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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
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.  
puiu
31 posts
 
ELAC Uni-fi ub5 3 way monitors -LS50 killers ! Phenomenal! $500 US retail a pair. For under $300, the firm's Debut B5

P
maggieman55's avatar
maggieman55
1 posts
 
My favorite bookshelf speakers are the AE (Acoustic Energy) AE1 MKII Reference made in the UK. Make sure you get the MKII as the difference is HUGE. I compared both side by side! These speakers play surprisingly loud when called upon to do so, and as you turn the volume up, the sound only gets better, no compression, just beautiful music, unconstrained and imaging is second to none. In a blind test you will mistake them for floor standers. The new version is $5000 per pair, so I suggest you track down on the used market. Best of luck! 

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