Looking for value in bookshelf speakers

[Leonard Caillouet]

Wow, there are so many great small speakers out there these days. Since we move the living area around I am now looking for a new reference point for superb sound at a good value in a bookshelf speaker, center channel combination. My criteria is, as I have always preferred, very low distortion, good balance, the ability to articulate mid and upper mid range areas exceptionally, and reasonably small size. I have subs so I don't need extended bass response. The speakers will be placed in an entertainment center on shelves so they need to have good balance in that kind of location. They will never be out into the room on stands, won't be a reference two channel imaging and sound stage producing super system, and will be used for casual listening and video.

I hope to put together a speaker evaluation event where we can compare and review a group of 6-8 good candidates. So start making suggestions. This will be about speakers that fit my needs, not finding the best speaker for a full range application.

Suggestions?

 

[Tony V.]

Well, I am very intrigued by the new Monoprice air motion speakers
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=16221
The look really nice and at $199 that's hard to beat.

My brother just picked up the pioneer Andrew jones towers a few weeks ago and I am very impressed by their sound. If the bookshelves sound anything like the towers they would be a contender as well.

 

[Mark C Flick]

Unfortunately you just missed the last of the RBH MC-4C, they are now discontinued. They are very accurate and a good value but not exactly cheap. They are a sealed speaker and sounds like they would fit your needs,use high quality components have beautiful fit and finish. I would say very well worth looking for some well cared for used ones. Sometimes I think I like my little MC-4C's better than my 1266'SE's.

 

[Leonard Caillouet]

I hope to get some suggestions and put together a session like we did at Sonnie's in the past. For now, I had a pair of kit LS-Encores from Danny Ritchie that I built out a couple of years ago and I just bought the matching center channel parts from him. I'll use that to get by. I have one of those from the kit pair as a center channel to my ARX5s, but eventually want bookshelf speakers for the video system.

 

[Mark C Flick]

I really haven't been looking forward to hearing much lately though it may be interesting to see what, if any, the next iteration of Dennis Murphy's Affordable Accuracy speakers may bring to the table.

 

[Tonto]

Hey Leonard. Chane would be a great choice. I have a pair of A1rx-c's that only been played once to make sure they were OK. You are welcome to use them, They are for my HT which will be finished soon. Jon, https://www.chanemusiccinema.com/ has some A1.4's left which are a good choice as well (& on sale now, $279/pair). And he is also almost finished with his new L7 line. Not sure about the surrounds yet, but you know those will be on my short list. With his A6 center...should blow you away!

So what do you other guys like?

 

[Todd Anderson]

I reviewed the Monoprice Air Motions over on HTS... they are spectacular speakers! Well built, super smooth high end, nice cabinet appeal.

A+ effort by Monoprice.

 

[Leonard Caillouet]

Yes, definitely. Jon is on my list of people to contact on this.

 

[JBrax]

I've heard the SVS Prime bookshelves and was impressed by them. I'm pretty limitited as far as bookshelf exposure but there's a ton of quality choices. I would personally also be intrigued by those Monoprice speakers Todd reviewed.

 

[Todd Anderson]

If you're not opposed to a sound that leans to the brighter side, Polk Audio's RTiA3 is an incredibly affordable option. I've run RTiAs for years and think they deliver huge bang for the buck.

 

[Sonnie]

We have the Infinity Primus 163's in our great room for general TV watching... have not taken the time to set them up in the theater room, but they have been very popular among accuracy seeking speaker enthusiast over the years. It looks like they have been discontinued in favor of the newer Reference series... R162

I have the Primus and a older pair of B&W DM610's we can listen to during the eval.

 

[tesseract]

Speakers I have personal experience with and can recommend would be Chane (the A2 is large, but full-bodied) and SVS Prime Satellite or Bookshelf.

 

[Sonnie]

Those would certainly be excellent options.

 

[AudiocRaver]

The bookshelf (2-way anyway) that sounds like liquid gold:

Vapor Audio Cirrus B;ack.
$5,000 / pair

 

[ShpongleDMT]

I know I'm waaaaay late to this thread but you can get some killer deals on factory refurbished Definitive Technology speakers (like 50% off) on their Ebay outlet store ran by Bajawaverunner. I've bought 3 speakers from them (2 StudioMonitor 65s and 1 CS‑8060HD) both came in flawless condition and have been working great for several years now.

http://stores.ebay.com/baja-waverunner

 

[Bean]

Not bad at all, Shpongle... was looking at those on Amazon just a little while ago.

 

[ShpongleDMT]

Not bad at all, Shpongle... was looking at those on Amazon just a little while ago.

They are incredible speakers. They will also go surprisingly low thanks to the passive bass radiator on top.