Looking for Bookshelf Monitor speakers

rromeo923

A few have caught my eye. Unfortunately only two have caught my ear. I am looking in the $750-$1000 range. Used is fine.

LSIM 703's- How did I miss the sale??
Golden Ear Aon3 - I heard these and was impressed.
Kef LS50- Havent heard but great reviews
LSA 1 Reference Monitors- Great reviews and good pricing on Audiogon

I have a small listening area. 12x10 space
Going to drive them with Conrad Johnson MF2200amp and PV2 pre
Vinyl on Micro Seiki DD40
Flac thru Squeezebox touch

Anyone heard any of these? Any other suggestions?

Nightfall

A buddy of mine has a pair of KRK's, I believe self powered, he'd probably sell.

coolsax

I have ascend acoustics Sierra-1 and would recommend them in that price range.

cnh

What are we talking about here, a PAIR or price for a single speaker? Because some of the speakers above are 1500+ a pair?

If we're talking cheaper. Why not the KEF Q300s, you can get a pair from accessories4less.com for $499.99. Probably the cheapest way to go?

Focals are nice, but the Profile 908 series was so much better than the lower models, and I believe that's been discontinued?

cnh

nhhiep

I've an average room like yours and my speakers are just around 5' to my ears with my computer desk in the middle. during the firesale a few weeks ago, i bought the lsim703s with the intention to replace the lsi9s that i've been using for about a yr. With the identical configuration, i've found 703s harder to listen to; a little bright, but not as bad as my rti speakers. I ended up going back to the lsi9s.

in my living room, where the 707s are not as close to my ears, it's heaven.

cnh

Rick88 wrote: »

I was going to mention the Profile Series, but they are over his budget (providing he meant for a pair, and not each speaker):

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-83551-focal-profile-908-diamond-black-pr.aspx

Wow! They still sell those? I thought Focal discontinued that line? Guess I'm not keeping up with things.

LSiMs too bright? First time I've heard anyone say that?

cnh

rromeo923

A little bit more info. Hoping to stay under $1k
Looking for great detail but not bright. 3D- Holographic imaging etc. Hoping not to need a sub in my small room. I have no problem buying used so if can be found.

Nightfall

Wait, are you talking about studio monitors or just bookshelf speakers? If the latter, I was confused and ignore my post about the KRK's.

nhhiep

rromeo923 wrote: »

A little bit more info. Hoping to stay under $1k
Looking for great detail but not bright. 3D- Holographic imaging etc. Hoping not to need a sub in my small room. I have no problem buying used so if can be found.

it looks like your situation/needs is exactly like mine. have you had a chance to listen to the Lsi9s? they're cheap now, last week I saw a buy it now price for 350 on ebay. lsi9s do have the 3D soundstage and you won't believe the bass you get for the size. I am running them w/o a sub.

RamZet

Th Focals listed above are a good buy, under 800 for a pair! Focal has a good sound.

For a smaller speaker I would look at the B&W CM1. You can demo a pair at best buy now.
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speakers/Home_Audio/CM_Series/CM1.html
about $999.99 new at best buy, come in a few finishes.

rromeo923

nhiep- I had a pair of Lsi7's and was underwhelmed so not sure if the 9's would be any help.
Ramzet- I did hear the B&W CM1's and thought the GoldenEars were better.
Coolsax- The Ascends are intriguing. Used on Audiogon for $550, hmmm.

nhhiep

how about VA Haydn Grand? I heard a set at BB and really impressed, but couldn't find anywhere sell for less than a grand new.

http://www.vienna-acoustics.com/products/haydn/haydn.php

If you didn't like the Lsi7, might as well get another brand and move away from Polk. some said that the Lsi7 is even better than lsi9, except bass.
I doubt the 703 will impress you. it still has that Polk sound signature

polkfarmboy

I have the kef's 50's that were not that great but found that the previous owner never even broke them in, still there is only so much displacement from a 5 inch woofer

cnh

rromeo923 wrote: »

nhiep- I had a pair of Lsi7's and was underwhelmed so not sure if the 9's would be any help.
Ramzet- I did hear the B&W CM1's and thought the GoldenEars were better.
Coolsax- The Ascends are intriguing. Used on Audiogon for $550, hmmm.

Sounds like you like it "bright"! KEFs it is. Have you heard the Q300s, pretty surprising for such a low priced speaker. But you're probably best off with some B&Ws, personally, I can't stand them; they are very much in your face, but if that's one's preference--these are your speaker?

I also had a chance to listen to some LSi-7s on a GamuT TOTL system when I was in China. You'd be surprised what 7s sound like with five figure equipment on them? But then again who is going to buy 7s and spend 20,000 dollars to drive them? And the LSi-M703s are better in any case.

cnh

rromeo923

I have heard some B&W's CM1 and CM5. I blind tested them w/Golden Ear Aon3 and a PSB speaker(forgot model). The GoldenEars wonit for me. So I would get the GoldenEars before the B&W's. Not sure if I like it Bright. I have not heard the Q300's. I do have a tube pre to calm them down though.

Wish there was somewhere to listen to all of these together. Oh well that is the way it is.

polkfarmboy- What did you not like about the KEF LS50's? They are getting rave reviews. Do you think they would work in a small room??

http://www.independentaudiovideo.com/store/item_view.asp?estore_itemid=1010769
This looks like a good deal. Used but w/a warranty. Not sure about the seller though. Looks sketchy.

cnh

The Q300s are not that bright but certainly more energetic than LSis and with that UniQ arrangement they'll give you good imaging and sound staging. There are better. Certainly the LS50s are a notch up the scale. PFB didn't like them because I believe he tried to run them without a sub and compared them to FULL range electrostatic floorstanders, hardly a fair comparison!

cnh

polkfarmboy

I have to say that if your sitting near them they are outstanding for that kind of listening. Its hard to give them a fair trial when I have electrostats with 8 inch woofers and sit really far back.

The bass was lacking upon first listening and the highs were a little much for me, after playing them everyday to break them the bass really goes deep and is the most impressive quality about them. The highs now have a more neutral quality that I find desirable and like I said, if your sitting close you can hear very good detail and quality tone. These are not as good as my towers but then again what bookshelf is?

RamZet

rromeo923 wrote: »

nhiep- I had a pair of Lsi7's and was underwhelmed so not sure if the 9's would be any help.
Ramzet- I did hear the B&W CM1's and thought the GoldenEars were better.
Coolsax- The Ascends are intriguing. Used on Audiogon for $550, hmmm.

I haven't heard the GoldenEars but they look like some great speakers.
Personally I am a fan of ribbon tweeters and passive radiators. Ugly speakers but I bet they sound good.

Any reason why you want book shelf speakers? Martin Logan motion 10,12 and 20 are all well rounded speakers and go for a fair price on Amazon.

nhhiep

last weekend, I heard these at my friend's living room, about 3x the size of your room. all running off a new NAD AVR.

Golden Ear Aon 2 - it looks good in picture, but man, this thing looks ugly and cheap in person and super lightweight compare to Polk 703. This coming from a person who really like DefTech speakers. I was hoping to like the ribbon tweeters, but so disappointed as a result.

JBL Studio 530 - I was surprised with this little guy, very slim and horn is so clear and crisp, not harsh/bright like Polk RTi. Jazz music sound the best with this guy. however, the driver is too small to give any bass and it looks ugly with the grill removed. Current sale price is under $500/pair, if it drops around 300, I am going to buy it for sure.

Polk Lsim703 - well rounded speaker, nothing stands out or missing from top to bottom. it lets you enjoy the music, instead of judging the speaker. plus, it looks the best with or without grill.

I'll stick with Polk for now and will sample (not necessary keep) these when they drop 50% in price.

cincycat13

rromeo923 wrote: »

nhiep- I had a pair of Lsi7's and was underwhelmed so not sure if the 9's would be any help.

The LSi9 can be had for some low prices as mentioned above. The XO can be reworked nicely for about $200 IIRC if you can do it yourself. I bought some 703 a couple of weeks ago, but have not done the A/B comparison yet. I can tell you the modded 9s are much more detailed than stock. And the modded 9s go much deeper than modded 7s.

So, my budget recommendation is used LSi9 with a modded XO.

coolsax

rromeo923 wrote: »

nhiep- I had a pair of Lsi7's and was underwhelmed so not sure if the 9's would be any help.
Ramzet- I did hear the B&W CM1's and thought the GoldenEars were better.
Coolsax- The Ascends are intriguing. Used on Audiogon for $550, hmmm.

that's a good price, I got mine for under $800 new b/c they were Bstock, I also don't have the NRT tweeter you can get as well. they are very detailed at the top end and can be a little too forward sometimes, especially with a snare drum, but over all I really enjoy them. They also image very well with recordings that allow for it. They also reach pretty deep with the bass response considering their size. Plus for a "box" speaker they are one of the best looking ones out there. with the Bamboo veneer and gloss finishes.