Musical, Warm and Smooth bookshelfs under 500

Celestion - circa early to mid 1990's. Model 3 or Model 5, or the DL8. You should be able to find all of the above on the used market for well under $300 a pair. Smooth, mellow, and laser-focused imaging, without being too laid-back or soft.

I used to sell them at an authorized Celetion dealer. The Model 3 in particular is an amazing little speaker for the price. We once put them head-to-head with Celetion's top SL700 speakers at $3,200 a pair, and the Model 3 put up a heck of a fight! I own a pair myself. Few bookshlef/monitor speakers reproduce the human voice as well as these, and since it sounds like TV watching will be common for you, these are right up your alley. Also, they LOVE jazz, classical, pop, and especially female vocal and accoustic guitar. My Model 3's sometimes sound better than my primary Infinity IRS Deltas for some of my more accoustic music - and they're more than 15 times the price!

If you realy want to get serious bang for your buck, check out the Celestion SL6 - they're based on the top SL700 but one third the cost (retail in 1990s). The SL6 often come up on Ebay or Audiogon for $300 to $500 a pair. WOW what sound from such a small speaker.

Ah, now you have me all misty-eyed... Sniff. Good times.

Leonard Cohen, via Jennifer Warnes: "It's four in the morning, the end of December. I'm writing you now just to see if you're better..."

@ Phasecorrect - Hmm resolution or warmth - guess I can't have everything at the price yeah =( Will look into the Sonus Fabers and PSBs you mentioned. However I'm based in Singapore so shipping used equipment from the US renders cost savings moot. Some used gear is available here, though I've yet to see these two speakers come up. Brand new their prices are kinda out of my reach =(

@ Hifihvn - Yeah I've read that metal dome tweeters tend to be quite bright. However, a lot of speaker manufacturers seem to be using them. I've been told that soft dome tweeters are silky sounding so yes I'm definitely keeping an eye out on speakers with them.

@ Kotta - I've hear a similar 3/5a speaker setup some time ago, believe it was a Rogers or something. Definitely liked the BBC mini monitor sound. However they're quite pricey brand new at least. I've seen some pre-owned models here in Singapore, but their condition was sub-par so I didn't pull the trigger. Also heard that these speakers require lots of power like you mentioned, so I'm not sure if I would be able to afford the juice required to let them perform.

@Johnnyb53 - Thanks for the PSB recc. Been reading their site, and I like the sense of honesty and frankness. They seem like a more down to earth brand than most other manufacturers. These Canadian speaker brands (like Paradigm et al) seem to deliver good bang for the buck. I'm quite keen on the PSB range, however most of them feature metal dome tweeters. Have to listen to them to judge.

@ Jax2 - right now I only have my source. A Macbook air with an external drive filled with lossless and 320 files.
That's my worry with studio monitors in general - that honesty in reproducing exactly what's on the source material might make listening unpleasant at times. I've got some RVG mastered records from the 50's and 60's that are very hot and bright and makes listening very painful on some headphones - like Grados for e.g.
On the subject of Silverline minuets, many people seem to recommend them for a small room setup. Will have to look into them. Their right over the budget but if their worth it, might just spring for them. Since their efficient I could save on a lower power amp possibly.

@ Lrsky - Thanks for the Silverline recc bud. Are they leaps and bounds better than the other speakers listed here? I seem to have trouble finding a dealer here in Singapore.

@ J Stereo and 4musica44107 - Those Rega RS1s look nice, but pricey too? Are they on another level compared to the likes of PSBs and Paradigms? Rega electronics seem to be reasonably priced too, making pairing an easy job.

@ Tgrisham - I've been looking around here in Singapore, can't seem to find them used yet =( Sigh it sucks to live in this part of the world sometimes.

@Oldskoolbird - Those are really cool - a ribbon tweeter at that price is rare no? The review on stereophile is encouraging too. Alas, need to find them here. Not sure if any dealers carry this brand.

@Timrhu - Ah a Polk! Never really held the brand in high regard, not sure why tho haha. Will look/em up.

@ Mhwalker - Thanks for the reply sir! Those Celestions sound wonderful! I've spotted a pair of Celestion 3000s here in Singapore. Preowned and going at about 500US. Are there any comparable to the models you've mentioned?

My office speakers - old Sonus Faber Minuettos - are probably about as good a match to your requirements as I know of. They rarely turn up used, but when thye do, they should be in your ballpark pricerange.

good luck.

Marty

This link provided by someone above is a problem with some of these tweeters problems (PSB this case) when not done right. A lot of people don't notice it, but others do, and the measurements show it's there. A young couple posted here about Paradigm speakers they bought and couldn't listen to, and were seeking answers to try and rectify their problem. They bought theirs on reviews and hoped they would work. It may be ultrasonic noise, but definitely cause irritations to a lot that are sensitive to it, like the couple I mentioned. I don't know why they make speakers that do what these do. PSB problem in the first, Paradigm problem in the second link. They also talk about congested midrange in the PSB. [http://www.stereophile.com/content/psb-image-b6-loudspeaker-measurements] [http://www.stereophile.com/content/paradigm-reference-studio-60-v5-loudspeaker-measurements]

@ Marty - Ah alas, if it's hard to find these used stateside then it might be near impossible getting them here - unless fate intervenes. There's some great gear available here, but their on the pricey side of things.

@ Hifihvn - That's a worrying issue! I am very sensitive to shrill and bright high frequency sounds. And well if its ultrasonic then maybe I can't hear it haha. Will have to investigate this. Given my 'allergy' to shrill highs some have advocated speakers with non-metal tweeters. But some say it isn't an issue. Will have to audition to decide. I guess it varies speaker to speaker and listener to listener.