Bookshelf Bake Off


Fellow Audiogoners,

Lend me your ears.  I live on a farm in South Georgia and have a 3+ hour drive in any direction to audition anything.  The price I pay for land, peace and horses I suppose.  I am putting together a secondary system and can't audition everything I have interest in, so I am hoping you can help me shorten the short list to a manageable set of maybe three (two would be even better) auditions for bookshelf speakers. They will be driven by 2 x PS Audio M700 Monoblocks, Schiit Freya+ tube preamp and a Mytek Brooklyn DAC+.  The space is fairly small at approx. 10'x20'.  For a number of reasons, floorstanders are not a possibility, hence the call for bookshelf speakers.  I would like to keep the budget in the $2K range, +/- a reasonable %.  I am not someone that feels the need to max the budget, i.e. linear correlation of price and quality, so feel free to suggest high value brands/models less than the max budget.  I have a pair of Focal Aria 906 in another system and very much like their sound, but want something a bit warmer with similar (or better) resolution.  Deeper low frequency extension would be a plus.  The brands I have narrowed the field to are:

Revel
Legacy
KEF
Monitor Audio
Sonus Fabre
PSB

This list is not written in stone, just my initial list after research.  Feel free to suggest anything I have omitted that warrants consideration.  Thanks in advance for your ears.

Mark


128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xmarkcdaniel
I don’t listen to Heavy Rock or Hip-Hop so I can’t give you my opinion on that. All the other type of the music you listen to is what I like and the Harbeths are outstanding! I doubt that any small bookshelf speaker will satisfy you if you like Heavy Rock!
https://www.hifizine.com/2011/12/harbeth-p3esr/
Have alook at the ELAC AS-61 Adante. The Kef LS50W are also a very popular choice.
In that price range, of the ones you laid out I would look a the Monior Audio Golds as they will deliver a warm sound.  The others will be neutral to a little forward.  A couple years ago I auditioned every product in this price range that you have above and 6 or 8 others.  I opted for the Revel Performa3 M105s which are awesome speakers but are definitely a touch forward.  That being said, I prefer a slightly forward sound.  

The MA Golds are a hair warm and I think would be a really good match with your system to land just to the warm side of neutral.  There are certainly other products, but those would be an A+ Choice for what you describe.  

The ones I haven't heard and you might want to check out are the Monitor Audio Studio's. Reviews have been strong and they have the potential to be outstanding.     
Worth looking into for a surprising sound from a monitor sized speaker that digs deeper than I ever expected from something it's size.  Owned a few pair of Ushers along the way and always thought fondly of them.  I would not be hesitant to buy these again given their used price now.

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/usheraudio_be718.htm