I think I have been sleeping on Bookshelf speakers all my life.
Hello all,
So for decades I have been a floor standing kinda guy. Never would I use bookshelf speakers as my main speakers in my main listening room, how could I I'm a guy and bigger is better right???
Over the decades I have owned many many Bookshelf speakers, have been apart of the Polk demos with the LSIM703 and the L200's which both where excellent speakers in their own right. I have owned many Polk Bookies and my favorite Polk was the LSI7's. Hell I have been on a hunt to own a clean well taken care of example of them and when I do finally find a pair worthy, I will buy them again. I have owned Polk, KLH , Advent , Focal , Totem, Paradigm , Dynaudio , etc bookies and I always favored floors over all of them.
Until yesterday I basically made a decision. I'm redoing my Office as I work from home a lot. I own my own audio video install business and spend a ton of time in here. I have rotated all my Floor standing speakers I currently own ( Def Tech Mythos ST , Polk RT16's and Focal Chorus 826 ) and I store them when not in use in my basement. So a few days ago, I decided I wanted to play around with my loved RT16's and remove the Mythos ST out and go to passive over powered. I knew the ST is a very heavy speaker but as I get older I don't want to carry around damn near 80lb speakers not to mention doing it twice up and down stairs and then across the basement. Then carrying up the rt16's which are not much lighter but still suck to carry that distance up and down stairs and into my Office which is on the other side of the house. I'm 55 years old now and I'm just out on all of that.
So I decided that I want to start really having an open mind with Bookshelf speakers. 1 they are amazingly cheaper than the floor standers. They are really easy to carry around, even the heavier models, they are not as awkward to carry. Not to mention when you mate bookies with a subwoofer, you can recreate that floor standing experience pretty well. I know visually , some of us meaning me will feel some kind of way not having floor standing speakers, I'm considering selling all of them and getting a bunch of bookies to play with. I want to revisit Totem, one of the other brands I carry which constantly impress me is KEF, remarkable line of speakers as I have admired them for decades just never owned a pair. I had them here and man they are damn good.
So old age as led me to wanting lighter stuff that includes amps and all things equipment. I'm tired of carrying around big heavy **** subs , big heavy **** amps and especially heavy **** floor standing speakers. Sure I'm handing in my man card in this regard but I don't care , It sucks to carry them.
So for decades I have been a floor standing kinda guy. Never would I use bookshelf speakers as my main speakers in my main listening room, how could I I'm a guy and bigger is better right???
Over the decades I have owned many many Bookshelf speakers, have been apart of the Polk demos with the LSIM703 and the L200's which both where excellent speakers in their own right. I have owned many Polk Bookies and my favorite Polk was the LSI7's. Hell I have been on a hunt to own a clean well taken care of example of them and when I do finally find a pair worthy, I will buy them again. I have owned Polk, KLH , Advent , Focal , Totem, Paradigm , Dynaudio , etc bookies and I always favored floors over all of them.
Until yesterday I basically made a decision. I'm redoing my Office as I work from home a lot. I own my own audio video install business and spend a ton of time in here. I have rotated all my Floor standing speakers I currently own ( Def Tech Mythos ST , Polk RT16's and Focal Chorus 826 ) and I store them when not in use in my basement. So a few days ago, I decided I wanted to play around with my loved RT16's and remove the Mythos ST out and go to passive over powered. I knew the ST is a very heavy speaker but as I get older I don't want to carry around damn near 80lb speakers not to mention doing it twice up and down stairs and then across the basement. Then carrying up the rt16's which are not much lighter but still suck to carry that distance up and down stairs and into my Office which is on the other side of the house. I'm 55 years old now and I'm just out on all of that.
So I decided that I want to start really having an open mind with Bookshelf speakers. 1 they are amazingly cheaper than the floor standers. They are really easy to carry around, even the heavier models, they are not as awkward to carry. Not to mention when you mate bookies with a subwoofer, you can recreate that floor standing experience pretty well. I know visually , some of us meaning me will feel some kind of way not having floor standing speakers, I'm considering selling all of them and getting a bunch of bookies to play with. I want to revisit Totem, one of the other brands I carry which constantly impress me is KEF, remarkable line of speakers as I have admired them for decades just never owned a pair. I had them here and man they are damn good.
So old age as led me to wanting lighter stuff that includes amps and all things equipment. I'm tired of carrying around big heavy **** subs , big heavy **** amps and especially heavy **** floor standing speakers. Sure I'm handing in my man card in this regard but I don't care , It sucks to carry them.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
Comments
-
I feel your pain. I've also used big amps and floorstanders for years in my office rig which is upstairs. The last rig being a Mcintosh mc2255 (about 100lbs) and a pair of ADS 1530's (about 115lbs each). With knee issues now moving those heavy units up a flight of stairs isn't the easy task it was 20 years ago and going down wasn't much better. Not to mention the tripping hazard MIT speaker cables running across the room. About a year or so ago I went to a simple Fosi class d integrated (90wpc and it fits in the palm of my hand) and a pair of PSB stratus minis. I'm very happy with that as a nearfield office rig.
But when it's time to move some air the 1.2tls and their 140lb+ monoblocks and svs ultra get the job done. I'll be 70 next month but there's no thoughts of downsizing the big rig just yet. I do know that day is coming but just not today thankfully. -
I've been using a dolly to move floor standers for the last 15 years. You should have one by now. Get one if you don't. Once I brought home those ~150 lb SS-M9 with their awkward shape, I didn't really have a choice.
But yeah, bookies in near field or in a room with a sub can be fantastic.
-
Given their smaller size and lighter weight it's possible to get a sense of the flavor of a bunch of different speaker lines by trying out two-driver bookshelf speakers and returning them if they don't sound good.
And, buying bookshelf speakers compared to floorstanders means being able to buy twice as many speakers! Just need to get a good pair of stands that can be used with different brands and models. I've had maybe half a dozen different brands of bookshelf speakers on the same stands in recent years.
And then there are three-way monitor type speakers that are marketed as bookshelf speakers but really aren't. They are a good in-between type.
-
I think monitors have their place... I'm a small room they can definitely perform!- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
-
I've been messing with them for awhile now and I had to take them into the Family Room and give them a VS the Focal's. Yeah I know not fair but I just wanted to hear them again the Focal's crossover over at 80hz both of them and using my DD10 Plus subwoofers to blend in.
I'm gonna be real honest, they are remarkable. This is why I made this thread in the first place. I keep messing with them and man , I have been sleeping on Bookies.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
They live in the Office. This is their home. I have a very tight fast and deep musical small subwoofer. I have to mess around with placement as so far the best spot is at the damn doorway LOL.
But honestly , they sound great without a subwoofer. BUT I know I'll get annoyed over time and want to integrate the sub in. I don't have a pair of the Sunfire Subs so I gotta make do with just 1. I have a Pair of Velodyne MINI VEES that I MIGHT give a go IF I can't get 1 subwoofer to work out. I only have 1 listening position, which is my Desk ( I got a new one coming tomorrow ).
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
What are they?
-
CottageChz wrote: »What are they?
Monitor Audio Bronze 50 7gDan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Speakers.
I've been sleeping a park benches.
I love me some monitors. Right tool for the right job in all...Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears -
Broncos?
-
Broncos?
Yes,
Been a fan since the 80's when John Elway joined them. I'm also a Pittsburgh and Philadelphia fan as well.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Well, between one of those teams, there is usually a good season to root for. This year, you might see Denver vs Philly in February. Who will you root for then? -
Boobies! (Is that even a team in the sport you are inquiring about?)
If not, my answer is still Boobies!!!
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Bookies have their place, but once you’ve gotten used to excellent full-range towers with proper amplification, it kinda ruins you for bookies. That said, in a small space, they are often the only option - far better than a Bluetooth speaker of a Bose wave radio;-)“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
Well, between one of those teams, there is usually a good season to root for. This year, you might see Denver vs Philly in February. Who will you root for then?
That will be tuff. It's like that when they play each other in regular season.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Boobies! (Is that even a team in the sport you are inquiring about?)
If not, my answer is still Boobies!!!
Tom
If there where teams of Boobies, I think every man on the planet would tune inDan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Bookies have their place, but once you’ve gotten used to excellent full-range towers with proper amplification, it kinda ruins you for bookies. That said, in a small space, they are often the only option - far better than a Bluetooth speaker of a Bose wave radio;-)
Well that's exactly what has happened my entire audio life. Up until now, I have always favored the floor standing models over the bookies. But when you carry them around, swap them out, have to go up and down stairs, and my basement is 9 feet high so I have an extra step to travel, all that goes out the window and you want lighter and smaller examples.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Boobies! (Is that even a team in the sport you are inquiring about?)
If not, my answer is still Boobies!!!
Tom
-
Legacy Calibre speakers. Not cheap, but may be the last bookies you will want. Used around 3gs.....new 6g.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Legacy Calibre speakers. Not cheap, but may be the last bookies you will want. Used around 3gs.....new 6g.
These speakers have really opened up my eyes to consider going this route in other places in my home in the very near future. I'm already thinking about designing a full new surround system in my family Room based around a bookshelf main speaker.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
