$1,000 - $1,500 Bookshelf Speakers Recommendations for 2.1 System

[VicTorious1]

I am planning on purchasing a 2.1 bookshelf setup for my office.

I saw the assistance you guys provided NewHTBuyer on his $2,000-$3,000 floor speaker purchase and decided to reach out for recommendations. I'm currently auditioning a Gallo CL-3 5.1 setup in my home theater (after in-home auditioning B&Ws, PSBs and others), but would like a dedicated listening room for stereo music.

My room is 11'11" wide by 14'9" deep by 8'6" high. Approximately 1540 cubic feet.

I plan to do in home comparisons as I've found that to be the most successful when I was auditioning speakers for the home theater room. After moving to our new house, I've been glued to this and similar sites as I've fallen victim to this audio hobby/disease. I listen to a variety of music: jazz, blues, folk, classical, rock and rap.

I'm quite interested in ID companies, but am open to B&M companies as well. Ideally, I'd like to stay in the $1,000-range for speakers as I plan on getting a sub (as discussed below) and a stereo amp. I plan to audition 2-4 speakers together in my house at the same time.

Sub-$1,000 Contenders:

1) Salk SongSurround I - $895 - I've read some good reviews of these and the Ascends, but it seems like almost all reviews that I've read for any speakers rarely have anything bad to say about the speakers. So it's hard to differentiate.

SongSurround Overview/Pricing

2) Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1 - $798 ($1098 with NrT upgrade) - Is the NrT upgrade noticeable?

Sierra-1 Bamboo Loudspeaker

3) Philharmonic Audio Philharmonitor - $850 - I know Dennis is a one man shop, so I'm not sure how fast I would able to get these if I decide to go with them.

Monitors~Philharmonic Audio

4) Ascend CMT-340SE - $560 - As with most speakers, these have been said to punch above their price point.

CMT-340 SE Mini-Tower Loudspeaker

If increasing my budget by a little will yield a significant difference in sound quality, then I may do so.

Above $1,000 Contenders:

5) Salk WOW1 - $1200 - These seem quite small, but are supposed to have good bass for their size.

WOW1 - home

6) Salk SongBird or SongSurround II - $1,500

SongBird - home

SongSurround Overview/Pricing

7) Paradigm Studio 20 - $1,400

Studio 20 - Welcome to the New Official Paradigm® Website.

I also plan on purchasing a subwoofer for this system and a stereo receiver. I've narrowed down the subs, because of size restrictions, to either the SVS SB12 NSD or Rythmik F12. I've been looking at getting a Cambridge Audio Azur 651A or 351A (however, I'm not sure if the 351A has a dedicated subwoofer out).

Your recommendations are appreciated and feel free to provide any additional suggestions (for speakers, subs or receivers) in this price range. Thanks.

 

[j_garcia]

I will go ahead and throw this one out there too: Carnegie Acoustics CSB-1. I haven't heard this actual speaker, but I've heard a DIY version nearly identical to it in my setup and it is an excellent speaker IMHO. CARNEGIE ACOUSTICS - Affordable Audiophile

Of the ones listed, I've heard the CMT-340SE and Studio 20 and they are both good. They may not quite be at the same level as the others though. The 20s are dynamic, but the Studios tend to be on the bright side of my preference and I found the 40s fatiguing in my system on long listening sessions. The 340SEs are good all around speakers and IMO, are close to the Studios in performance, but not giant killers to the point that they are going to slay some of the IDs listed.

 

[Swerd]

Where are you? If driving to Maryland isn't too far, I suggest you contact me or Dennis Murphy.

I have a pair of CAOW1s which are quite similar to Salk SongSurround Is. At that price range, I think they're my favorite. The SongBird has the same drivers in a larger floorstanding cabinet.

I haven't heard the new Philharmonitor, but I can't imagine it not being excellent. Contact Dennis Murphy to find out their availability. At that price, it would be hard to beat.

I'm admittedly biased toward Salk and Philharmonic Audio speakers . I'm not alone.

 

[VicTorious1]

I'm in Denver, so driving out to Maryland, unfortunately, isn't in the cards.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[pg_rider]

I recently transitioned from Paradigm Studio 10s to LSA Monitor Ones. I had the Paradigms for two years so I know them fairly well. For me, they were always just too bright / lean / edgy / clinical / <insert adjective here>. For movies they were quite good -- very detailed and punchy. For music, however, they were extremely fatiguing to me. They didn't do voices well. They made me a believer in the "warm vs accurate" argument that you see come up a lot. I guess I'm just a warmer-speaker kind of guy, and the Paradigms are hyper-accurate.

For reference, I crossed the Paradigms to dual Hsu VTF-3s at 150 HZ and drove them with an Adcom GFA-6000 amp.

I've only had the LSAs for a week and haven't had a lot of time to really listen, but right away I could tell they had a good revealing top end WITHOUT the edginess that was so fatiguing wit the Paradigms. I have to say they don't seem any better at low bass (in spite of their larger size), soundstaging, or imaging. To me though, that says more about how good the Paradigms were at those aspects vs any actual drawbacks with the LSAs.

Anyway, you can easily get used LSAs (as I did) for way under $1000. Actually, you can get them NEW for right around $900! Based on my limited experience so far, I'd highly recommend them. I'll also add that they're gorgeous, and my friends have all loved them so far!

 

[pg_rider]

Almost forgot -- I'm in Colorado Springs, so you're welcome to come check out the LSAs any time.

 

[GranteedEV]

EMP E41

Spend the rest of the budget on a quality subwoofer.

The Salk WOW1, with RAAL tweeter, will be hella good, though.

 

[VicTorious1]

Almost forgot -- I'm in Colorado Springs, so you're welcome to come check out the LSAs any time.

I might take you up on that offer. Are you still using the two subwoofers and the same amp with your new setup? What do you have the crossover set at?

EMP E41

Spend the rest of the budget on a quality subwoofer.

The Salk WOW1, with RAAL tweeter, will be hella good too, though.

Any suggestions for a compact subwoofer to go with the EMPTeks? The E41s seem unbelievably inexpensive. I'm not sure why that makes me pause. I plan on hearing the E55Ti in about a week, so that should give me an indication of EMPTeks sound quality. They also seem to be sold out of a lot of speakers on their website. The WOW1 with RAAL tweeters would likely be $2,600 if my math is correct. More than slightly above what I'd like to spend.

 

[Tomorrow]

GTG audition results on a half-dozen sub-$2,000 stand mount speakers...start with post #95. It's a summary of blind A/B auditioning by 9 reviewers. Perhaps you'll find something useful in here. Read the entire thread if you have any interest in the format and protocols used.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/general-av-discussions/67150-2010-great-northwest-gtg-10.html

Happy hunting.

 

[pg_rider]

I might take you up on that offer. Are you still using the two subwoofers and the same amp with your new setup? What do you have the crossover set at?

Yeah, still have the Hsus and the Adcom. Trying the crossover at 100 Hz at the moment...

 

[PENG]

For the room size, you may also consider these:

KEF LS50 Mini Monitor Pair

KEF KEF R100

I have not heard the R100 but it has great reviews. The LS50 sounds fantastic even in a larger room.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

I am planning on purchasing a 2.1 bookshelf setup for my office.

3) Philharmonic Audio Philharmonitor - $850 - I know Dennis is a one man shop, so I'm not sure how fast I would able to get these if I decide to go with them.

Monitors~Philharmonic Audio














Thanks.

Well--more like a 2-man shop. But the monitors are already built. They just have to be air-shipped to me for final measurements and other QC. So we're probably talking about 2 weeks for delivery time to you.

 

[VicTorious1]

Well--more like a 2-man shop. But the monitors are already built. They just have to be air-shipped to me for final measurements and other QC. So we're probably talking about 2 weeks for delivery time to you.

That's good to know. What's the recommended distance from the wall that the Philharmonitors should be placed?

 

[pg_rider]

One other suggestion -- the Peachtree Design 5. I've heard them three times now and have been blown away every time. Truth be told, if I could've found a used pair when my Paradigms sold I'd have bought them over the LSAs. But even new they're only around $999. Amazing speaker....

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would also consider the TAD 2201. The original MSRP was $3,000/pr. I paid $1691/pr delivered from Music Direct.

http://www.pioneer.my/data/my/imgCont/Cnt_907/TAD2011.pdf

http://tad-labs.com/en/professional/tsm_2201_lr/catalog.pdf

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

KEF LS50 Mini Monitor Pair

The LS50 sounds fantastic even in a larger room.

If only KEF had put a speaker grille on these great measuring speakers.

 

[GranteedEV]

Any suggestions for a compact subwoofer to go with the EMPTeks?]

An SVS SB12-NSD or the Funk Audio custom built unit with the 12" Peerless woofer

I would shoot for around 90 to 110hz with 3rd to 5th order acoustic slopes if possible. It is only a tiny little 4 inch woofer, so i wouldn't want to push it too low just to keep max SPL as high as possible. If you can get it up to 120hz without problems, that's probably preferred.

I plan on hearing the E55Ti in about a week, so that should give me an indication of EMPTeks sound quality. They also seem to be sold out of a lot of speakers on their website. The WOW1 with RAAL tweeters would likely be $2,600 if my math is correct. More than slightly above what I'd like to spend.

The e55tis sound great IMO, but the tiny E41s are on another level. Wider midrange dispersion, cleaner midrange, smoother, cleaner highs. They retail in brick n mortar outlets as the RBH 41-SE speakers for $1000/pr

 

[VicTorious1]

I found a pair of the E41-B new in a box for $300. So I've decided that I'm going to audition the E41-Bs, the Peachtree Design 5 and one of the Philharmonitor or the Song Surround I. If the local KEF dealer has a liberal return policy, I'll likely audition those as well.

My concern with the E41s is that they may be too small for my 1500 cubic ft office. I think I'm going to try each of them without a subwoofer first, but in the end I'm pretty sure that I'll get a sealed sub from SVS.

 

[bikemig]

I had a similar budget in buying bookshelf speakers. I ended up buying the PSB imagine B bookshelf speakers; they sound great and comfortably fit within your budget: Imagine B Bookshelf - PSB Speakers

 

[VicTorious1]

I would also consider the TAD 2201. The original MSRP was $3,000/pr. I paid $1691/pr delivered from Music Direct.

http://www.pioneer.my/data/my/imgCont/Cnt_907/TAD2011.pdf

http://tad-labs.com/en/professional/tsm_2201_lr/catalog.pdf

The TADs look nice, but might be pushing the budget. How did you get them with such a discount? I've generally been able to get discounts on most of my speakers, but oftentimes that's due to getting a package deal. Would you recommend these over, say, the SongBird tower or the WOW1s?

I had a similar budget in buying bookshelf speakers. I ended up buying the PSB imagine B bookshelf speakers; they sound great and comfortably fit within your budget: Imagine B Bookshelf - PSB Speakers

I might look at those. I auditioned the T2 floor speakers while looking for floor speakers for my home theater. I liked them better than the T6s.