Audioholics’ Top Eight $800 Bookshelf Speaker Picks for 2021

[shadyJ]

​

Scaling up the pricing ladder for our series of round-ups on bookshelf speakers, we now hit the $800/pair ranks. Compared to lower-priced bookshelf speakers, the build quality, spec set, or appearance can get kicked up a notch. You can get more speaker for your money but not always. For this round-up, we picked the bookshelf speakers where there is a clear step up from lower-priced speakers in the $600-700 range, although perhaps not a huge step up. We feel that these would be a worthwhile upgrade for those who can spend a little extra without breaking the bank.

READ: Audioholics' Top Eight $800 Bookshelf Speaker Picks for 2021

 

[highfigh]

Thanks, for posting a link to the one source that has killed more local dealers than any other.

 

[beaRA]

No love for the Polk Reserve series again. The R200 has the best spin data of any passive bookshelf under $800.

 

[shadyJ]

The R200s certainly deserve consideration in this price range. The good news is that we do have a pair of R700s in house, so the Reserve series will not be neglected for much longer.

 

[beaRA]

The R200s certainly deserve consideration in this price range. The good news is that we do have a pair of R700s in house, so the Reserve series will not be neglected for much longer.

That's exciting! AFAIK, you'll be the first to measure the flagship floor stander.

 

[ryanosaur]

thanks for the roundup, Shady!

 

[Jack N]

When I was looking for bookshelves, I was very seriously considering the Martin Logans. In fact, I was all set to pull the trigger on 'em. Then at the last minute I found out the warranty is next to useless - they don't cover the drivers if they're blown. So even if you get one that's not built too well and it fails just seconds after you hook it up, too bad Charlie! I even emailed them to make sure I was understanding correctly. Yup. Not covered no matter what. What good is a warranty that doesn't cover the items most likely to fail? Too bad as it's a fairly decent sounding speaker.

 

[slipperybidness]

When I was looking for bookshelves, I was very seriously considering the Martin Logans. In fact, I was all set to pull the trigger on 'em. Then at the last minute I found out the warranty is next to useless - they don't cover the drivers if they're blown. So even if you get one that's not built too well and it fails just seconds after you hook it up, too bad Charlie! I even emailed them to make sure I was understanding correctly. Yup. Not covered no matter what. What good is a warranty that doesn't cover the items most likely to fail? Too bad as it's a fairly decent sounding speaker.

I would suspect that (assuming you are in the USA) you would be protected by consumer rights' laws, regardless of what the vendor would "try" to tell you.

Also, beyond that, if I had a premature failure and the vendor didn't handle it properly, I would be using the protections built into my credit card to address the problem.

But, agreed, that policy would make me look elsewhere too.

 

[Teetertotter?]

It would be nice to see some graph test results on your suggested speakers, like Amir's, on his audiosciencereview website. Comments for Bass, Mid and treble comparison, on music. Thank you for your subjective reviews for nice reading!

 

[Pogre]

I think articles like this are great for some of the folks who come here asking for suggestions. I was surprised to see the Sierra 1 included since it's been around for quite a while, but it's a testament to doing it right the first time. I'd add that the bamboo cabs they use are really inert. It's not just a marketing thing, there are advantages to using bamboo and stiffness is big factor. When you do a knuckle wrap it sounds like you're tapping a solid block of wood. They're super stout.

 

[Verdinut]

Ah yeah! With a lifetime warranty, if the product fails, the manufacturer has you shot!

 

[lovinthehd]

It would be nice to see some graph test results on your suggested speakers, like Amir's, on his audiosciencereview website. Comments for Bass, Mid and treble comparison, on music. Thank you for your subjective reviews for nice reading!

Where would shadyJ put the Klippel machine, tho, and who's buying it?

 

[highfigh]

When I was looking for bookshelves, I was very seriously considering the Martin Logans. In fact, I was all set to pull the trigger on 'em. Then at the last minute I found out the warranty is next to useless - they don't cover the drivers if they're blown. So even if you get one that's not built too well and it fails just seconds after you hook it up, too bad Charlie! I even emailed them to make sure I was understanding correctly. Yup. Not covered no matter what. What good is a warranty that doesn't cover the items most likely to fail? Too bad as it's a fairly decent sounding speaker.

As long as a manufacturer has decent QC, poorly made drivers in the wild should be very rare and they should be testing them at some interval that assures a low number of 'out of the box' failures. In the almost 50 years of opening speakers and setting them up for demo as well as selling & installing them, I have yet to see one with a bad driver out of the box or that failed in seconds after connection and that means the amplifiers didn't fail so soon, either.

I also haven't spoken to a manufacturer who was unwilling to cover a bad driver UNLESS it was one of several that failed in the same cabinet and when that happens, it's considered 'abuse'. There's no reason a speaker should fail in a well-designed and well set up system- the system should be set up so that the speaker's power handling limits can't be exceeded.

 

[highfigh]

Ah yeah! With a lifetime warranty, if the product fails, the manufacturer has you shot!

It's all in the fine print.

 

[Jack N]

As long as a manufacturer has decent QC, poorly made drivers in the wild should be very rare and they should be testing them at some interval that assures a low number of 'out of the box' failures. In the almost 50 years of opening speakers and setting them up for demo as well as selling & installing them, I have yet to see one with a bad driver out of the box or that failed in seconds after connection and that means the amplifiers didn't fail so soon, either.

I also haven't spoken to a manufacturer who was unwilling to cover a bad driver UNLESS it was one of several that failed in the same cabinet and when that happens, it's considered 'abuse'. There's no reason a speaker should fail in a well-designed and well set up system- the system should be set up so that the speaker's power handling limits can't be exceeded.

I’m not trying to start something here, just want people to understand where I’m coming from.

I agree. The chances of getting a bad speaker are fairly remote. However for me personally, even if I disregard the one time that it did happen to me, I’m still not going to buy something with a poor warranty for 2 reasons – 1) Why should I foot the bill for something that’s not my fault? and 2) A poor warranty tells me the manufacturer knows there’s a weak spot(s) in the product. If the manufacturer doesn’t have faith in their own product, why would I? I'm sure there are others that have the same reasoning I do so I’ve got to think Martin Logans’ poor warranty has cost them sales, and it’s damaged their reputation. Unfortunate. Not a wise move in my opinion.

 

[slipperybidness]

I’m not trying to start something here, just want people to understand where I’m coming from.

I agree. The chances of getting a bad speaker are fairly remote. However for me personally, even if I disregard the one time that it did happen to me, I’m still not going to buy something with a poor warranty for 2 reasons – 1) Why should I foot the bill for something that’s not my fault? and 2) A poor warranty tells me the manufacturer knows there’s a weak spot(s) in the product. If the manufacturer doesn’t have faith in their own product, why would I? I'm sure there are others that have the same reasoning I do so I’ve got to think Martin Logans’ poor warranty has cost them sales, and it’s damaged their reputation. Unfortunate. Not a wise move in my opinion.

I agree. I love the companies that "warranty the product", and don't just "warranty the original buyer".

So, if a product breaks under warranty, they will replace it with no questions asked. There are even some companies that honor lifetime warranties in that manner. Now that is what you want.

 

[panteragstk]

I agree. I love the companies that "warranty the product", and don't just "warranty the original buyer".

So, if a product breaks under warranty, they will replace it with no questions asked. There are even some companies that honor lifetime warranties in that manner. Now that is what you want.

I'll always buy from companies known to stand behind their products over ones that don't.

 

[Kingnoob]

I’m not trying to start something here, just want people to understand where I’m coming from.

I agree. The chances of getting a bad speaker are fairly remote. However for me personally, even if I disregard the one time that it did happen to me, I’m still not going to buy something with a poor warranty for 2 reasons – 1) Why should I foot the bill for something that’s not my fault? and 2) A poor warranty tells me the manufacturer knows there’s a weak spot(s) in the product. If the manufacturer doesn’t have faith in their own product, why would I? I'm sure there are others that have the same reasoning I do so I’ve got to think Martin Logans’ poor warranty has cost them sales, and it’s damaged their reputation. Unfortunate. Not a wise move in my opinion.

This thread has a great list of speakers !!
Even Klipch comes with a five year warranty usually , but these better brands should do at least something close 3 years minimum otherwise your quality control must be terrible ..


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[mdinno]

NHT Classic Three could have easily made this list.

 

[shadyJ]

NHT Classic Three could have easily made this list.

Just a tad too expensive to qualify, but they would certainly have made a $1k recommended bookshelf speaker list.