A LOT more, but there is NOTHING better than a nice little speaker that sounds good for under $500... I love my csb1's, they sound as good and in a lot of cases better than speakers I have spent much much more on, I enjoy them, and they FILL the room with sound, a nice powerful little speaker...
I have a few audiosnob-ish friends, and I love playing that cheap little system for them, a pair of outlaw mono blocks, sb12nsd subs, csb1 bookshelfs and a parasound preamp {all bought for under $2000} and you can not find a complaint that fits, the small drivers have enough output to fill the 400sq ft room they are in, the mids are strong and the highs are rite where I like them, clean, clear, and not fatiguing at all... I play arrowsmith "janies got a gun" and the intro whispering with the percussion sequence throughout perplexes people that never heard the song on a decent system, they get this confused face like, "I heard this song 40,000 times in my car but it sounds so different now"...
Don't get me wrong I appreciate what goes into some of these high end speakers the some of the high end bW tweeters and focal drivers they are amazing works of art and show how modern machining and materials can be utilised to make impressive components.. I appreciate things like that and that they cost a lot to produce and design, BUT what my ears hear is so similar I can not justify $20K on a pair of speakers...