Bookshelves as mains?

[Mark 471]

Hi everyone!

Thank you for all the help and recommendations regarding my previous subwoofer dilemma. I ended up purchasing a new HSU-VtF15h and MbM-12. They work very well together and sound great.

I am looking to upgrade my klipsch SF-3 main floor speakers. I paid around $900 for the pair new about 8 years ago. I found a pair of new Energy Veritas 2.2 bookshelf speakers online for $700 (original MSRP is $1,800-$2,200 / pr.)

I was thinking of using the new Veritas speakers as my mains and was wondering if there are any drawbacks of using bookshelf speakers as mains?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Mark

 

[markw]

Opinions vary, but ones ears are the deciding factor.

Personally, I prefer as close to full range speakers as mains and running them as "large" but others have their own ideas.

 

[Nomo]

How big is your room?
While IMO the Energy's will sound much better, they may not fill a large room as well as floor standers.

 

[PENG]

In a smaller room the 2.2 will be fine. Add a sub otherwise. $700 for a new pair is an excellent deal as they do sound very sweet, but you may want to find out if Klipsch can/will still support an obsolete product.

 

[lsiberian]

Form Factor is fairly irrelevant, but generally bookshelves are for small distances and towers for bigger rooms.

If you are a math nerd. You can find out if a speaker fills the bill by the following formula. DB> 105(THX) or DB > 90(average home) Where DB = Sensitivity + 3 (log2(PeakPower)) - (distance in Meters + 1) )

So for example a speaker with 90 db and 150 watts of peak power sitting at 4 meters away

would DB = 90 + 3(7.23 - 4 +1)
DB = 90 + 3(4.69)
DB = 90 + 12.69
DB = 102.69

102.69 < 105 Insufficient for peak THX handling.

102.69 > 90db peak. Sufficient for Average home listener.

Please realize the 105 standard is not practical for most people.

 

[Josuah]

In the same product line, usually the main difference for tower speakers is that they can play lower and higher SPL. But not always. Usually due to a combination of more drivers allowing for greater power handling and the larger enclosure (and port) for a lower tuning frequency. And they can sound a little different.

However even with this I would strongly recommend running them as "small" instead of "large". They will play back much cleaner at higher volumes if your sub is handling the low frequencies. But you might be able to set the crossover lower like around 60Hz instead of 80Hz.

Regardless running bookshelves for your mains is not a problem at all.

 

[GranteedEV]

I was thinking of using the new Veritas speakers as my mains and was wondering if there are any drawbacks of using bookshelf speakers as mains?

They might be better speakers, but yes... there are drawbacks.

- Less volume displacement in the midbass from 100hz to 400hz where power demands are high
- Probably less thermal heatsinking
- less internal fibre-fill to absorb the rear wave of the driver
- Midbass driver must move in and out, while at the same time producing midrang

 

[Craigslist Joe]

The Veritas "Bookshelf" speakers you have are almost misnamed. They are more like "midget towers" - My apologies to any little people reading this...

Any drawbacks commonly associated with bookshelf speakers doesn't really apply - except one: the small cabinet requires the midbass speaker to WORK for low frequency output (compared to a larger enclosure) and that makes the speakers power-hungry. You are giving up efficiency and getting a smaller cabinet size.

The fact that it is a three-way design helps because you are asking very little of the midbass 6.5" driver. If it were a two-way design, the better bet would clearly be running them as "small" but in this case, it all depends on how the lower frequencies interact with your room (and amplifier). Be aware, too, that running them as "large" uses considerably more power! Try both and go with what sounds best.

P.S. - Good find on the speakers! $700 is a smoking deal!

 

[Mark 471]

Energy 2.2's

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all your help.

I ended up picking up the Energy V2.2's last night still in the original packaging and wrapping for $600. They sound amazing, but they are definitely thristy little guys handling up to 250W RMS.

I scored a new pair of Veritas 6.3's last night to round out the set and the bookshelves will now be able to perform as designed as the room is quite large.

I am a little concerned about all the comments of the Energy line being cheapened up since the new ownership by Klipsch. Hopefully the new 6.3's haven't been messed with too much yet by Klipsch.

Thanks again!

 

[PENG]

I ended up picking up the Energy V2.2's last night still in the original packaging and wrapping for $600.

Are they 2.2 or 2.2i? Either way the price is incredible and you will enjoy that sweet sounding pair for sure, especially if you are used to the Klipsch sound. Congratulations!

 

[lsiberian]

I am a little concerned about all the comments of the Energy line being cheapened up since the new ownership by Klipsch. Hopefully the new 6.3's haven't been messed with too much yet by Klipsch.

Klipsch makes great speakers and so does Energy One of my friends was looking for a new pair of towers and the Cf-30s won the listening test by a long shot. They have an excellent design with no port compression. If I bought speakers they would be on the short list of contenders. I'm not sure where these rumors come from, but in my experience Energy is an excellent brand.