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Book Shelf Speaker advice - Formerly Book Shelf Dilemma

Hello all. I posted this earlier under the title Book Shelf Dilemma. Thank you to the many who replied with excellent advice and suggestions. Some responders asked about the room dimensions and as I investigated the suggested speakers I concluded that the room dimensions and furniture set up may be important to consider. So, I am reposting with a schematic of the room which shows the Bay Windows and furniture as well as a note that the insulation between my apartment and the unit below is marginal. I make this point with the understanding that a Sub Woofer may be good to include.

Note: I want to position the speakers along the Bay Window facing back into the apartment and dining/kitchen area. Most of my listening is done from this area.

Budget - $1000.00 (with stands would be a bonus)

Amplifier - McCormack DNA 0.5
Pre - McCormack ALD-1
Source - Cambridge 851N - Spotify Premium
Music preferences - fairly eclectic
Jazz (Bony James, Lee Ritenour, Paul Harris, Bob James)
Female Vocals (Eva Cassidy, Duffy, Sarah Jarosz, Nadine Anderson)
1980’s Rock (Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, Dave Mason)

Thank you all for your suggestions and advice1

Ray

128x128raydecraene
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blisshifi
1,182 posts
 

@grislybutter Thank you for the compliment. FWIW the Elac was used in my home office, not the one shown in my virtual system.

grinnell
1,095 posts
 

Used Ref 3A de Capos are a pretty nice monitor with good sound

 

used black piano finish can be found under 1K

lanx0003
817 posts
 

I was going thru similar avenue seeking for speakers for my 1st and 2nd systems. I must agree with @kenjit that there are too many choices and you need to do your homework yourself first. Read reviews and shorten your list down to 3-5 speakers. Home auditioning is the key. I do not intend to abuse the favorable return policy but rather take a due advantage of it. Fortunately, I quickly settle with Wharfdale Lintons for my first system after auditioning two other floorstanders within my short list. I still enjoy the Linton each time I listen the music with them.

For my 2nd system in the bedroom, it is a much longer ongoing process primarily because of the restricted bass extension of the bookshelf or standmount speakers I was looking for. I was able to identify several that has good to excellent treble/midrange tonal balances, image and soundstage performances and brought them home for auditioning, including the most recent Wharfedale Evo 4.2. However, the lack of low end weight and agility just left a room to be desired. Right now, I was using with the vintage NHT SB3 bookshelf which gives me the low end satisfaction but I want more 3D soundstage performance with the room partially treated. Right now I raise my budget to $2k and, with the extended budget, more speakers with low end extended to 30-40 hz become available:

Canton Reference R9, Philharmonic BMR monitor, PMC Twenty 22 and Buchardt P300

grislybutter
2,988 posts
 

@lanx0003 

on the contrary, I think there are many ways to narrow the choices for the OP  

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