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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
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returntomusic
60 posts
 
I would check out Saturday Audio Exchange if I lived in your area. I'm in Iowa and get there occasionally. They carry MonitorAudio, PSB, Paradigm, and Golden Ear, so you could listen to several potential solutions in one spot. The Golden Ears may not make the aesthetic cut, but are sonically a contender.  I heard the Monitor Audio GX-50 in a direct comparison with the KEF LS-50 in Florida and strongly preferred the GX-50, (in fairness, neither was set up well physically though and the MA lists closer to $2K). The Saturday Audio Exchange website has a pair of GX-50s, new in Ebony (a gorgeous, jewel-like finish IMO), for $1500- which is a very good price, from what I have seen. Often overlooked, the Paradigm's Prestige 15s are also attractive and have gotten rave reviews.
On a side note I've listen to LS-50s at least 6 different times- really only once where they were positioned well and demoed with decent stuff. They did not light a fire for me. I even wondered if the stores were not really interested in selling them- on the other hand many demos (not just KEF) are poorly executed. The R-300 were much more enjoyable in the same room. I have not listened to the Excite 14s, but have heard the older Dynaudio Excite 12s & 16s several times and liked them a lot. No connection to any retailer or manufacturer. Good Luck.


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returntomusic
60 posts
 
PS - Saturday Audio Exchange is also a KEF dealer 
whitestix
708 posts
 
I'd say the Dynaudio Excite speakers are very nice.  Have a pair of Dali Zensor 3 speakers and they are by far my favorite under-$2K speakers and I went through a dozen monitors over the past few years before finding these gems.  They do everything beautifully and have great low end response.  I had the LS50's for a couple of months and found them strident and hard to drive with my 175wpc Plinius integrated amp.  So, an unconventional speaker that I finds fabulous, particularly when paired with their sub, is the Gallo Strada II.   The speakers disappear into the room and they are rather small in size.   They are in your budget if you find them used.   Good luck.

martykl
3,578 posts
 
Another though occurred to me : Red Rose Ribbon Monitors from Mark Levinson (the man, not the company).  The front grill cloth extends a few inches above the baffle (to protect the baffle-less ribbon tweeter), but it's otherwise just a nicely finished shoebox sized monitor with a very big, very dynamic sound.  These may be tough to track down and aren't the most neutral speaker ever made, but they produce really big sound for their size.
213runnin
914 posts
 
As soon as I saw this thread, I predicted a lot of brands being suggested, and there surely are!

I'll 2nd the Acend Sierra 2 though.  These are some serious big sounding speakers that can take 250 watts at higher volumes and make your jaw drop, I am not kidding.  The Raal ribbon tweeter has a higher level of accuracy than domes but is never harsh.  

It sounds like the OP is doing this old school, shopping from store to store, and expecting to pay retail.  The internet direct prices offer much better bang for buck if one is willing to try a 30 day trial.  

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