The most dynamic & transparent bookshelf

Zd542: Well, yes audio chain is pretty complicated to begin with, I'll stick with scientific objective way on choosing my gears, that's why I look for budget DAC like JDS Labs ODAC, transparent setup just very important in music listening and analysis (sometimes), everything come later, and I have absolutely enjoy my music collection ever with my current setup, sound quality, sound stage, musical tonal balance, well except dynamic and bass perfection just with a pair of bookshelf speakers, which remains to be craved by most audiophile, having said that we are clear that there is no perfect solution, but a reasonable near perfect solution based on given assumptions is drafted, and I'll start from there...

Speaking of amp, I believe all good amp (I mean all properly design) sound the same at small to medium volume, yes this should be true, unless you mess up with your "transparent" audio chain with some snake oil, or you need big concert sound, which is not realistic to me...

So what I want after all? I need a pair of powerful bookshelf speakers with great tonal balance and accuracy, my current Denton considered near perfect, indeed I can buy the same model, but then I would like to try some other speakers with innovative technology. Also I plan to move my Diamond 122 to bedroom for casual listening, and find another powerful speakers to be played in a medium size living room.

Acousticfrontiers: Thanks for you recommendation. However my budget is limited, with same price I think I can get better speakers, while ATC loudspeakers look a bit traditional to me though, also the frequency response raise some concerns to me, seems not low enough.

Buy a boombox and no more problems.

Wim1983. I agree the ATC look is more traditional. Take a look at the drive units though, and the engineering that goes into them. I'm personally not sure there is anything better around that price point. They solidly outperformed the new KEF Reference 1 standmount according to a client to came for a demo, though he purchased the new Dynaudio active speakers in the end.

The ATC low end frequency response statistics are very conservative, that's just how the company is, but in reality they have the 12dB/octave sealed box rolloff as opposed to the 24dB/octave ported box rolloff so bass actually goes down quite low. On the plus side you get the benefits of extremely accurate bass, as opposed to what you get out of some (not all) ported speakers.

"05-15-15: Wim1983
Zd542: Well, yes audio chain is pretty complicated to begin with, I'll stick with scientific objective way on choosing my gears, that's why I look for budget DAC like JDS Labs ODAC, transparent setup just very important in music listening and analysis (sometimes), everything come later, and I have absolutely enjoy my music collection ever with my current setup, sound quality, sound stage, musical tonal balance, well except dynamic and bass perfection just with a pair of bookshelf speakers, which remains to be craved by most audiophile, having said that we are clear that there is no perfect solution, but a reasonable near perfect solution based on given assumptions is drafted, and I'll start from there..."

We all need to do things our own way, so I respect your decision. But if you'll notice, the discussion always comes back to the same issue. It's the point at which the objective ends and the subjective begins. Unfortunately, the qualities you are asking about won't reveal themselves in measurements. You simply can't measure things like timbre, dynamic contrast, imaging, etc..

I wish I could give you some info that will help, but I just don't know how to build a system any other way.