Bookshelfs budget is $ 2000.


I am trying to get closer to a decision regarding speakers ( bookshelf). Been reading the speaker section on Audiogon for hours and no closer to any Idea. The music is Jazz and Classical. Kef R 300 or KLH 5? Have not heard either one just going by posters comments. I am looking for a warm mellow sound but not muddy. The amp is SS 100 watts per channel. Any help to narrow the options would be a great help. I know it is a question with many answers but I need to start somehow. New or used? Regards Peter
petrox
I have owned the Totem Model 1 Signature, Dynaudio Focus 140, Harbeth Compact 7ES-3. I currently have the Harbeth 30.1. I have listened to the Harbeth P3ESR at a dealer. To my ears the Totems sounded great at the start but became fatiguing after a while, especially with violins. The Dynaudios give a big sound, but were a bit tubby. However the Confidence C1 is a totally different speaker, far surpassing the Focus line. I had the C1s and enjoyed them. But to me the Harbeths sound so much more natural and musical. The P3ESR plays much more robust and room filling than their physical size would indicate on first glance.
If you can listen to them I am confident you will be impressed. Take some of your favorite classical with you, particularly solo violin and piano.
Second the Vapor Breeze. Best audio purchase I have made.
Compares to speakers costing twice as much.
FWIW I just took delivery of a pair of Wharfdale Dentons from Music Direct - cost $499 delivered. I've set them up with a 40wt tubed amp, 3 feet out from a back wall and 2 feet from side walls and I'm impressed! Warm with detail and excellent bass (considering their size). I'm really enjoying them. (They are not replacing my main speakers though, just used in a second system.)
Another vote for Vapor Breeze. Another option at the upper end of your range is the Fritz Carbon 7.
I am a big fan of the Vapor speakers' sound (my faves are the Aurora and Nimbus, but I have also heard the Joule and the Breeze), but I would not say they have a "warm mellow sound", which the OP is looking for. I also love my SP Tech speakers (just grabbed a pair of Revelations and have had a pair of Minis for a couple years), but I wouldn't recommend the SP Tech Minis to someone looking for "warm mellow sound". Let's not forget that audiophiles have different listening priorities, and try not to just recommend our favorites reflexively without taking the OP's stated preferences into account.

Some of Fritz's speakers would fit this "warm mellow sound" description, and Harbeth (along with other BBC speaker manufacturers) has long been known for that sort of sound. I'm partial to Fritz personally, but that would come down to personal preference most likely (Fritz's monitors would likely have considerably more bass, which is a biggie for me).