Suggestions for a bookshelf pair?

Hide sidebar Show sidebar
I

Impulse

Junior Audioholic
Hello everyone, so i am looking to get a pair of decent bookshelves for my room. Now, I have just started looking so im not too set on anything just yet..just looking for some suggestions.
Heres what im looking for the most:

Price (around $500 max, preferably lower)

Design/ Look. I want them to be attractive as they will sit literally inches away from my face, near my monitor.

Obviously, sound quality, but preferably very detailed high end and hefty midrange as i will have sub for bottom

Doesnt have to be, but would prefer front ported/sealed. But again, not a huge concern.

I have been looking at the Martin Logan Motion 15..but cant seem to get a good review on it. Will eventually go check them out.

My room is fairly small. think like 12x10
They will be sitting close to my head
I also listen to pretty much all music, lots of rock.

Thanks guys, and let me know what suggestions you might have!
 
R

ridikas

Banned
It's virtually IMPOSSIBLE to get anything better than these at your price point:

$419pr. with free shipping.

Dayton Audio RS621CBK Speaker Kit Pair Curved Gloss Black 302-961

Or if you can go up to $570pr. with free shipping.

Dayton Audio UA711BK Speaker Kit Gloss Black 302-770

What other choices do you have for well engineered speakers in your price range? Very few:

Revel M12 at $650pr.
NHT Absolute Zero at $400pr.
NHT Classic Two at $600pr.
PSB Image B6 $550pr.
PSB Image B5 $450pr.
KEF Q100 at $550pr.
KEF Q300 at $650pr.
KEF iQ10 at $300pr.
KEF iQ30 at $400pr.
Focal Chorus 705V $500pr.
Klipsch RB-51II $419pr.
Klipsch RB-61II $550pr.
Paradigm Atom Monitor $400pr.
Paradigm Mini Monitor $600pr.

And that's about all I can think of. The Revel M12s are probably my favorite from that bunch...

P.S. I know that some of these is out of your price range.
 
I

Impulse

Junior Audioholic
Wow, well I certainly appreciate the input!
Now, the dayton audio kits, im interested in as to why you chose those. I have heard that dayton audio has dropped in quality recently? I could be way off, but if the kit is the way to go..i might just do it.
Would the kits also give me a more price-performance ratio, as the name brand all markups arent really there?
 
R

ridikas

Banned
Dayton makes top quality equipment. Those drivers are incredibly low in distortion. They have state of the art motors with copper caps and modulation rings, well vented cast baskets, etc. Plus you get curved cabinets with a 1" thick MDF front baffles. I mean seriously, what is not to like about this kit? The price is simply insanely low.

The crossovers designed by PE/Dayton are excellent and get the job done.

To get to this performance in a retail speaker, you will have to spend $2000 plus for the pair.
 
A

alphaiii

Audioholic General
The NHT Classic Two can be had right now for $400... Info here about the sale price:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/deals-deals-deals/81490-nht-sale.html

Given that you'd be using the speakers nearfield... I agree the Airmotiv5 is well worth a look.

For a cheaper option, Energy RC-10 or Wharfedale Evo2-8 are also worth a look. Both good speakers, and the current clearance pricing is a big plus.

For nearfield use - personally, I'd probably go with the Classic Two over the RC-10 (I've used both the RC-10 and NHT Absolute Zero nearfield in the past)... but there are some folks at AVS that really like the RC-10 nearfield.

I can't speak for the Evo2-8 in a nearfield setup, since I never tried them that way... but in a room on stands... I was very impressed with the mids/highs they put out. They're a little lean in bass, but that may not be a bad thing given you intended placement and use of a sub.
 
Last edited:
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
alphaiii said:
Jim,

Would you put the Acoustic Energy Aelite One up there with the Focal?

There is still a pair of Aelite's available on ebay (I believe from the same dealer you bought them from).

Do you still have them?
Click to expand...
I do not have them any more - it will be a matter of preference
and taste. They are both real nice speakers - the Aelite is some
what forward sounding and better suited for stand-mounting >>
Focal has a real nice tweeter, with a good central image, and is
my option for the desk-top.

However, the Aelite seems to have somwhat better resolution.
Acoustic Energy AELITE ONE - BLACK ASH (pair) 5051590000685 | eBay
 
Last edited:
J

jcl

Senior Audioholic
How about the Usher 520? It's front ported, comes in numerous colors, is well regarded for mids and highs and is $479. There are concerns about the woofer bottoming out if you run them full range, but used nearfield and crossed to a sub this seems like a worthy contender.

http://www.usheraudiousa.com/products/loudspeakers/usher-series/s-520-shielded

Usher Audio S-520 Bookshelf Speaker Review — Reviews and News from Audioholics

Usher Audio Technology S-520 loudspeaker | Stereophile.com


You can order direct from the audioholics store - Bookshelf Speakers | Audioholics Store

Another possibility, especially for near field and crossed to a sub, would be the Boston Acoustics E40s. The E series sounded really good. I think they are cool looking, and they are front ported. At $140 ea (regularly $400 ea) it's a pretty good savings. Accessories4less also has them fyi.

http://www.bostonacoustics.com/US/Product/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?CatId=OutletStore(BostonAcoustics_US)&IsOut=1&IsRef=1&Pid=E40RBS(BostonAcoustics)
 
Last edited:
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
The NHT Absolute Zero probably has the best FR.

But might as well audition Revel, KEF, B&W, Focal, Dynaudio.
 
I

Impulse

Junior Audioholic
Wow, so many replies haha. Definitely a good amount to choose from.

I like the look of the NHT absolute zero..seems like a decent little bookshelf.

As well as the Focal 705v.. now, i have been looking as well at the B&W 685s and Definitive Tech Studio Monitor 55s, i can get these both half off so if anyone has input on them, that would be very nice.

The Arx speakers also peak my interest due to the ribbon tweeter, however they're not a company ive ever heard of :eek:

The Usher certainly looks nice and ive read the reviews, so its at the top of my list now.. if anyone can provide more feedback of it tht would be great..the whole bottoming out thing is a slight concern because even though i will have a sub, i would rather not have that to worry about.

The Speaker Kits from Dayton audio are still a very viable option for me, and i would be willing to go higher if it means THAT much better performance..its just a matter of time to save up.
But real wood cherry veneer, plus tweeters that themselves are $60? For the price, i think it is indeed hard to beat their prices..even thousand dollar towers that i've seen use tweeters half that price xD
 
Last edited:
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Impulse said:
The Arx speakers also peak my interest due to the ribbon tweeter, however they're not a company ive ever heard of :eek:
Click to expand...
btw: planar-magnetic tweeter (on ARX) is not true Ribbon tweeter
Planar-magnetic tweeter
Some loudspeaker designers use a planar-magnetic tweeter, sometimes called a quasi-ribbon. Planar magnetic tweeters are generally less expensive than true ribbon tweeters, but are not precisely equivalent as a metal foil ribbon is lighter than the diaphragm in a planar magnetic tweeter and the magnetic structures are different. Usually a thin piece of PET film or plastic with a voice coil wire running numerous times vertically on the material is used. The magnet structure is less expensive than for ribbon tweeters.
Click to expand...
Tweeter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Emotiv and Adam uses the real deal :) but active monitors are a bit harder to implement with sub, but great for near-field

Speaking of near field monitors with Ribbon tweeter check Behringer B3031A Active Studio Monitor at zZounds - you might even not need a sub for most music types
 
N

nogaro

Full Audioholic
BoredSysAdmin said:
Emotiv and Adam uses the real deal :) but active monitors are a bit harder to implement with sub, but great for near-field

Speaking of near field monitors with Ribbon tweeter check Behringer B3031A Active Studio Monitor at zZounds - you might even not need a sub for most music types
Click to expand...
One of the differences I notice between the Emotiva and the Behringer is the inputs. The Emotiva allows an RCA input whereas the Behringer has a 1/4" TRS (both have XLR also). If one was planning on using the Behringer's with a digital player (iPod, Clip+ etc) directly (no pre-amp) does the TRS connector mean that both channels will be sent to both speakers?

Thanks!
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
nogaro said:
One of the differences I notice between the Emotiva and the Behringer is the inputs. The Emotiva allows an RCA input whereas the Behringer has a 1/4" TRS (both have XLR also). If one was planning on using the Behringer's with a digital player (iPod, Clip+ etc) directly (no pre-amp) does the TRS connector mean that both channels will be sent to both speakers?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Look again. B3030A/b3031 also has regular unbalanced RCA input
 
N

nogaro

Full Audioholic
BoredSysAdmin said:
Look again. B3030A/b3031 also has regular unbalanced RCA input
Click to expand...
I must be turning blind as I still can't find it, but I can certainly take your word for it - it'll be great if it does. This is what I see in their manual:

SPECIFICATIONS
B3030A/B3031A
Audio Inputs
XLR connector servo-balanced input
¼" TRS servo-balanced input
Input impedance 10 kΩ
Input Trim –6 dB to +6 dB

A couple of other docs also only mention the 1/4" TRS along with the XLR.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis

Sitemap

Sitemap

Site Information

Site Information

HTML

audio forum
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Twitter
  • instagram
  • rss
Top