Best bookshelf to build into a surround setup?

[marcster]

I have some (15) year-old pair of American Acoustics bookshelf speakers being used as stereo speakers in a second room off my Sony STR-DA4ES receiver. This is a larger room, 15x27 with a peaked ceiling that starts at about 8.5 feet and runs to about 12 feet high. The speakers are on the long wall. On the left is an 8' by 7' opening to the living room and the back "wall" has a similar opening into the dining room.

The AA's are sounding pretty muddy. I'm thinking of these possible replacements:

--Axiom M3ti

--Aperion 522D-LR

--Athena AS-B2

--Polk Rti6 or Rti4

--Infinity Beta 20

Looking for better definition, solid bass.

Eventually, I may build a surround system around these new bookshelf speakers. I would stay with whatever brand for timbre matching. This would replace a Definitive Pro Cinema 60 surround set in a 20x12x8 living room. (Or wouldn't those candidates improve sound over the Definitives???)

 

[MasterChief]

I was also looking into bookshelves but for surrounds. I checked alot of bookshelves.I was on a budget and The polks and infinity were more expensive than the athenas so i checked them out. Damn they were good i bought 2 pairs of As-B2's.The as-b2 were as good or better good bass and after wokring them in good high range. I heard alot of good things about Axiom never heard them tho.Still you should listen to the ones you like and select on your preference.

 

[jaxvon]

Dont' neglect to look at Paradigm, PSB, B&W and M&K. They all make excellent speakers and would be worth your audition.

 

[20to20K]

Very impressed with Quad

Quad makes some great bookshelves and floorstanders at a reasonable price.

Heard a set up with their flagship 2.2L floorstanders as fronts and the 1.2L bookshelves as rears along with thie L-Series center. Sounded incredible.
Very reasonable as well. Check out their website. You may have to call to find a local deal...they won't have them at CC or BB...or even Tweeter.

I remember the floor standers were $1600...the center was $500. I'm not quite sure how much the bookshelves were but I believe they were in the area of $450...

www.quad-hifi.co.uk

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Look around for JBL Northridge E50's. They have front ports, and thus are wall-mountable). The MSRP is $500/pr. But quite a few internet retailers have them for under $250/pr.

 

[zumbo]

B&W, Monitor Audio, and Paradigm all come to mind. Paradigm being the best bargain of the group, B&W being the most expensive, and my favorite (700-800 series). And the MA's fall in the middle for me.

If you are able to run a set of 4ohm speakers, then by all means check out the MB Quart S530's. Superb quality! $899 a pair. But you can find a good sale from time to time.click here!

 

[ben_wood]

Do yourself a favor and check into the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170's. Their websie is www.ascendacoustics.com

 

[marcster]

Oh no, now my choices are getting wider instead of narrower

Those Ascends look awesome too ... had started to narrow between Axiom and Aperion. HMMmmm-mmm ...

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I have some (15) year-old pair of American Acoustics bookshelf speakers being used as stereo speakers in a second room off my Sony STR-DA4ES receiver. This is a larger room, 15x27 with a peaked ceiling that starts at about 8.5 feet and runs to about 12 feet high. The speakers are on the long wall. On the left is an 8' by 7' opening to the living room and the back "wall" has a similar opening into the dining room.

The AA's are sounding pretty muddy. I'm thinking of these possible replacements:

--Axiom M3ti

--Aperion 522D-LR

--Athena AS-B2

--Polk Rti6 or Rti4

--Infinity Beta 20

Looking for better definition, solid bass.

Eventually, I may build a surround system around these new bookshelf speakers. I would stay with whatever brand for timbre matching. This would replace a Definitive Pro Cinema 60 surround set in a 20x12x8 living room. (Or wouldn't those candidates improve sound over the Definitives???)

That is a very large room. I would first look at speakers only rated at 8 ohms, and then ones with a db rating of 94 or higher. These bookshelfs will need to play loud to fill that space. Efficiency is key here. Athenas, although not the name brand the others are, fit that bill - and sound as good as the rest of them. Check out www.stereophile.com for a review on the Athenas. Have you auditioned them yet? The only way to test some of the others is to order them and return them, only to pay a large fee for return shipping.

 

[3db]

Highly recommend listening to PSB Image B25's

Heard these myself and they are absolutely awesome. Also Stereophile magazine speaker touts this as the best 500.00 spekaer out there as shown

http://stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/1204psb/