2. speakers
  3. 1350265763

Bookshelf speaker ideas....

I am looking for a nice set of bookshelf speakers and will have them on stands.
Want to do some serious enjoying of classical, jazz and soft rock music in my collection. Have a decent 55 wpc Onkyo receiver. Reading up on Polk RTi A3, Klipsch RB-81II and Energy RC10. Obviously, I am not looking to spend in three figures. Called a well regarded stereo store who doesn't do the "boutique" brands and claims there are speakers to be had for around $300 a pair that are "better than monitors".....any thoughts on all this? I am trying to sort this all out and it's hard to find stores that have a lot of brands to compare. Thanks!
moverbob
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,277 posts
 
moverbob, the sjofn clue seems to need quite a powerful amp as they have a very low sensitivity rating (86 db). In the reviews, they were hooked up to some pretty serious equipment. Alot of $1500 monitors sound good with $10,000 worth of equipment upstream. The zu's should sound pretty decent, and loud, with only 55 watts, and if later on you upgrade the rest of your system, they'll sound even better. My vote still goes to zu in this particular application :-)
moverbob OP
13 posts
 
LOL Well now that I'm really getting into it and learning a lot about how to get the best sound, it seems that a new amp may be in order, although maybe my old Onkyo will be OK. Question remains: with a decent amp, would the Clue beat out the Excite X12? That's what I've narrowed it down to...
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,277 posts
 
I like dynaudio quite a bit, but I'm curious about the clue's. Maybe you ought to start a new thread "clue vs. excite" it'd be interesting to see if anyone has heard the clue's and what they thought about them. I like the idea of their placement as you could gain alot of width to the soundstage in a small room.
gonglee3
304 posts
 
If I were you, I would upgrade the receiver and the cd player, and spend less on used speakers - you must balance the system to get a good sound.

You could get this NAD dvd receiver and buy used speakers, and you will end up with better quality sound.

http://www.spearitsound.com/product.cgi?group=322&product=5146

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Paradigm-Reference-Studio-20-High-Definition-Subwoofers-Speakers-System-v-1-/261114333518?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item3ccba0894e

Spend a little to upgrade the cables and you will end up with a surprisingly good sounding balanced system for under $1000 complete. You will have left over for a stands for the spekaers.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/IXOSXHS806SREM/IXOS-Xhs806-11-Awg-Gamma-Geometry-Speaker-Wire-White-9-Foot-Piece/1.html
moverbob OP
13 posts
 
Thanks for these ideas. I am going for (hopefully used) excite x12 and a music hall a15.2 which has phono stage that might be handy some day for me and also great reviews. I assume that if I am playing digital music a la CD or computer ( mostly lossless) I will want to get their < $300 DAC add on too!? I Assume it makes a big difference...
More to discover