Bookshelf speakers, recommendations

I have KEF Q100s, and I love them. Many reviews comparing them head-to-head with the Zensors have preferred the Q100s.

See:
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-bookshelf-speakers/

 

I have the Pioneer. BS22 speakers. My first pair of speakers! I've enjoyed them but will probably look to upgrade at some point. Wharfedale 220 or Kef Q300? I'll probably be looking around $500. Love Jazz, 70's r&b or rock & some classical. I'd like more detail than the BS22s offer. I'm open to any suggestions around that price range.

 

You might be able to find a pair of PMC TB2i's for that price....nice speaker imho.

 

This. If you can find a used pair of these, they might fit the bill: easy to drive (the 50 watts of quality power that you have should be plenty), easy to place, and best of all, easy on the ears. These are exceptional little speakers.

 

Wharfedale Diamond 9.1, incredible bass and great sound

 

I used to have KEF Q100s and loved them, especially paired with a nice subwoofer. I compared them head-to-head to the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1s and the KEFs were dramatically superior.

 

Dont like kef they are bass starved, thats why you need a sub

 

Which of you folks suggesting speakers actually listen to them placed up against a wall with the tweeters high above ear level?

 

A lot is system-dependent, but these are really nice:
Wharfedale - Denton 80th Anniversary Bookshelf Speakers (Pr) | Shop Music Direct

They work especially well with a brighter/leaner source.

 

No bookshelf speakers can produce low bass well. It's more important to focus on the quality of what bookshelf speakers can produce than to seek out bookshelves that purposely exaggerate the bass they can produce to cover up for their limitations in the low bass.

 

You might want to check out the Wirecutter group review @Marcmusic.

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-bookshelf-speakers/

One notable oversight, though, is the Dynaudio X14, which can often be had around $700 used. They're excellent, probably exceeding the Q100s (though I'm going on memory, not comparing them head-to-head as I did with the 10.1s and the Q100s).

 

If I were in the market for bookshelf speakers, I'd look for a pair of used PMC Twenty.22. I auditioned them last year and thought they were impressive.

 

Dont like kef q series at all, tried them a while ago, theyre very thin sounding and bland, i dont need a sub with my diamond 9.1's they hit 31 hz easily and cleanly also a lot of kefs are rear ported and a nightmare to position properly. the diamond 9.1 won what hifi 5 star awards and rightly so, they have amazing sound for such a small speaker due to better drivers and cabinet design. metal speaker drivers are a bitch to drive.

The new kef series are front ported but they suffer badly from chuffing, and the tweeters they use are a joke.

 

KEF's current offerings (the Q series and the LS50s) have received great reviews from numerous outlets. Their Uni-Q drivers are outstanding. I've owned several of their speakers and compared them head to head (same 30 second passages, volume matched, etc) against Wharfedales and several other competitors. The LS50s are among the best reviewed speakers of the 21st Century, and deservedly so.

I know many people who like the Wharfedale Diamond series. I'm not a fan.

Several years ago, I owned (like @Marcmusic does now) the Pioneer BS22s, and I bought Diamond 10.1s and Q100s to compare. I handily preferred the Q100s. The Diamonds were far too boxy sounding with a narrow sound stage, IMHO. Honestly, I liked the Pioneers better than the 10.1s, despite the BS22s being 1/4th the price of the 10.1s.

As far as your claim that 9.1s can produce 30hz, here's the Stereophile measurements:


By the time they hit 30hz, they're 10db below flat. In order to have a flat response to 30hz, you'd need a subwoofer with a properly adjusted crossover. The 9.1s might sound more bass-y than similar speakers, but that's due to the mid-bass bump visible in the graph above.

I know a lot of this is about preference, but insofar as it's possible, let's give people like @Marcmusic fact-based info in his bookshelf search, please.

 

To me, this would be very important. A lesser speaker designed for this kind of placement will probably do much better than a more expensive or highly rated speaker that was meant to be placed out in the room. One can rarely find reviews of speakers placed up against a wall on a mantle.

One issue will be that most speakers like to be placed with their tweeters at ear level. I'm guessing the mantle will be much higher? There may also be some weird boundary effects from being on the mantle, unless the speaker is much deeper than the mantle. How deep is the mantle?

 

The mantle is 13,58 inches (or 34,5 centimeters) deep. My current speakers (Dali Zensor 1s) have their tweeters about ear level when I'm sitting at my desk, where I do most of my listening (in near field).
The speakers I'm currently most attracted to, the Dali Menuet, are designed to be used against a wall and are slightly smaller than the Zensors (good for ear level). I can't wait to audition them, but mean to do so seriously and have been swamped with work.

 

Good. When you said mantle, I was imagining a marble shelf above a fireplace, or something really high like that.

 

That's what it is, but it's only about a meter high.
About that, should I stick plastic feet on my speakers if they're sitting on marble ?

 

I've been looking at the ATC SCM7, which seem like they'd do well in smaller places and near field. Anyone have any experience with them ?
What sort of amp do they need ?

 

You'll first need a bookshelf...

 

The problem with most audio gear is it depends what you're after. I can list 10-20 good speakers including the ATC line which is probably why everything gets a good review. As I write this I am listening to and enjoying my pair of KEF LS-50. But it's not to all tastes. What is right?

I like a lot of speakers and a lot of it comes down to what system you intend to run and the room and what strengths and weaknesses you can live with.

Suggestions in your price range?
Audio Note AX Two (dedicated AN dealer in downtown Paris),Audio Note
KEF LS-50, LS50
Harbeth P3ESR, Harbeth - Loudspeakers - P3ESR - Hifi speaker
ATC SCM 7 and 11,
Legacy Audio "Studio HD" Studio HD | Legacy Audio - Building the World's Finest Audio Systems

At the end of the day you could simply go to a local book store and read an audio magazine that will probably list you 10 speakers in your price range. The same thing happens in these audio threads except there is a good chance the reviewers have heard more options and likely with better front end equipment (or correct front end equipment advised by the manufacturers).

Generally, I feel Higher efficiency speakers sound a lot better than lower efficiency speakers - and simpler designs sound better than companies trying to sell technobabble. There are speakers made by people who listen to massive record collections and go to concerts and know what it's supposed to sound like - and then there are companies that read textbooks and make joyless sounding equipment. Some make for recording studios for an entirely different purpose than people who want to actually enjoy their music.

Listen to as much stuff as you can - no rush - take the time and listen to as much as you can and when something LITERALLY gives you goosebumps then you probably have found the winner.

 

You can use Blu-Tack putty to support the speakers on your shelf.

If it were me, I'd look for speakers with a sealed enclosure. These will generally perform better near walls, with less compromises. Of course, as Richard noted, it comes down to personal preference, you might find that a ported speaker sounds best in your system.

 

After auditionning the ATC SCM 7 against the KEF LS50 I decided to go with the ATC.
While the LS50 may be smoother all around, I felt the ATC did better with denser material. And the LS50's rear port seemed a liability in my room.
I couldn't audition the speakers with my 50 watt Atoll amp, but the Heed Elixir the dealer used seemed to work very well with both pairs.

 

I had ATC SCM 7, however it was not my cup of tea, went with Amphion argon '1'.

ATC SCM 7 is good, couldn't sit of long session, Argon has relaxed presentation.

As mentioned by Richard Audio Note AX Two is less expensive than Amphion, gives musical presentation bass is less compared Amphion and higher frequency is lively, however need good tube amplifier to power it up.

 

Congrats on your ATC - you may be surprised that a good tube amp will work well on ATC - I bought my Line Magnetic 219IA based on ATC 100 auditions - I actually liked the match better than using Zu Audio speakers which are far more tube amp friendly. Nevertheless ATC has a neutral balance and that should serve you well for many years.