£500-£600 best bookshelf speakers.

[Intrepid99]

Hi everyone

i am willing to spend £500-£600 for the best bookshelf speakers. I only say bookshelf because I want them to be around that size. They've got to obviously sound amazing but also look good. Let me know what's about

 

[matthewpiano]

It would be helpful to know what the rest of your system is, and a bit about your listening space. Soft furnishings or lots of hard surfaces? Will the speakers be close to the rear wall and/or corners, or are you able to give them some space? Also, what music do you listen to?

 

[CnoEvil]

What amp are you using?

My preference would be Kef R100.

 

[Intrepid99]

The room is pretty small, but eventually I will move to a bigger room (6x10 meters). At the moment they will be in my room which has a double bed, so some cushioning, but most of the furniture in the room is hard. They will be placed on my desk around 3-4 inches away from the back wall. I listen to any music, apart from heavy metal, but mostly dance/pop music. The amp is a sony str1060.

 

[CnoEvil]

The room is pretty small, but eventually I will move to a bigger room (6x10 meters). At the moment they will be in my room which has a double bed, so some cushioning, but most of the furniture in the room is hard. They will be placed on my desk around 3-4 inches away from the back wall. I listen to any music, apart from heavy metal, but mostly dance/pop music. The amp is a sony str1060.

If in a small room, on a desk....Neat Iotas are available for under £600.

 

[rainsoothe]

The room is pretty small, but eventually I will move to a bigger room (6x10 meters). At the moment they will be in my room which has a double bed, so some cushioning, but most of the furniture in the room is hard. They will be placed on my desk around 3-4 inches away from the back wall. I listen to any music, apart from heavy metal, but mostly dance/pop music. The amp is a sony str1060.

If in a small room, on a desk....Neat Iotas are available for under £600.

Indeed. And change them to something bigger when you switch room. Or, alternatively, use a subwoofer when that happens. Alternatively, you could keep your eyes open for a pair of used Guru Juniors to pop on auction websites. They're also designed to work in close quarters, near walls or even wallmounted. Goodluck.

 

[Andrewjvt]

That that money id look at dynaudio dm2/7 or a 2nd hand pair of kef r300

 

[CnoEvil]

That that money id look at dynaudio dm2/7 or a 2nd hand pair of kef r300

The OP is in a small room, with the speakers on a desk....so very small, powerful speakers would probably be more suitable IMO.

In fact, 2 Kef Muo might do the job.

 

[Freddy58]

That that money id look at dynaudio dm2/7 or a 2nd hand pair of kef r300

The OP is in a small room, with the speakers on a desk....so very small, powerful speakers would probably be more suitable IMO.

In fact, 2 Kef Muo might do the job.

Yes, but he does also state that he intends to move to a bigger room in the future.

 

[CnoEvil]

That that money id look at dynaudio dm2/7 or a 2nd hand pair of kef r300

The OP is in a small room, with the speakers on a desk....so very small, powerful speakers would probably be more suitable IMO.

In fact, 2 Kef Muo might do the job.

Yes, but he does also state that he intends to move to a bigger room in the future.

Speakers that are suitable for a large room, are unlikely to work on a desk...therefore the OP either has to wait, or get something "desk compatible".

 

[Freddy58]

That that money id look at dynaudio dm2/7 or a 2nd hand pair of kef r300

The OP is in a small room, with the speakers on a desk....so very small, powerful speakers would probably be more suitable IMO.

In fact, 2 Kef Muo might do the job.

Yes, but he does also state that he intends to move to a bigger room in the future.

Speakers that are suitable for a large room, are unlikely to work on a desk...therefore the OP either has to wait, or get something "desk compatible".

I don't know. If it were me and I knew that I would be moving into a bigger room, I'd be looking at speakers for that room, and put up with less than ideal conditions in the smaller room.

 

[Intrepid99]

Thanks for the replies guys. So what would you be thinking then. I've been looking at the b&w 685 s2 and the kef r100. I really just want speakers that are going to sound amazing.

 

[iceman16]

Thanks for the replies guys. So what would you be thinking then. I've been looking at the b&w 685 s2 and the kef r100. I really just want speakers that are going to sound amazing.

I would suggest KEF R100 (sale @£479 in rosewood) and a pair of IsoAcoustic speaker stands.

 

[Freddy58]

Ok, I might have made a wrong assumption. I was assuming that you could also listen to the speakers in this bigger room. I don't think anyone can say that any speaker will sound "amazing", there are just too many variables, not least the room acoustics/positioning. Personally, I would wait for the move.

 

[CnoEvil]

Ok, I might have made a wrong assumption. I was assuming that you could also listen to the speakers in this bigger room. I don't think anyone can say that any speaker will sound "amazing", there are just too many variables, not least the room acoustics/positioning. Personally, I would wait for the move.

Thinking about this, if it was me, I would make do with 1 Kef Muo and save my pennies until I was in the other room.
The Muo would then make a very fine versatile, chargeable, portable, wireless Bluetooth solution for Hols etc. It sounds better than it has any right to, given its size.

 

[NS496]

Thanks for the replies guys. So what would you be thinking then. I've been looking at the b&w 685 s2 and the kef r100. I really just want speakers that are going to sound amazing.

both would be great choices I'm sure. It would really come down which one you personally prefer.

The B&W's still work great in a big room, if you have a decent amp driving them. I use 685's in a very big room where layout prevents me using floorstanders in my home cinema. They actually need space to work well. They still sound great with Yamaha driving them. The KEF probably similar, but have not listened to them personally. But they really should be fine too. I use a second set of 685's s2 in smaller 'study' and 30 wpc NAD works well, but not if I switch the NAD to bigger room (to experiment) where you really need a beefy amp for the B&W's, the limitations show with limited power.

Both these speakers have a great reputation, just remember to get a decent amp to drive any of them in a bigger room

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Quad 11l's or 12l's

Will work in the smaller room and give a fair account in larger rooms.

A few on eBay for under £200 - have a look.

 

[philandsue]

I've just been auditioning a few bookshelfs for use on stands in a smallish living room. Here's my findings for what they are worth.

1) Kef q300. Too boomy but nice detail.

2) Kef R100. Too boomy and not much detail

3) Kef q100. Great detail and enough base without boom. Definitely preferred over the 2 above and cheaper.

4) Kef ls50 don't know what all the fuss is about. Driven by a Rega Elicit R they sounded boring.

5) Now to the speakers I bought ..... Focal Auria 905. Detailed, bass without boom, warm and yet sharp.

For or a desktop set up I'd go for the Kef 100. For a stands set up I'd go for Focals.... All imho

 

[paulselwood]

I too have Focal 905 speakers, can't fault them. As you say Detailed, bass without boom, warm. But do not understand sharp. But I do think they are bit on the big size.

 

[matthewpiano]

B&W 685s on a desk would be a disaster. They need very good, solid stands and a bit of space around them. I would say the same about Dynaudios. I have DM2/6 (the smallest of the range) and they sound superb, but they need stands and space to give their best.

My choice for a small room with desktop placement would be Q Acoustics Concept 20 or Neat Iota. The Qs are about half the price and, their Gelcore cabinet construction should be a distinct advantage in terms of their interaction with the desk. The Neats are fabulous and provide a far bigger sound than their size suggests but without any fake sounding bloom. I'm not sure how Neat have done it so well.

 

[philandsue]

By 'sharp' I mean pin point accurate. The amount of detail they find is tremendous, they present it with precision and yet warmth.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_1653360097]

I have had many speakers over the years, and until you get them home and setup there is no sure way to know which ones will sound best, and the beauty of shopping only line is you get 14 days to try them in your room, the most recent have owened the following are Q2020i’s, KEF Q100, Tanny DC SE 6, Dali Zenors 3, BX5, and now GX100 Gold, and to be honest there is something to love about all of them despite the difference in price, they are not all day and night difference, but they are different, for the money i just cant fault the Q2020i's, great with spotify and easy to position, ideal for the bedroom and small rooms, and i actually use these with my PC, Arcam 300 av amp and does the job perfectly. KEF Q100 and Tannoy DC SE 6 sound very similar, if you like bass then the Kef's does this louder, but the Tannoys does it better, more control, good with vocals, and better dynamics, but the kef's seem to have more energy and excitement. Dali Zenors 3's does everything well, another speaker that is happy on a shelf, close to the wall, no toe in needed and good wide sound stage too without ever getting fatiguing, very hard to fault these speaker, my favourites for the money. GX100 Gold are different class and not fair to make comparison with the above, but what i will say is dispite the difference in price i dont find any of the other speakers any less enjoyable, its like i said, the all have there strengths and weaknesses. Other that I would add to my short list that I have not listened too would beKEF R100 and R300, Q acoustics concept 20’s, B&W 685 S2, spending more does not always get you better sound, so don’t be afraid to spend less, you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Boomer]

There is a set on eBay at the moment in very good condition. They are great speakers, I used to have a set and there just over half you budget.

They are bang for buck.