Please recommend speakers
I’m just starting my audiophile journey and want to make sure I pair the right equipment before going too far down the rabbit hole. I am coming into this as a complete newbie. I listen pretty much to everything but mostly pop, classical and jazz in a fairly large-ish lower level living room (maybe 20 x 20 feet square) and speakers sitting on bookshelves. I know they should be on stands or floor-mounted, but that doesn’t really work for me right now space-wise. So far I have Jamo 803 bookshelf speakers with newly purchased SMSL DA-9 amp and matching SMSL SU-9 DAC (previously was using an old NAD D 3020 V1 integrated amp with direct connection from iPad to internal DAC). Now I stream directly from an old iPhone/iPad via a USB camera adapter to the DAC which has balanced connections to the DA-9 amp. I pretty much stream music exclusively (currently on free trials with Tidal and Amazon HD). No other sources. No library to speak of. No headphones. The Jamos sound great to me, but I feel like I need something better to pair with the mid-fi DAC and AMP. So I’m looking for upgrade the Jamo 803s which were purchased on sale for $130. Looking to spend up to maybe $800 for a pair. Recommendations? Thanks in advance!
Edit: Here's what I'm considering so far. KEF350, Polk R200s, Audio Monitor Bronze. Thoughts on pros and cons? Anything else?
Hello expresstrain You can check out Sound Artist LS3/5A that sound similar to Harbeth. They are small, have great tonality and go very well in bookshelves attached to the wall, if needed you can add a Sub. You can check Youtube for many reviews. I am very happy with them. |
How about Emotiva T1+ floor standers for $799 a pair or B1+ bookshelves for $299 ? I have original T1 in my dedicated stereo room paired with turntable and it sounds pretty good. I also have T2 and C2 in my home theater room that’s put out some good amount of detailed and forceful sound, but requires some EQ with minidsp due to room dimensions.
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I have a pair of the Kef Q350's that the OP mentions. They are great speakers with nice, clear mids and highs and surprisingly good bass. Part of that good bass comes from the rear port, which would not fare well in a bookshelf. You could try plugging the port and thwarting the design intent...but good luck with that. The front ported Q100's are designed for wall mounting or shelves, but you'll sacrifice bass and midrange. Perhaps a pair of small subs that can reach fairly high can help, but they would surpass your budget. |
