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I am very familiar with the 8040s and 8030s. Also the Neumann KH-120s, which are also outstanding. Haven't heard the SI Audio A14-Ms yet.
The 8040s have a noticeably 'bigger' sound than the other two models I mentioned, but yes- more expensive. Anyway, you could consider the KH-120s too. I could be wrong, but they might fill that gap between the 8030 and 8040. A lot of great reviews out there.
Hornsweep-
When we stepped up the price the sizes also went up... except with the A14s. The KH-120s aren't too excessively large, but still quite ugly to look at. Would've taken the Genelecs if I had the space for them, I clearly like the sound of the Genelecs.
I'd aimed at the £500 per speaker price pretty much because that was the price range that delivered a size that could fit on my desk nicely.
Agree that the sound was bigger with some of the others once the bigger units were involved, but the sound + aesthetic + size was spot on for me in the PSI A14s and the room I have and what I want them for.
Velocio
I reduced the choice to Genelec 8030, Neumann KH-80, ADAM A3X... but frankly didn't like the sound of the ADAM's, nor the looks of the Neumann or Genelec. Of all three I most preferred the Genelec in sound.
I was clear with the shops I visited that I was aiming for a broadcast studio setup and transparency, for the mid-range to come out clear, balanced, and for it to stay clear and clean at low volumes. I also gave the space problem: small room, desk situated, nearfield, compact. And that on top of all of that I wanted to have something that made music superlative given that I work at that desk 8-10 hours per day and listen to music between meetings when I'm working on stuff.
After being disappointed in the other £1k (pair of speaker) options I opened it up to considering other options if price wasn't a constraint... was there a pair of monitors that sounded as good as I wanted and also looked good and could perform well at lower volume in such a small space? Did these things even exist?
It turns out yes, but the price was higher than my original budget. The PSI Audio A14-M Studio were smaller than the ones I'd been looking at, sounded better than the Genelecs (which had been my gold standard until I'd heard the PSI Audio), and perform on another level at low volume in the mid-range.
What really surprises me is how transparent they are... I do not hear these speakers. My KEF, my Monitor Audio, and other speakers I've owned and loved over the years all have their own tone, warmth, clarity. You get used to those and love how they bring some character to the music. But the PSI Audio are a different beast, I thought the Genelecs were transparent and neutral as I could close my eyes and occasionally imagine I was in the room with the musicians. But the PSI Audio gives that feeling constantly... and that's what I wanted.
The looks really helped though, as they're either side of the display and things like the KH-80 were just too ugly to consider.