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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
jond's avatar
jond
5,776 posts
 
yogiboy none of the music listed by chiguy is really headbanging stuff I listen to much the same so your recommendations stand sorry dude :p
gnostalgick
88 posts
 
  A lot of good recommendations here, but I may as well throw in my two cents. As long as you're okay with listening to (rather than feeling) the bass, you can't go wrong with the smaller Harbeths.  They're very natural sounding & I doubt your wife could find fault with the cabinets.  If you want something more visceral than the Dynaudios are great (if you have enough power), but nowhere near as attractive.

  I also had to integrate my speakers into pre-existing decor (subject to approval), and ended up with the Monitor Audio Silver 2 's.  They don't quite have the cohesive character of either of the above speakers--more a jack of all trades, master of none--but I feel they beat out any floorstanders I've heard in the same price range; not only in their articulateness (they're very revealing of any upstream changes) but also in their fullness of sound. They're not exactly small, but perhaps their excellent finish & rather reasonable price will make up for it--as it did for me.

Kirk

  (There's also a smaller Silver 1, but I haven't heard it.) 
jond's avatar
jond
5,776 posts
 
Oh and don't sleep on Audio Note An/K's a great sounding speaker designed to be placed close to the wall or in a corner. With 8 inch woofer in a sealed cabinet it gives surprisingly deep bass and is a good looking speaker as well. Easy to drive to boot and I believe under $2K.
chiguy OP
17 posts
 
I think 18" high is too big, but thanks.
joekapahulu
246 posts
 
I had the same issue with the LS50. Instead, I got the KefR300. It is to my ears better than the LS on the bass end and a little less bright on the high. In piano black it looks great in my living room and my wife is good with the look. I thought the R100 viable too though it had less bottom end. I have the Spendors recommended and feel they are not good rock speakers...great for jazz and acoustic and voices. I also have Ohms Walsh units and love them.

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