My journey to search for standmount bookshelf speakers...


Over the years, I’ve auditioned several speakers:

System Audio SA706 - Sound really good with classical music with state of the art recording, otherwise I would not consider it as forgiving kind of sound on some less than perfect recording, the high can become pretty hot sizzling, no sibilance though, just a bit bright if listen for a long time, but I have no complain on bass except drum kicks music

Chario Syntar 516R - Sound crisp and clear, thus not so forgiving on some recordings sensitive to treble, though no sibilance found, bass not as clean as others I’ve listened

PSB Alpha B1 - Small little speakers that sound great, a bit glaring on the tweeters over long listening sessions, bass limited due to small woofer size

Q Acoustics 2020i - The best smooth treble I’ve ever heard, I found nothing to complain on the mid & high, rich but not overly lust, bass though again due to limited woofer size not dynamic and fast enough

Elac B6 - Oh, sound pretty balanced, neat and vivid, overall presentation is clean and clear, bass is varied based on recording, I would say it sound a bit light on some, some just right, treble compare to Q Acoustics a little bit less smooth, most probably a better amp will do better, but I’m not sure how much you have to spend again

Dynaudio Focus 110 - I actually feel in awe when listening to this speakers with first track Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird - Finale (from album Tutti!), a small speakers that sound so big dynamic powerful, surprisingly the Focus series is pretty forgiving on some old recordings, very listenable, the only weakness I would say is the woofer a bit stiff for drum music, and frequency cutoff by the crossover design, instead of rolled off I’ve experienced from other speakers I’ve auditioned, I’ve to say the high really special on this

Currently, I own Wharfedale Denton classic speakers, very forgiving speakers, a bit of mid bass bump kind of speakers, high is not as clean as Dynaudio Focus 110 but still sound smooth without hot sizzling effect, the bass is considered not powerful and dynamic enough

Guys, what else I can look for at this price range?

128x128wim1983
@jayctoy  That's what I heard from someone too, it seem the LS50 need a proper amp to sing, but I still think that driver unit will somehow limited in bass presentation
@wim1983 there are many awesome low costs DACs available now.  You might check out these:

Meridian Explorer 2
iFi micro iDAC2
Audioquest Draginfly Red
*Chord Portable Mojo DAC (this one is more expensive than others but sounds terrific)

A lot of great suggestions...Try and find a used pair of TYLER ACOUSTICS, they use SEAS Millineum tweeters and SEAS Excell mid/bass drivers. The drivers are used in speakers in the $8000-50,000 range by many of the high-end speaker manufacturers. I bought my Tyler Linbrook Signature Monitors for $1400pr. Mind boggling performance for the money. Google them...loads of rave reviews.
@gregfmc Unfortunately, Tyler Acoustics speakers is not seen anywhere, even my neighbor country Singapore, hmm quite a low profile brand here at Malaysia?
For a budget of 2K, i strongly doubt that you will find anything better than the XTZ Master M2. This swedish designed speaker has just about all the qualities to a level really unheard of for a bookshelf at this price, including esthaetics as a bonus. I have a pair and have compared it to many others at over 5 times the price, it was never to be equaled !!! I have been recommending those speakers for some time now, and none of my friends who got one too have regretted a single moment, but have thanked me for finding this incredible little audio gear. It really is one of those rare jewels in the audio world. The other incredible thing about that speaker, is that it sounds good with many amps, tube and SS. Go read about it, buy a pair and thank me later. I know this sounds much too good to be true, and can seem doubtful, someone with so much positiveness about an audio product, but I dont know how else i could tell you about it. I really really do not have a single instant of hesitation about these and will most probably keep the ones i have for a lifetime. One word of caution: it needs a good deal of break-in before sounding great.