Quality Bookshelf Speakers for smaller room

[Al ears]

Help needed to shortlist quality (up to £1200) bookshelf / monitor speakers for a Primare based system.

A friend of mine has asked for my help in selecting a good pair of bookshelf speakers for his Primare based system as he is off to University and will need to use this in a smallish room.

Most monitor / small speakers I know of are rear-ported making them basically unusable close to a rear wall. Do you know any different?

Suggestions required to shortlist for an audition with his amp bearing in mind they will have to be actually on a bookshelf or standmounted very close to a rear wall, or possibly on brackets I guess.

I would appreciate help from you knowlegeable chaps.

 

[Anonymous]

ATC speakers are sealled boxes, as well as the spendor SA1. All cracking speakers, and would probably suit your kit very well.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Alears:

Help needed to shortlist quality (up to £1200) bookshelf / monitor speakers for a Primare based system.

A friend of mine has asked for my help in selecting a good pair of bookshelf speakers for his Primare based system as he is off to University and will need to use this in a smallish room.

Most monitor / small speakers I know of are rear-ported making them basically unusable close to a rear wall. Do you know any different?

Suggestions required to shortlist for an audition with his amp bearing in mind they will have to be actually on a bookshelf or standmounted very close to a rear wall, or possibly on brackets I guess.

I would appreciate help from you knowlegeable chaps.

Hi alears

I will suggest your friend considers ATC's SCM11 monitors or possibily even the SCM7's (depending on how small the room is). They are a close box design and importantly are flat and honest in their presentation which will also help with room positioning (without the bass in particular getting itself into a twist).

The ATC monitors are a great match with Primare electronics and their clear, precise, natural, uncoloured and powerful presenation will enable the electronics to breathe. The SCM11's performance potential will also accomodate many future upgrades that your friend may wish to make.

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[John Duncan]

SA1 would be my first thought at that price yes (good value s/h on the 'Bay just now as well, I hear). Note that I tried them with a Primare A20 expecting to buy them on the spot and wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be, so YMMV.

Can't comment on ATCs, other than the enormous ones downstairs, which would be somewhat unsuitable.

 

[plastic penguin]

As ATC are flavour of the month (or year) I'm going against the grain. One of my favourite sub-£1,000 small monitors - and should sound good with Primare - is the Ruark Sabre III. Heard them alongside ATC's, and with the right amplification and source they are a match for anything around that price. Because they are fairly long in the tooth, you may be able to pick-up a decent discount off the RRP.

 

[John Duncan]

On another note: 1200 quid on a pair of speakers to take to university?

Sheesh.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

plastic penguin:As ATC are flavour of the month (or year) I'm going against the grain. One of my favourite sub-£1,000 small monitors - and should sound good with Primare - is the Ruark Sabre III. Heard them alongside ATC's, and with the right amplification and source they are a match for anything around that price. Because they are fairly long in the tooth, you may be able to pick-up a decent discount off the RRP.

Hi plastic penguin

The ATC SCM11 monitors have been the flavour for the last four years!

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[plastic penguin]

MUSICRAFT:

plastic penguin:As ATC are flavour of the month (or year) I'm going against the grain. One of my favourite sub-£1,000 small monitors - and should sound good with Primare - is the Ruark Sabre III. Heard them alongside ATC's, and with the right amplification and source they are a match for anything around that price. Because they are fairly long in the tooth, you may be able to pick-up a decent discount off the RRP.

Hi plastic penguin

The ATC SCM11 monitors have been the flavour for the last four years!

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

It was a reference towards all the threads recently (last 3 or 4 months). Every man (or woman) and his/her dog seem to want to know about ATC's. Yes.....to anticipate your next question, I also think they are fabulous sounding and justify the hype. Nevertheless there are other great brands that (generalising) tend to get overshadowed by ATC. Ruark is one of those....

 

[MattSPL]

PMC can pretty much hold their own against the competition in most price brackets. I think they have some great speakers but i just changed to ATC with the scm19's, and they are a different league to PMC in the price range mentioned in my opinion.

 

[the record spot]

Doubt he needs to spend so much; check out - if you can find them - the Quadral Pico or more readily, the AVI Neutron III, IV or V variants.

 

[Anonymous]

Spendor SA1 without hesitation. Infinite baffle, very unfussy about placement, natural sounding and neutral but not to the level of sounding clinical and studio-like. These are very good speakers indeed and break the Spendor mould of pipe and slippers sound with a more defined bass and detailed presentation compared to earlier S3/5 types.

The Harbeth P3ESR is cut from the same mould but might cost a bit more.

 

[plastic penguin]

MattSPL:PMC can pretty much hold their own against the competition in most price brackets. I think they have some great speakers but i just changed to ATC with the scm19's, and they are a different league to PMC in the price range mentioned in my opinion.

PMC DB1s I love. Not much good close to a wall; being at Uni I would think he would need a speaker that works well "up close and personal", and that's why I wouldn't recommend ATC in this situation.

 

[Anonymous]

Good point Mr Spot, a pair of AVI Neutrons would be a nice match for entry level Primare kit, saving cash for beer and clothes, oh, and books...

...Spendor SA1 for the better kit though

 

[Frank Harvey]

Try the KEF XQ10 or XQ20. These are front ported, so less problems with room boundaries, and also the UniQ design makes them a good speaker to listen to up close - bass, midrange and treble all come from one source point, which is less distracting up close and helps imaging.

 

[Al ears]

To JohnDuncan,

Perhaps I should have pointed out that he would also hope that these speakers could be used after his stint in University in somewhat larger rooms, rather than purely coughing up for a cheap and nasty pair just to survive the next three years.

There seems to be an agreement that all ported speakers would either be a no no or at least a compromise and that a sealed box design is the way to go, particularly if these are later intended to be utilised in a larger room in free space.

Many thanks for all suggestion / comments so far.

 

[batonwielder]

Harbeth P3ESR. A must listen.

 

[Al ears]

Batonwielder,

Regard your Harbeth suggestion I would quote from their own website .... 'Designed for 'free-field' use, the optimal bass-mid-top balance is achieved when the speakers are away from walls and on suitable stands at about tweeter-ear height. As with all Harbeths, the expensively engineered SuperGrilleT gives the loudspeaker an uninterrupted view into the room and is designed to remain fitted during listening.'

I rest my case mylud!!

 

[Craig M.]

primare and atc review

as already said, worth checking out sa1 as well.

 

[Anonymous]

I would also 2nd the Harbeth P3ESRs- this is one of the musical speakers i have heard in a long time. The dealer was very ecstatic about them.

I would be curious to compare this with the upcoming atc scm19s.

 

[chebby]

Please can you all stop talking about Harbeth P3ESRs?

I so want a pair it hurts.

 

[Craig M.]

and they're not suitable for the op's needs, if the manufacturer is correct.

 

[RCduck7]

Hyperion HWS 585 or 586, a big step up from my Wharfedale's. I don't feel to upgrade my speakers anymore.

 

[Anonymous]

Perhaps worth a listen are the Guru QM10's. They are designed to be close to a rear wall and with their little flexible feet will sit on a bookshelf (if it's fairly deep and well built).

I don't have a pair but have heard them a couple of times and am always impressed by their dynamic range & controlled bass.

I'm seriously considering them for my "listening room" system that I'm currently auditioning - this is for a very small (according to the definition on another thread Definition of room size from a Hi-Fi perspective ) where positioning close to a wall is a must.

 

[JoelSim]

Go for a second hand pair of ProAc Tablette Reference 8 Signatures, they will be perfect. Then he can buy some new ones after Uni/when he gets a bigger place.

The AVI Neutrons are very good speakers too, especially for the money they cost.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the Uniti , the Guru QM10s and a pair of Grado RS2s.. . . a perfect combination for every type of music!