Best bookshelf speakers

comfortablycurt

I like those Sanus stands. I'm definitely trying to spend as little as I can on stands. I'm also buying a new preamp and a new rack for my audio gear soon...so I've gotta conserve where I can.

I think I'll be very satisfied with the 9's. I've been wanting to try a pair of them for a while now, and I think I'd be doing my ears a disservice by not spending some time with them. I'll spend some time with them, and then eventually get some 703's and find out why they're better.

marvda1

motorhead43026 wrote: »

I am going to check out some Ushers. I have run across a pair of CP-6381's for $1200.00. Not sure if the price is right but it does sound interesting.

spill the beans, who's got the usher 6381's for $1200? someone might be interested.

vcwatkins

marvda1 wrote: »

motorhead43026 wrote: »

I am going to check out some Ushers. I have run across a pair of CP-6381's for $1200.00. Not sure if the price is right but it does sound interesting.

spill the beans, who's got the usher 6381's for $1200? someone might be interested.

Yeah, seriously! hehe

Polkie2009

Would be awesome to have a bookshelf speakers shootout. Have a room that's already set up with treatments (yes, I know things won't be perfect due to various furniture,amount of people in the room, etc..) and take measurements of each model of speakers people want to bring to the dance. They do these types of shootouts on the AVS forum site and the guys spend a day or two having fun at it.

cnh

Best stands are yet to come, built on a nano-tech foundation they will automatically change their MASS and resonance properties as soon as the bookshelf it set on them! World Without End, Boys and Girls!

comfortablycurt

I find qualitative descriptions of listening experiences to be a much better indicator of sound 'flavor' than the technical specifications. Technical specifications certainly have a lot of merit, and are quite important. They can tell you certain characteristics of the speaker and how they are likely to sound in terms of bass extension high frequency response and many other factors...but we all perceive sound a bit differently. Actual listening experiences are definitely the better option whenever possible.

comfortablycurt

What do you guys think? Are 26" stands going to be high enough? Listening will be done from typical 'couch level'. I'm trying to decide between 26" and 30". The 26" stands will likely put the tweeters a bit below ear level, while the 30" stands cost a bit more but might put the tweeters closer to ear level. I'm leaning toward the 30" stands. I'm new to bookshelf speakers for the most part. Should I be worried about stability? I'm mainly looking at some Sanus stands. I'm not trying to spend too much on them right now.

The 26" - amazon.com/dp/B004T7VCM0/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2RYCXMCIMOXYK&coliid=IKMUJJST621FL

The 30" - amazon.com/SANUS-SYSTEMS-SF-30B-Steel-Speaker/dp/B0006885FS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1428725380&sr=1-1&keywords=sanus+sf30

txcoastal1

All depends on what chair...where are your ears going to be in relevance to the tweeter....an inch can make the difference.....

.....I know "that's what she said"


Cheers

docjl

Sounds like I'm late to the party - but I'll throw another option out there for future reference.

Just bought a pair of Klipsh RB-81II bookshelf speakers for my home gym/ workout room.

These are pretty beefy "bookshelf" speakers, at 19x9x12" and 27.5 lbs each, but with their 8" woofers they are one of only a few bookshelf speakers I have heard that DO sound like towers.

I picked up a pair of Polk RTi A3's from Crutchfield and listened to them for a couple of weeks, before sending them back (Crutchfield is great, I ended up only paying $10 return shipping for the entire transaction) but they were straining at the levels I liked to listen to when I work out, and I found myself having to turn them down to prevent the occasional distortion. I also found the rear port design somewhat picky in terms of placement, and as my room is already crowded, I didn't have a lot of options. The RB-81's do NOT have a rear bass port, and while I think they sound better several inches out from the wall, placement does not seem to be as critical.

The RB-81's are much clearer and play much louder with the same wattage (using an old Sony DA30ES receiver to drive them) due to the higher sensitivity, and I have found I am unable to play them at a level at which they will distort - i.e. they will play MUCH louder than the slightly smaller RTiA3's, with zero distortion. I also have had no problems with them being too bright from their horn tweeters, as I have noticed on cheaper Klipsh speakers like the models sold in big box stores.

A few months ago these were selling for about $850 a pair, but as Klipsh has introduced a newer generation of their speakers (although they have not as of yet released a bookshelf with an 8" woofer), they can be had on Amazon and Ebay from Klipsh authorized dealers for $558 delivered, I believe. This is just until on hand stock is gone, as they are not in current production.

comfortablycurt

Part of my problem is that I don't really know exactly how high my listening seat will be yet. The apartment I'm moving into is furnished, so I can't really get any kind of measurements. I may just end up going with the 30". I think that'd be a better bet than the 26".

Nightfall

How long will it be before you're moved in? Short enough time to just wait on stands while finding a free alternative to put them on until? You could even stack them on the SDA's, just until you can find out for sure what size you'll need. Just a thought.

comfortablycurt

I'll actually be moving in there on August 20th, so a little over 4 months. I'm going to be living near Fermilab basically this whole summer for my internship though, and I won't be bringing any of my audio equipment with. I may just do as you suggested and use my SDAs as temporary stands. If I need shorter stands I can just swap the SDAs out with the Monitor 7As.

Nightfall

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I'll actually be moving in there on August 20th, so a little over 4 months. I'm going to be living near Fermilab basically this whole summer for my internship though, and I won't be bringing any of my audio equipment with. I may just do as you suggested and use my SDAs as temporary stands. If I need shorter stands I can just swap the SDAs out with the Monitor 7As.

As someone who has stuck with the vintage Polks as well, I look forward to seeing what you think about these. I had a pair of new for the time Acoustic Research bookshelves growing up but remembering what those sound like is long gone. Only other speaker has been Wharfedale Diamond bookshelves.

comfortablycurt

I'll be sure to post my thoughts after I've gotten a chance to spend some quality time with them. I'm looking forward to it. It's been about four years since I've gotten any new audio equipment. It'll take me a little while to get used to it.

dromunds

You are going to like the 9's. I got some for my GF and she is very happy, they sound good. You got a very sweet price.

txcoastal1

The stands for my Dyns are 26". I have had a love seat and now listening chairs that are the right height for the stands. There are better options to raise stands i.e. spikes/platforms than trying to lower the 30" stands...just an idea.

comfortablycurt

This is a very good point. Perhaps it'd be a better idea to go with the 26" stands.

jeremymarcinko

Just depends on the tweeters height, doesn't it? I built my stands to 30" because my bookies tweeters are about 9" putting the tweeters just an inch or two above ear level. Measure the bookies then decide on the stands.

gce

comfortablycurt wrote: »

Part of my problem is that I don't really know exactly how high my listening seat will be yet. The apartment I'm moving into is furnished, so I can't really get any kind of measurements. I may just end up going with the 30". I think that'd be a better bet than the 26".

Keep in mind that the 30" are rated for 25lb speakers but the 26" are rated for 35lb. I got after market spikes for mine and used slightly shorter ones in the back to tilt them up a little...worked great.

Erik Tracy

From the OP's sig - Hafler GFA-545?

Not sure if that 'doubles down' for 4-ohm loads or not.

Aren't the LSi9's more 'finicky' from a low impedance standpoint?

comfortablycurt

McIntosh isn't likely to be in my price range. I don't think I'd get the functionality that I want in a preamp with McIntosh anyway. I need a preamp that can be integrated into a HT system, and built in bass management is basically a necessary factor for me.

Erik Tracy

Sounds like you need that new integrated from Parasound!

And do us a favor by doing a review on it, too!

gce

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I need a preamp that can be integrated into a HT system, and built in bass management is basically a necessary factor for me.

So do I.

comfortablycurt

That new Parasound integrated would be wonderful. At $2500 msrp though,that may be a bit out of my price range. For preamps I'm mainly looking at the Parasound New Classic Model 2100. I'm going to keep using my Adcom GFA 545 for the time being. I'm somewhat concerned about it being able to drive the LSi9s efficiently, but I think it should be fine. I do plan to upgrade my amp as well, though I haven't really started researching my options for that yet.

comfortablycurt

gce wrote: »

Keep in mind that the 30" are rated for 25lb speakers but the 26" are rated for 35lb. I got after market spikes for mine and used slightly shorter ones in the back to tilt them up a little...worked great.

This is a very good point. I didn't even think of the weight ratings. The LSi9s are some hefty speakers. Maybe I will just go with the 26" stands. I think I'm going to hold off for a while on them either way though.

comfortablycurt

I won't be getting it for a while yet. I'm planning to get a new preamp and a new universal player in early August or so. I'm really considering the Parasound Halo P5 too. It's more expensive, but the inclusion of a very high quality DAC is a big selling point for me. It seems like the Halo Integrated is essentially a P5 preamp with a power amp section. Not that this is a bad thing by any means at all. That is a beautiful integrated amp, but I prefer separate preamps and power amps for the most part.

What's happening with Parasound in May?

F1nut

comfortablycurt wrote: »

gce wrote: »

Keep in mind that the 30" are rated for 25lb speakers but the 26" are rated for 35lb. I got after market spikes for mine and used slightly shorter ones in the back to tilt them up a little...worked great.

This is a very good point. I didn't even think of the weight ratings. The LSi9s are some hefty speakers. Maybe I will just go with the 26" stands. I think I'm going to hold off for a while on them either way though.

I would completely ignore those weight ratings. Nothing more than lawyer talk.

motorhead43026

marvda1 wrote: »

motorhead43026 wrote: »

I am going to check out some Ushers. I have run across a pair of CP-6381's for $1200.00. Not sure if the price is right but it does sound interesting.

spill the beans, who's got the usher 6381's for $1200? someone might be interested.

http://columbus.craigslist.org/ele/4953735415.html

comfortablycurt

F1nut wrote: »

I would completely ignore those weight ratings. Nothing more than lawyer talk.

I imagine this is true. Added weight isn't going to significantly change the balance. The two stands are identical aside from height, so it's not like there's any significant difference in load bearing capability.

gce

comfortablycurt wrote: »

F1nut wrote: »

I would completely ignore those weight ratings. Nothing more than lawyer talk.

I imagine this is true. Added weight isn't going to significantly change the balance. The two stands are identical aside from height, so it's not like there's any significant difference in load bearing capability.

Its probably due to the extra 4" in height. The higher you go the more unstable they are and yes that would be a lawyer thing. They're just covering their a$$.