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Need Small Bookshelf Speakers With a Big Sound

Good morning.  I have been out of any kind of audiophile circles for a long time.  We moved into a house with built-in speakers about 5 years ago, which I really enjoy, but of course it's better for casual listening at a party than for quality listening.  Our family room is in a pretty open space that borders our living room and kitchen, so my wife is very focused on speakers being unobtrusive in appearance.  I was therefor looking for small speakers and got turned onto KEF LS50s, which sounded really nice for the price, and more than good enough for my desires.  And they are small.  But I didn't really focus on their "untraditional" looks.  It turns out that was a deal-breaker when I brought them home to demo.

So, I am back to square one.  What I would really like is a speaker that is about the size of the LS50s, or maybe a little bigger, and has a nice looking, traditional wood finish.  Bright colors and artificial surfaces, no matter how good they sound, need not apply...

I would say my self-imposed budget is around $2,000 at the top.  Unless new speakers leads me down the audiophile slippery slope, the speakers would be powered by my old Adcom 545 II amp and GTP 500 II tuner, with either an Adcom CD changer or Apple TV streaming the music.  Not exactly Audiogon Best In Class, but I think it will bring a smile to my face.  And you never know if this will lead to upgrading the whole shebang.

Any thoughts appreciated.  Not that it matters, but I am in the Chicagoland area.
chiguy
helomech
1,670 posts
 
I agree that Monitor Audio Silver 1s are worth an audition.

For your preferences, I would check out the Epos Elan 10 or Elan 15. Both can produce astoundingly deep bass for their size and have a very neutral sound that pairs well with almost any type of amp. EPOS makes matching ST35 stands for them and your invested total would be under 2k. They are no longer made but new pairs can still be found online. Musing Direct might still have some. 

Their look is sort of a modern take on a British monitor. They're no nonsense good quality speakers that use tried and true technology.
wolfernyc
41 posts
 
I can’t say my defn of a big sound = yours. But I listened to a lot of speakers but decided to take a chance on the sierra 2’s without even hearing them.

I listened to harbeths, spendor, rega, focal, dynaudio, golden ear, various others in some notable shops but wasn’t hearing the high end and opening imaging I was after (and that other speakers seemed to deliver). Most sounded too polite for me. Although Focal came close to what I was after.

The speakers I did like a lot included maggies .7 and 1.7 (too big), B&W 805D3 (too $$), sonus fabers ($$$).  Probably speakers some would think had exaggerated highs.  So in the end I decided to take a chance on Ascend and their ribbon tweeters and got a LR & Center for under 2K. Hope to get them this week.
joey54
434 posts
 
The Ryan R610 sounds like it might be a good fit for you. They have a very traditional look and sound great. Also, like Harbeth, they play well at low volume. The MSRP is $1999.

http://ryanspeakers.com/Products/Products/R610.html

But whatever you decide to do make sure you them before you buy them.

beernut's avatar
beernut
295 posts
 
Interesting comments all. I see LS50's pop up often. I owned a pair and while I liked them to me they excelled at acoustic music and not electric, especially "classic rock". One line of speakers I always thought that had "big" sound were PSB's. They have a nice lineup at various price points and sizes and always seem to garner positive reviews. I've owned several pair and always liked their signature sound.

rclausm
1 posts
 
Second the R300 if you like the KEF sound. Uni-Q driver, 6 inch cone, more traditional cabinet. No brainer. 
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