Most impressive bookshelves you have heard under$1000

Chicomoralessxm

Just wondering from you guys what were or are the best sub 1k bookshelves you have come across. Imaging soundstage and you oh yes the lower extention. They made double check if the really were stand mounted??? Just asking oh and what were they paired with cables and electronics..........well lets hear

heiney9

Chicomoralessxm wrote: »

Just wondering from you guys what were or are the best sub 1k bookshelves you have come across. Imaging soundstage and you oh yes the lower extention. They made double check if the really were stand mounted??? Just asking oh and what were they paired with cables and electronics..........well lets hear

I know this is a Polk forum and this is a predictable repsonse but....

LSi 9's- Adcom & Nakamichi seperates for electronics (including a Dac) on 26" spiked stands in my living room. They totally amaze me everytime I hear them. They sound so much larger than they look. They actually rival my older floorstanders as far as bass and scale of reproduction. I've had several people comment about where I hid the sub......there is no sub. They image fantatically and they are so smooth and detailed. Granted new they are $1250 (retail) so that's not exactly under $1000. I believe for the most part you get them new for close to $1000 from an authorized Polk dealer.

H9

janmike

Surprise, surprise again. My LSi9's with a Proceed AVP-S and Proceed AMP5. Not to mention the Trivista DAC. People are amazed here as well.

jflail2

Crutchfield has the LSi 9's on special right now for $899, and that includes shipping.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-vIdX43SiqgD/cgi-bin/ProdGroup.asp?search=lsi+9&skipvs=T&o=v&g=11999

izafar

jflail2 wrote: »

Crutchfield has the LSi 9's on special right now for $899, and that includes shipping.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-vIdX43SiqgD/cgi-bin/ProdGroup.asp?search=lsi+9&skipvs=T&o=v&g=11999

I believe thats the every day price. It would be special if it goes around $600.

dudeinaroom

http://www.furniturebuzz.com/products/Gautier/325-328_3pc.htm?source=pricegrabber
Hands down the best. Very airy, not boxed in at all. Very neutral and unobtrusive. Check 'em out.

Chicomoralessxm

Well not really surprised from what i hear the lsi9 is a great speaker!!!

Yashu

I would say the NHT M00 powered studio monitors.

When I think bookshelves I think nearfield, and you don't get better nearfield than from studio monitors. All you need for these is a preamp and a desk to set them on. There are better monitors, but for what you get these NHTs are one of the best values out there.

I do most of my listening on my desktop system so maybe I am biased, but it is harder than you think to set up a good neafield system.

Polk needs to make an LSi9 tower like the 15 but without the side firing woofer. I like the 9s but I think having to put them on stands and set them where you would set towers to get the best sound kindof defeats the purpose of having bookshelf speakers.

ohskigod

ditto LSi9, its almost a shame that mine are relagated to surround duty in my theater, since I liked them so much in 2 channel

If you can get a British monitor cheap and used, give it a try. My Rogers LS-6 is still closest to my favorite bookie I've heard, adn one of my favorites particularly for female vocals, with Troy's Quads maybe being the only speaker that topped them in that respect.

jakelm

My vintage 7b's

AsSiMiLaTeD

The LSi7 are my favorites, though my listening experience in that area has been somewhat limited

G-2

LSi9's for the $$ you can't beat them!

NeilGabriel

jakelm wrote: »

My vintage 7b's

jake...you must have one big bookshelf?

jakelm

Actually. The speaker is 22h x 12w x 8D. Most bookshelves are 24w x 14h x 11d. So it fits perfectly laid on its side. The fact that it fits snug eliminates the echo inside the bookshelf.

Bill Ayotte

I'm gonna go with the B&W 602S3 as of yet.....Those sound amazing.I like my B&W 600i's as well...My Tannoy monitors are great as well..Warm, open sound.

SolidSqual

I would take my Totem Rainmakers over the Lsi9s for 2 Channel.

Ron Temple

Dead horse here...haven't listend to too many mid to high end offerings, but everytime I hear my buddies GR Research AV-2s, I go ga-ga. $450 per kitted pair, $900 built, image like a mf...real purty sound too. Russ has probably heard them and can compare them to similar offerings. Don't have the soundstage of SDAs, but my friend replaced 9s & 7s with them and hasn't looked back.

Ricardo

Never heard the LSi9's...need to do that sometime.

I have owned/heard only a few bookshelves, and from these I'd have to say the Von Schweikert VR-1 stands out; impressive bass for the size, great imaging/soundstage and sweet mids/highs.

heiney9

HTrookie wrote: »

Never heard the LSi9's...need to do that sometime.

I have owned/heard only a few bookshelves, and from these I'd have to say the Von Schweikert VR-1 stands out; impressive bass for the size, great imaging/soundstage and sweet mids/highs.

Ric, if you coming to Illinois PF next weekend I think this might be your chance to hear some LSi's.

H9

cyberhazard

LSi9's

Chicomoralessxm

Well lots of great thoughts............i sense the general respect for the lsi7's and 9's have not heard either as yet. What about the nht classic3's??? studio 20's and oh might i just through in focal and the new kids on the block those era's design 4 and 5's...........

F1nut

NHT SB3's. Upgrade the crossovers and they're even better.

Schwingding

They can be had for under a grand if you buy the combo SP3 tube amp / Ref 1 monitor special, but are regularly $1599, however the Onix ref 1 monitors I have are better than every other speaker I've ever heard (full sized or bookshelf) save for the ML summits and the Onix Strata Minis. Certainly they can be picked up used for under a grand.

janmike

Proac 1SC's if you could find a pair under 1K, used that is.

reeltrouble1

LSI 7's, do not get fooled. These speakers are well recognized for their musical ability.

RT1

mhardy6647

$1000 a pop? If so, you could buy a pair of the new production LS3/5a's from Stirling. If they sound like the earlier incarnations, they'd be a pretty good deal at ca. $1600 or so the pair.

john22614

Hard to imagine topping the 9's in this price range......I have mine driven by an Anthem MCA 3 at 225wpc at 8ohms and Yamaha RXV 630 pre outs..... the sound is so rich and clear......I love the tone of the 9's.....such beautiful,deep sound and range with seemingly no effort or strain. Remarkable speakers for the price.

AndyGwis

Speaking of Lsi9s, I was at tweeter seeing if I could steal any last minute deals from their close-outs here in Dallas.

Anyway, they have the Lsi9s listed for like $649 and the LSi7s for like $479 a pair. Decent deals, but nothing special. However, I see a boxed pair of LSi9s on the ground marked sold and looked at the slip. Guy only paid $218 per each, so $436/pair. After tax, guy is still getting a brand new pair for under $500.

I pleaded with the sales guys there to give me the same deal, even just match that for some open/demo Lsi9s they had. No dice. They wouldn't play ball.

ohskigod

mhardy6647 wrote: »

$1000 a pop? If so, you could buy a pair of the new production LS3/5a's from Stirling. If they sound like the earlier incarnations, they'd be a pretty good deal at ca. $1600 or so the pair.

hearing what all the hullabaloo about the LS3/5 design is on my short list. they are suposed to be amazing monitors.

Rogers, spendor, and Harbeth, amongst others, all made them from what I believe was a lisenced design from the BBC

engtaz

And I was going to say Monitor 5's.

disneyjoe7

Lsi 9's is a great sounding speaker for the money, but I say Lsi 7's don't do it for me. Maybe the type of music I can listen too, and enjoy a fuller sounding speaker then the 7's could provide.