Passive bookshelf speakers for small room?

After hooking up fairly basic system in living room (SL-D2, Marantz 1060 & Klipsch) I decided I need to have something in my office. I'm moving the SL-D2 in there and just got a tiny Superscope A-225 amp (had Superscope back in the 70's). I need to find some passive bookshelf reference speakers. As I've already spent way more on music than I ought to have, I need something inexpensive for now. Would be very happy with vintage. Need to stick to eBay or Amazon for now. Room is just 10 x 12. Any advice greatly appreciated. (Oh, I purchased a SL-L2 tt for the living room, so can take the SL-D2 for the office. My husband has a significant tremor and memory issues and ought to be able to use the SL-L2 with minimal trouble, I think. He can have something on repeat without having to remember how to change a record.)

 

Hmm that is interesting. I can't suggest one but for sure, someone here can.

 

When you mention inexpensive, what exactly would your budget be? (that will help with the suggestions)

 

Here's a fantastic little speaker for <$200: Energy by Klipsch RC-10 Black Bookshelf Main or Rear Speakers RC-10B Pairs 629303109939 | eBay
I have a pair, and they sound great.

 

KEF Reference 101
KEF Cresta - from very old (recommendation) to 80s or the bit bigger Celeste (very affordable)
Rogers DB101 (not much bass though, but excellent resolution and soundstage)
Jim Rogers JR149 (recommendation)

Normally this would be a case for LS 3/5a, but too expensive...

No Klipsch, the sound very sharp (sorry for that)

 

AVI Neutron IV - better than an LS3/5a reference according to the manufacturer.

I have had them in my system in a small room for the last 10 years...

AVI has a passion for miniature speakers. Properly designed, they can give better results than much larger and more expensive speakers. They are also easier to accommodate in your home and cost less because smaller boxes are more economical to produce than larger ones. Back in 1996, AVI introduced the original Neutrons.

They were a big improvement on their “Reference” LS3/5A’s but sounded similar. The Neutrons received very good reviews and sold surprisingly well. Reassured that we could sell worthwhile quantities, AVI decided to see if they could do better. They did, and they called them the NuNeutrons. They got even better reviews and sold in thousands, however AVI were still not satisfied and took another swing by designing the Neutron IIIs. They were better in every respect and still more thousands were sold!

Since then, AVI has found the Neutrons increasingly difficult to improve. However, in cooperation with their select component supplier Vifa, the bass driver has been re-designed to produce a much better mid range. The improvement is clearly audible and it makes these tiny little speakers a revelation!

All of us here at TheDIgitalMusicExperts believe they are more than a match for anything out there regardless of size or price. They will surely take their place along side some of the all time greats. The Neutron IV’s are comprised of a five liter ported enclosure, fitted with a 5" doped paper mid/woofer and a "top of the range" 1.1" silk fabric domed tweeter. The small loss of sensitivity involved with this type of drive unit is more than offset by the greatly reduced distortion and coloration that they offer. The crossover is textbook second order Linkwitz-Riley design and uses massive ferrite cored inductors and polypropylene capacitors. Internal cabinet resonances are damped by a measured quantity of acoustic wadding.

The following are some of the honors awarded to the various versions of the AVI Neutron over the years: What Hi Fi 5 Gold Stars Gramophone "Audio Choice" Hi Fi Choice "Year's Best" January '01 Hi Fi News - "Star Performer" What Hi Fi - another "5 stars" Sound on Sound - "quite a noticeable improvement in mid range smoothness and the bass" International Record Review -"very worthwhile changes" What Hi Fi December ’03 another 5 star review What Hi Fi August '04 Group Test Winner & 5 Star Award Hi Fi Choice November '04 Best Buy What Hi Fi Awards 2004 - Best Stereo Speakers

Specifications Frequency response: 100Hz to 23kHz +/- 2dB Bass response: -6dB @ 65Hz Bass drive unit: 5" doped paper 1" voice coil Treble drive unit: 1.1" doped silk composite Crossover: 12dB/Octave Linkwitz-Riley Sensitivity: 87.5dB/W/M Amplifier range: 30 - 150 Watts Enclosure: 0.5" MDF real wood veneered both sides 5 L volume rear ported. Finish: Natural Cherry Dimensions: 10.5" X 5.5" X 9.5" (including grille & binding posts) Weight - pair: 16 pounds (22 pounds including packing)

...now discontinued but go for less than £200 used in the UK.

Tremendous Scanspeak tweeters!

 

Sony SSCS-5. Excellent sounding, great value and easy to find. I have a pair in my basement system.

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SSCS5-3-Driver-Bookshelf-Speaker/dp/B00O8YLMVA

If you're patient they'll go on sale for $80-$100 every once in a a while.

 

I would look at NHT Super 1's or the Super Zeroes. Inexpensive and really great sounding. I have used the Super Zeroes in my bookshelf in my living/dinning room. My room is 40'x18' and they do a good job. They have no thunderous bass but you can follow a bassline in the music. You could always add a sub if wanted. Most of my listening with these are background but I will crank them and they can boogie for such a small speaker. Right now I have moved them to my main listening room and have them on stands about 7' from the back wall. I am amazed at how good they sound for so little money. I got them for $124 a pair about 2 years ago They sat in the box for over a year, too many speakers around. I run them with a pioneer sa 9900 in my living room and much better gear in the basement. Highly recommended for the price.

 

Most definitely! Great pair of very affordable speakers. I still got a pair.

 

How about the Pioneers designed by Andrew Jones, the SP-BS22-LR? These have no right to sound as good as they do for such short money.

 

Just hooked up a pair of these Polk speakers for a small room in a friend's house. They sound really good for something that is only $99.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/polk-a...-wall-mountable-black/8828012.p?skuId=8828012

 

That Superscope amp puts out a "whopping" 5 WPC. Whatever you guys recommend, it needs to be pretty efficient - I'd say 92 dB and up.

If you can still find them, I'd suggest Klipsch RB-51. 92 dB efficient, go down to 45 Hz, IIRC.

 

NHT was my first choice too, but with an amp putting out 5 WPC, their 85-86 dB efficiency makes them a poor fit, IMHO.

 

Yeah I missed that part. I will say that I have run the Zero's with my Naim Nait (15watts). They still sound great. 5watts may be pushing it a bit. There are some great sounding efficient speakers but they aren't cheap. Maybe these would work but they cost a bit.
Super 3i Monitor Speakers – Omega Speaker Systems (omegaloudspeakers.com)

 

You're right and Pioneer agreed with you. They raised the price on them to $149. They're still affordable but you used to find these easily at $100 USD. You'll be lucky now to find them at the old retail price $129. These are great speakers. I have a pair of them. They're excellent in a small room.

 

If you can find a pair of Paradigm Mini-Atoms, they are awesome!

 

This would get my vote so far, providing the 91 dB sensitivity is close to accurate.

@cannesmith, you mentioned only wanting to deal with ebay or Amazon, but a very nice dealer from Kentwood, MI has a supply of these discontinued, but well respected speakers from PSB. They have a 30-day return policy and are very nice about returns if they don't do the job for you.

PSB Alpha B1 Bookshelf Speakers-Audio Advisor

 

I think the Elac Debut bookshelf speaker is on sale right now. I have a pair and they are fantastic for the money.

 

The Paradigm Monitor SE Atom might be worth looking into.

 

Any idea what reasonable prices would be for either Kef reference 101 or 103.2?

 

Can vouch for Q Acoustics; I trialed a few in their 3000 series and they all do a fantastic job of creating a glistening sound that hangs nicely in the air, and compared favorably to others in similar price range.

 

Dynaudio Audience 42s... might need an amp with a bit power.