Can recommend some non-fatigue SMALL bookshelf for near-field listening?


Hi guys,

I have been searching for a pair of small passive speakers for near-field listening for a long long time. Ideally, something with <27 cm depth would be a great fit. A relaxed/non-fatigue/good bass sound would be preferred. 

I tried these.

B&W 607s2 -- currently using -- can be aggressive/bright quite often

Dynaudio Evoke 10 --- pronounced at 2-5 kHz, sounds thin to me.

LS 50 meta ---- bass a bit tide... need some volume to sound good.

 

Can you guys recommend some other speakers that can do the job? What about Mission QX1 MkII or Wharfedale Denton 80? My amp is Nad c275bee with a Schiit freya+ preamp.  Thanks a lot guys!

 

 

 

 

tension255

How about the bass. I saw the P3ESR reaches 75 Hz which is a bit higher than the 50Hz from most of the other speakers at this size?

I would recommend a subwoofer.

If a subwoofer is not an option, consider some pre-owned Canton Reference 9.2 DC speakers.  They do bass well for speakers of that size and are pretty neutral.  There's a pair listed on USAM now.  No affiliation on my part.

Thanks all, I just checked a bit re the recommendations. Adding a subwoofer is not an option at this moment. Specifically, a pair that can go down towards sub 50 Hz would be ideal. The 6-inch ones are just too big (typically >30 cm depth). 

BTW: my source is PC --> t+a dac, indeed I am using DSP rolling off from  1k - 20k ( -3db -- - 5db). 607s do not sound fatigue that much, but  I have no clue at what cost. .....  

On the lower end of the cost spectrum you might check out a used pair of Monitor Audio Bronze 2 speakers, Generation 5.  They just barely fit your depth requirement, have a 6.5 inch woofer and are front ported so you can place against a wall, although in my room they sound better 6 inches off the back wall. I have them placed on 8" stands on my desk. The Bronze 2 specs claim a frequency response of 42Hz - 30KHz. 

I find these easy to listen to for hours at reasonable volume.

These replaced a set of KEF 100's that were way too bright in a nearfield situation.