Of your list...the most overly warm would be the paradigms or pioneer but at a cost of resolution...to be fair...these are also the least costly as well...for your criteria...slightly older sonus faber concertinos would be ideal for jazz...they might be just out of reach...well worth the wait...psb stratus minis as well
Musical, Warm and Smooth bookshelfs under 500
I've been searching for the perfect pair of budget bookshelfs (as close to perfect as one could get in this hobby) for my living room (11 by 11 ft extending to an open dining space to 1 side).
I've posted another thread here and have received some wonderful suggestions, but to narrow the options down (for an audition shortlist) I've decided to look at speakers based on my sonic preferences and needs.
Priority - in terms of performance - is for 2 channel audio. These would be mated to my LCD Tv and we would be watching movies and cable with these speakers as well - but in terms of performance audio comes first HT second.
I listen predominantly to Jazz but occasionally to contemporary genres as well. In terms of sound signature, I prefer something that's a little warmer, musical and smooth. Clarity is important, but not to the point of being bright. I'm relatively sensitive to high frequencies (at least with headphones - some of which are piercingly bright and painful) and appreciate a richer, well-grounded sound.
Please do nominate what you think would be the best set of speakers for these requirements.
I've had recommendations for the following:
- Audioengine A5
- Cambridge Audio S30
- Monitor Audio BX1 or BX2
- Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 or 10.2
- NHT SuperZero
- Pioneer SP BS41 LR (Andrew Jones)
- PSB Alpha B1
- Paradigm Atoms, or Titans
- Studio Monitors such as Adam Audio A3x/A5x Dynaudio BM5/6a etc
Please do chime in with ideal amp pairings as well, if you could =)
Many thanks guys!
I've posted another thread here and have received some wonderful suggestions, but to narrow the options down (for an audition shortlist) I've decided to look at speakers based on my sonic preferences and needs.
Priority - in terms of performance - is for 2 channel audio. These would be mated to my LCD Tv and we would be watching movies and cable with these speakers as well - but in terms of performance audio comes first HT second.
I listen predominantly to Jazz but occasionally to contemporary genres as well. In terms of sound signature, I prefer something that's a little warmer, musical and smooth. Clarity is important, but not to the point of being bright. I'm relatively sensitive to high frequencies (at least with headphones - some of which are piercingly bright and painful) and appreciate a richer, well-grounded sound.
Please do nominate what you think would be the best set of speakers for these requirements.
I've had recommendations for the following:
- Audioengine A5
- Cambridge Audio S30
- Monitor Audio BX1 or BX2
- Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 or 10.2
- NHT SuperZero
- Pioneer SP BS41 LR (Andrew Jones)
- PSB Alpha B1
- Paradigm Atoms, or Titans
- Studio Monitors such as Adam Audio A3x/A5x Dynaudio BM5/6a etc
Please do chime in with ideal amp pairings as well, if you could =)
Many thanks guys!
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- 25 posts total
If your sensitive to bright sounding equipment/speakers, stay away from the metal dome tweeters. I find them to usually be a problem myself, and rarely find one that I can listen to. And usually, the under $3000-$4000 ones will be worse. Paradigm, Wharfedale, and Psb, in the past (present?), has had some of the most offensive metal tweeters to a lot of people. |
Spendor S3/5's are very nice spks. Warm sounding (Soft dome tweeter, VIFA I believe), Not very efficient. 84db. Limited bass. Tannoy spks. are very good as well. I own two prs.(MX-1M's and Fusion 1's) and both sound excellent. If you don't mind a larger bookshelf spk. look @ Snell J II's. Vifa drivers. (Dahlquist M-905's as well.) Shortly I'm expecting a pr. of older Mission bookshelf spks. which were very highly recommended to me. We'll see....Good Luck! |
At your budget you don't need to settle for the PSB Alpha; you could afford the Image B5 or Image B6. Don't let the titanium tweeters scare you. I've been listening to titanium dome tweeters in my Mirage speakers for 15 years and they are sweet, linear, and smooth. PSBs are also well-known for having a transparent, honest midrange and extraordinary linearity. Comprehensive B6 review here. |
On your list there are powered speakers and passive speakers. What is the rest of your system? Beyond that obvious question, a thumbs-up for Adam Audio - I would not call them warm though. Most studio monitors will tend towards neutral before warmth. The Adams are very engaging with all types of material. If you have the room and budget the A7X are amazing, but even the A3X will fill your small living room capably. They are better than AudioEngine by direct comparison - just overall a more refined and revealing speaker. They do also have some facility to put the volume control in one of the two speakers via some additional cable. I have not tried that so could not comment on the results, but it is certainly more convenient than the typical studio monitor where you would need to adjust volume separately on each speaker (something you might want to consider in weighing their use in your living room). As you move up the Adam line you will get lower and more controlled bass. You might also add Silverline Minuets, and, if you can find them in your price range (they do come up for just a bit more), Proac Tablettes. The Silverline is a bit more sensitive and would not need as much power as the Proacs would. |
- 25 posts total