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Bookshelf Bake Off

Fellow Audiogoners,

Lend me your ears.  I live on a farm in South Georgia and have a 3+ hour drive in any direction to audition anything.  The price I pay for land, peace and horses I suppose.  I am putting together a secondary system and can't audition everything I have interest in, so I am hoping you can help me shorten the short list to a manageable set of maybe three (two would be even better) auditions for bookshelf speakers. They will be driven by 2 x PS Audio M700 Monoblocks, Schiit Freya+ tube preamp and a Mytek Brooklyn DAC+.  The space is fairly small at approx. 10'x20'.  For a number of reasons, floorstanders are not a possibility, hence the call for bookshelf speakers.  I would like to keep the budget in the $2K range, +/- a reasonable %.  I am not someone that feels the need to max the budget, i.e. linear correlation of price and quality, so feel free to suggest high value brands/models less than the max budget.  I have a pair of Focal Aria 906 in another system and very much like their sound, but want something a bit warmer with similar (or better) resolution.  Deeper low frequency extension would be a plus.  The brands I have narrowed the field to are:

Revel
Legacy
KEF
Monitor Audio
Sonus Fabre
PSB

This list is not written in stone, just my initial list after research.  Feel free to suggest anything I have omitted that warrants consideration.  Thanks in advance for your ears.

Mark


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verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,500 posts
 
In that price range, of the ones you laid out I would look a the Monior Audio Golds as they will deliver a warm sound.  The others will be neutral to a little forward.  A couple years ago I auditioned every product in this price range that you have above and 6 or 8 others.  I opted for the Revel Performa3 M105s which are awesome speakers but are definitely a touch forward.  That being said, I prefer a slightly forward sound.  

The MA Golds are a hair warm and I think would be a really good match with your system to land just to the warm side of neutral.  There are certainly other products, but those would be an A+ Choice for what you describe.  

The ones I haven't heard and you might want to check out are the Monitor Audio Studio's. Reviews have been strong and they have the potential to be outstanding.     
bryhifi's avatar
bryhifi
374 posts
 
Worth looking into for a surprising sound from a monitor sized speaker that digs deeper than I ever expected from something it's size.  Owned a few pair of Ushers along the way and always thought fondly of them.  I would not be hesitant to buy these again given their used price now.

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/usheraudio_be718.htm
pani
1,219 posts
 
Get a slightly bigger, high quality British monitor speakers and pair it with a nice high current amp and you are set. Some recommendations:

Speakers:
1. Tannoy Sterling (not a bookshelf but behaves likes bookshelf), great speaker
2. Proac Response D2 or D15, D18
3. Neat Momentum

Amps:
1. Naim Nait 5si
2. Naim supernait 2
3. Plinius 8200 Mk2, 9200

luxmancl38
580 posts
 
Klipsch Heresy III's.
coffee-jerk
73 posts
 
I'm going to second pani's post:
I have a bookshelf speaker "problem", and similar musical taste.   I have owned a few brands (B&W, Dynaudio, Totem, Proac).   

I use Proac Response D2 in my "main" system and D1 in my office system, and I couldn't be happier.    They are simply more fun to listen.  

If you want a really small system, the Proac Response 1sc are a special speaker, and can be found used for a very reasonable price.
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