bookshelf speaker choice

After reading lots of good stuff about them here, I bought a pair of Green Mountain Audio Europa's on Audiogon. For the week I had them, I was very impressed, but they are a bit odd looking (cabinet made of a resin incorporating crushed marble), and when my wife saw the black cabinets on black metal stands, she declared, "Darth Vader has to go."

Out they went, to be replaced by Von Schweikert VR-1's, which are much more attractive in the conventional way. It's no big deal to me, since virtually all my critical listening is done via headphones, but I think those Europa's are a special sounding speaker in their price range ($500 - 600 on Audiogon.)

I used to run B&W dm 602 S3's with a matching sub and was very pleased with them.

Ironically, I got rid of them because of little kids. I had them mounted on stands, but they did not attach to the stands themselves and so presented a real risk. If you're looking for monitors for kid safety, take that into consideration.

If you do consider the 602's, you might also want to think about 602.5's. They are the floor stander version of the 602's.

You should check out the Infinity intermezzo 2.6 as they are an all around great sounding speaker. I bought a pair shipped for 525.00 in mint condition and could not be happier. They have good bass and very realistic highs and are built well.Read the reviews from stereophile, absolute sound and it will inspire you to seek them out. They were stereophile class A.

Small kids ... playful and high flying cats ... all pose similar problems to the both their own health and the health of your speakers.

The NHT's are good choices because they are sealed box designs and can be wall mounted or placed on a shelf or placed inside a bookcase. The Classic 3's are excellent speakers. Depending on the size of your room, the Classic 2's may work out as well. I used NHT SB2's on shelves inside of a bookcase (15 x 10 x 8.5 sized room) for a number of years with both NAD solid state and Prima Luna tube equipment and loved the sound. You will lose some of the soundstaging, but that is about it.

In general, speakers that are sealed box or front ported will work for you. Rear ported speakers will only work, if they are designed to be near a rear wall and/or wall mounted. Which brings me to two other speakers to consider.

The Rega R1 is a real sleeper of a speaker ($550). I use the previous generation (Ara) in two of my systems; one set on top of a bookcase (solid state receiver), the other inside of a bookcase (tube amp) and the sound is very good. Warm with a good sense of detail, a decent amount of bass for a very small speaker, non-fatiguing listening.

The other is the Polk LSi7 ($600, if you look around on the net). There is an incredible amount of technology packed into this speaker. It has been very well reviewed. It can be wall mounted.

I wouldn't trade my cats in for anything, but Buster currently, Ruby in her heyday and Maddie from yesteryear terrorized many a speaker set-up.

Listening to Netrebko and Le Nozze di Figaro on my Rega Aras, Prima Luna Prologue 2, and Rega Apollo as I write this.

Regards, Rich