Great sound bookshelf speakers at lower volume

[wineserver]

Due to living in a condo, that what I need, to build system around. Small area, 15' by 12'. Speakers must preform great at lower sound levels and also handle occasional higher levels very well also. All ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[shadyJ]

What is your budget? If you are going for a simple two channel system and are not going to be owning a subwoofer, you should look at the Monoprice K-BAS. Very good bass on those and pretty good mids and treble. A great choice for a two channel bookshelf speaker system with no subwoofer.

 

[wineserver]

My budget for a pair would be $600. I will add center and base for a total of $1300+-. Thoughts on those would helpful also.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Philharmonic AA with AA center - about $335+shipping
http://philharmonicaudio.com/
Sub: http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/uls-15mk2.html

Alternately if you want to order everything from one place : Hybrid 2 - 3.1 - http://www.hsuresearch.com/packages.html
Direct url is broken, call HSU directly to place order I guess
I heard these bookshelves and they are great value and have excellent and dynamic sound. Perfect match for movies. These are fairly small, but they could play very loud if needed.
HSU Subs are among the best around and VTF-2 MK5 is no exception.
btw @shadyJ - did you had chance to test new vtf-2?

 

[slipperybidness]

Due to living in a condo, that what I need, to build system around. Small area, 15' by 12'. Speakers must preform great at lower sound levels and also handle occasional higher levels very well also. All ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

For what you are describing, I may be leaning more towards the Audysee Dynamic Volume functionality (it may be called dynamic EQ, I am not familiar enough with the Audysse suite) rather than trying to pick a particular speaker to meet those needs.

So, I would be looking for a great speaker in my price range, but using the DSP from the AVR to achieve that goal of lower level quality and balance. One of the few areas where I would suggest using DSP. Some of the older AVRs or AVRs with other RCs may call this DSP "loudness" or "midnight loudness", that's how it is labeled on my Pio.

But, these other guys are already giving you great speaker suggestions.

 

[ski2xblack]

It's DynamicEQ, a modern style loudness compensation eq. OP should definitely use it for low level listening.

 

[zieglj01]

My budget for a pair would be $600. I will add center and base for a total of $1300+-. Thoughts on those would helpful also.

I would look at the Emotiva Airmotiv passive speakers -- bookshelf and center for $550
https://emotiva.com/products/speakers/airmotiv-b1

https://emotiva.com/products/speakers/airmotiv-c1

 

[shadyJ]

Y

Philharmonic AA with AA center - about $335+shipping
http://philharmonicaudio.com/
Sub: http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/uls-15mk2.html

Alternately if you want to order everything from one place : Hybrid 2 - 3.1 - http://www.hsuresearch.com/packages.html
Direct url is broken, call HSU directly to place order I guess
I heard these bookshelves and they are great value and have excellent and dynamic sound. Perfect match for movies. These are fairly small, but they could play very loud if needed.
HSU Subs are among the best around and VTF-2 MK5 is no exception.
btw @shadyJ - did you had chance to test new vtf-2?

Yes, review is here. That thing is a beast!

 

[shadyJ]

If the OP is going to get a center speaker and subwoofer, there is no reason to get the Monoprice K-BAS. I would instead be looking at RBH Impression series, Hsu Research package, or an Ascend Acoustics package. An Hsu sub might be a good idea since they support a sealed operating mode and have a Q control. Those are ways you can reduce deep bass and stop them from bothering your neighbors. I think the RBH Impression subs also has port plugs for sealed mode.

 

[2channel lover]

Due to living in a condo, that what I need, to build system around. Small area, 15' by 12'. Speakers must preform great at lower sound levels and also handle occasional higher levels very well also. All ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I'm currently breaking in a pair RBH R5Bi speakers in 2.0 mode.

I had them playing at what I would consider moderate volume the 1st day or so, but just to get some hours on them before they get moved to side surrounds I've had them at low volume for nearly 24-28 hrs now.

Don't let the price fool you. (under $250 a pr)...The imaging, and midrange detail equates to a much more expensive speaker and the upper end is not harsh at all. The fit and finish definitely belies the price. I bought these as side surrounds, but with a quality sub I could get comfy with these as mains.

You can spend more and I'm sure come away with a better sounding speaker, but more challenging to do so for the dollar spent.

Good luck with your purchase.

Edited to note...the Philharmonic choice might be better actually, as good for sure.

 

[Pogre]

It's DynamicEQ, a modern style loudness compensation eq. OP should definitely use it for low level listening.

I just pulled it up on my Denon to be sure. It's actually both. Dynamic volume would be the feature that might work for the op. There is a dynamic eq, but it "enhances" by giving the bass a little bump and brightens up some other frequencies. I actually prefer it on.

 

[Verdinut]

I just pulled it up on my Denon to be sure. It's actually both. Dynamic volume would be the feature that might work for the op. There is a dynamic eq, but it "enhances" by giving the bass a little bump and brightens up some other frequencies. I actually prefer it on.

From what you are saying, the dynamic EQ feature would act to some extent like a typical loudness control. Does Denon mention this effect in the owner's manual?

 

[Pogre]

From what you are saying, the dynamic EQ feature would act to some extent like a typical loudness control. Does Denon mention this effect in the owner's manual?

For the dynamic volume, yes.

 

[Pogre]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting. This is from the manual for my model:

"Audyssey Dynamic EQ® is referenced to the standard film mix level. It makes adjustments to maintain the reference response and surround envelopment when the volume is turned down from 0 dB. However, film reference level is not always used in music or other non-film content. Dynamic EQ Reference Level Offset provides three offsets from the film level reference (5 dB, 10 dB, and 15 dB) that can be selected when the mix level of the content is not within the standard. Recommended setting levels for content are shown below."

Dynamic Volume
"Solves the problem of large variations in volume level between TV, movies and other content (between quiet passages and loud passages, etc.) by automatically adjusting to the user’s preferred volume setting."

http://manuals.denon.com/AVRX1300W/NA/EN/GFNFSYphwaueoj.php

 

[Verdinut]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting. This is from the manual for my model:

"Audyssey Dynamic EQ® is referenced to the standard film mix level. It makes adjustments to maintain the reference response and surround envelopment when the volume is turned down from 0 dB. However, film reference level is not always used in music or other non-film content. Dynamic EQ Reference Level Offset provides three offsets from the film level reference (5 dB, 10 dB, and 15 dB) that can be selected when the mix level of the content is not within the standard. Recommended setting levels for content are shown below."

Dynamic Volume
"Solves the problem of large variations in volume level between TV, movies and other content (between quiet passages and loud passages, etc.) by automatically adjusting to the user’s preferred volume setting."

http://manuals.denon.com/AVRX1300W/NA/EN/GFNFSYphwaueoj.php

From what I've just read, the Dynamic EQ does manipulate both the bass and the treble frequencies based on the setting of the volume.

The Dynamic Volume feature would just let you balance the dynamic range between the various sources without modifying the low or high frequency response curves.

 

[Pogre]

From what I've just read, the Dynamic EQ does manipulate both the bass and the treble frequencies based on the setting of the volume.

The Dynamic Volume feature would just let you balance the dynamic range between the various sources without modifying the low or high frequency response curves.

I know when I turn dynamic eq on everything gets bassier, brighter and louder. when I have dynamic volume on, bass is squelched down a lot. I accidentally turned it on once and was listening to some Korn during some bass drops and I thought I blew my subs or something because the bass was barely there. The opposite happens when I turn dynamic eq on.

*Edit: The reference level offset affects how dynamic eq works too. the lower the value, the stronger the effect. I usually have it at 5 or 10 for music. Too much bass at 0. If anything it boosts some frequencies.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

From what I've just read, the Dynamic EQ does manipulate both the bass and the treble frequencies based on the setting of the volume.

The Dynamic Volume feature would just let you balance the volumes between the various sources without modifying the low or high frequency response curves.

Yes. DynamicEq does manipulate bass and treble. As the volume rises, the level of boost tapers off to none as the volume approaches-0, since its purpose is to create a low level listening situation that has the same "sound" as a higher level one, based on human hearing deficiencies. DynamicVolume, as much as I hate it, could benefit the op as pogre said. This is basically a volume "normalizer" to address commercials that are too loud, people that ride the volume control, and to accommodate family members who don't want to indulge.