Help - flying blind in search for sub-$500 musical, front-ported or sealed bookshelves

[OaktownPete]

Greetings all, my name is OaktownPete and I'm an aspiring audioholic. This is my 1st post.

I'm looking to get a 5.0 bookshelf-based speaker system for my den, which is roughly 1800 cu ft. but it must go in the built-in wall unit that came with the house. While i AM looking for a HT-capable system, MUSIC (specifically acoustic jazz/vocal jazz/classical) is my FIRST priority. The wall unit itself IS a decent unit - real maple veneer, a central space which holds my 40-inch LCD with a shelf above for the Center speaker, and columns with adjustable shelves on either side. The side columns are 22 inches wide and 17 inches deep. My equipment is stacked above the right front speaker. Given this, I need sealed or front-ported speakers for my fronts (center has enough open space to probably not require a front port).

Now for the qualifiers... The wife wants ceiling mounted rears, and I would like "matching" speakers. Truly small rears are theoretically possible if they can be integrated into the decor, but an in-ceiling solution would be best. and for that matter, appearance isn't key, but it IS a factor. A maple finish would be ideal, black is okay but not gloss, and again, no big boxes on stands in the rears. ARX's with port plugs ain't gonna work for me, if'n you catch my drift.

My budget is 500/pr for the front right & left but less is better. I'd like to keep the price of the 5.0 system around 1200-1300. I will be using my trusty Energy S10.3 sub and will probably get a Denon 2113 for my receiver once I decide on speakers.

My problem is that there's really very few places to audition here in post-Katrina New Orleans. We lost 3 of the 5 non-big box dealers to Baton Rouge, and even then the selection wasn't the best. One guy only carries
DefTech (meh) and Klipsch (nope), and the other guy carries 'Digms and a few oddball brands. I WILL say that he had a set of Systems-Audio bookshelves that I loved but were out of my price range. As an aside, I DO love the "Danish Sound".

I previously had an Energy Connoisseur C-3 based system in the HT room downstairs (my first decent system, but it went "swimming" in Katrina), and followed that with a PSB Image B-25 based rig (wish I hadn't sold that). I next came into a bit of $$$ and bought a Digm Studio40/CC-590 based front sound stage when they were on close out, the goal being to use it downstairs when we finally renovated. Unfortunately, "family health issues" and the loss of a "2nd income" required the whole rig to be sold (I kept my sub at least). Our finances are now straight and we're beginning a full renovation of our home (no, the wall unit will NOT be replaced LOL).

So given all this, I'm flying blind. I've looked at Focal 706V's and KEF Q300's as candidates. Both are available online, are in my budget, and offer in-ceiling rears. What are y'alls thinking on these two, or better yet, has anyone directly compared them? And are there any other candidate I'm missing?

As a final note, I was a jazz/blues/big band musician most of my life (Katrina was truly a life-changing event, as were my family's health issues, but that's cool - life is great!). So when I said music is my first priority, I can't emphasize that enough!

Thanks for your assistance.

 

[j_garcia]

So of the ones you've owned, which would you say were your favorites (besides the System Audio)? Would have said NHT Classics, but you said no gloss. They are sealed and clean sounding and IMO, as good as or better than the Digms but not as much output as 40s.

 

[Steve81]

So given all this, I'm flying blind. I've looked at Focal 706V's and KEF Q300's as candidates. Both are available online, are in my budget, and offer in-ceiling rears. What are y'alls thinking on these two, or better yet, has anyone directly compared them? And are there any other candidate I'm missing?

I've not used Q300s, but the mains in my system are Q700s which I'd expect are quite similar. I personally find the sound to be quite good overall, though the low end is a bit loose; obviously given the differences between the 700 and 300, that problem may not carry over. I would also mention that the aesthetics aren't exactly top notch. At a distance of 10 feet, you wouldn't notice anything, but up close and personal their "paper veneer" looks pretty much like they took a piece of paper and printed a wood veneer pattern on it. It won't wow anyone up close for sure.

 

[mpompey]

In ceiling speakers and home theater should not be used in the same sentence. Unless the words "ARE" "NOT" "FOR" are used between them.

 

[OaktownPete]

In ceiling speakers and home theater should not be used in the same sentence. Unless the words "ARE" "NOT" "FOR" are used between them.

Oh, I would agree with this 99.999...% of the time. But given that once the basement is finished, I'm gonna budget between 10-15K for the system down there, I'd rather fight that battle where it will be the most productive.


Nonetheless, I'm gonna show your post to my wife - maybe it'll help.

All joking aside and like I said, a truly SMALL set of surrounds might work. J_garcia mentioned NHTs above (thx! ), and while ive only heard a set of older towers briefly (they sounded great), I know absolute zeroes are in my wheelhouse, and they DO make a white "on-wall" surround. But given their recent price increases, I wonder how they'd stack up with A Focal 706V/700C- based system, which is actually cheaper now that it's on close out.

 

[OaktownPete]

So of the ones you've owned, which would you say were your favorites (besides the System Audio)? Would have said NHT Classics, but you said no gloss. They are sealed and clean sounding and IMO, as good as or better than the Digms but not as much output as 40s.

The Digms were overall the best I've owned, but a touch bright in my den, and way more than the room needs. The PSBs weren't quite as revealing (not as much detail), but were 1/4 the price, so they were the best value. The SAs, with soft domes, are the sound I'm looking for.

One more to add to the list Atlantic Tech 2400s. Similar setup to the SA's - dual 4.5s and a soft dome, MTMs, but the ATLTechs are sealed.

So these are my top 3 - AtlTechs, KEF Q300, and Focal 706 (in no particular order).

Thoughts or direct comparisons?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

NHT, KEF, FOCAL are all good.