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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
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,281 posts
 
Goliath killer ..... JMR offrande supreme v2

http://jm-reynaud.com/orfeo-supreme-v2.html?___store=en&___from_store=default

http://www.amherstaudio.com/?page_id=42

French high-end AUDIO Build and performance excellence personified and these are very efficient to boot at 91db......

BUT (again) .....

revealing and engaging speaker excellence capability is a double-edged sword. Shortcomings and compromises upstream (amp and source) will be exposed and magnified in lock-step.
mofojo
2,304 posts
 
Guru QM 2. This little box out of Sweden gets the music more right than almost anything I have heard. Everything sounds great on these. Lots of PRAT, vocals are superb, and bass is nothing short of amazing for the size or quite a bit bigger for that matter. I play lots of rock, acoustic, rock, bluegrass, and all fantastic. Hard metal is goodish. It's almost eerie how they project into the room. Put them against a wall or in the corners as they are designed for and enjoy. They are little gems. Have them setup in a second system in the upstairs living room placed in the corners with a 100wx2 tube amp and they are outstanding.  I have heard the LS50s in the same room. They have a more hifi presentation to my ears but not as natural and are tinny in comparison. They did absolutely no justice to any kind of rock imo.
therobert
51 posts
 
Not sure if you already pulled the trigger on new speakers, but I recently got a pair of Ascend Sierra 2's, and after a couple of weeks of listening, I am pretty much blown away.
Others I've had in the past few years:

Monitor Audio GR10
Epos Elan 15
Monitor Audio GX100
B&W 685 S2
Dynaudio X-12
Dynaudio Focus 160

I'm running them with a Rega Elex-R, and they sound really great - nice tight, tuneful bass, and a ridiculous amount of detail from the ribbon tweeter. And my favorite thing is that they sound fantastic at lower volumes, as I live in a condo. And I got the "B-stock" which is $300 cheaper, and I have no idea why because they are drop dead gorgeous, and I don't see any imperfections.
Hope this helps.
stephenjess
2 posts
 
Nola Boxers
avanti1960
1,482 posts
 
The ELAC UB5s will deliver what you are looking for.  Incredible bass capability in a neutral, detailed sound.  They will need power though- a good hefty 100WPC.  

@kalali-  I have heard the JA Pulsars and without hesitation they are the best speakers I have ever heard and worth every penny of their $7700 retail price.  Very good bass, excellent dynamics and an unparalleled clarity and transparency yet with sweetness and delicacy.  
Other more costly speakers have more scale and can fill larger rooms (not that the Pulsars bad in this aspect) but they simply do not sound as good.  
The Prisms (~ 3700 I believe) are not close to the sound of the Pulsars and can easily be beaten for the money- e.g. Harbeth C7ES3.  
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