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New to the speaker world. Help me choose small bookshelfs

post #1 of 8
6/21/06 at 3:35pm
Thread Starter 
Hey all. While I know this is, after all, Head-fi, the speaker world looks so gigantic in comparison to the headphone world that I thought I could get a more tempered start from someone from here.

So I've made my investement in a decent turntable and cartridge, and have an inherited amp from my father's audiophile days. I'd like to buy speakers for my teeny teeny room, to literally put them on my bookshelf, so we're talking small here. It's important that they can be driven plenty well with 20 watts per channel. My amp is a vintage Pioneer SA-408, somewhat comprable to Marantz amps from the same epoch. The opamp is pretty neutral, but the phono preamp is rather warm.

Considering that I live in Argentina, it may be much easier for me to get vintage gear, rather than the newest stuff, which tends to be overpriced or would have to be shipped. My budget is $300 as strict maximum, however I'll eventually spend more to improve my room's acoustics.

Thanks everyone!
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post #2 of 8
6/21/06 at 6:01pm
I think that for $300 or so, you can get a solid bookshelf.

Among my favorites are Polk LSi9 and Onix Reference 1 (if you have a warmer amp).

The 9s, you cant get for less than $600, no matter where you look. The Onix Reference 1, while $1500 a year ago, is very affordable now with all of MLS' sales and promos. The Ref1 can be had for as low as $400 on audiogon.. and that's what I would want to start out with if you can extend your budget just $100 more.

I believe that there were 2 Ref1s for sale on the 'gon around the $400 mark not too long ago, you may want to check and make sure.
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post #3 of 8
6/21/06 at 6:17pm
Epos sl3 at $325. Or Usher speakers $420. Would be great choices!
You could try building something based on Fostex drivers if you or a friend are handy! Buy the drivers and build the cabinets.
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post #4 of 8
6/21/06 at 6:46pm
I can only give you advice from my own experience.
Monitor Audio Bronze B1 ($250 - $300 new) and the Mission M30i ($120 new). Both good and should be at or under your budget. In my small listening room at present, the B1s can be good enough, until you hit them with hip-hop or rap like Will Smith, Wyclef, or BustaRhymes, then its advised, if you listen to your music kinda loud, to get some filters on your Mini Monitors. I could not believe the sought of cone movement I saw when I loaded up the latest Will Smith Album. I couldnt turn it up to head bang levels at all. I had to either pull out my crossover, or set the speakers to small on my reciever. So if you are a bass junkie and like to listen loud, then see below

If you are a bass head, then consider a bigger speaker than the above, the B&W DM303 which can be had used on Audiogon for about $200 - $250 and the 601 S2 or S3 ( around $300 - $400 used) are highly regarded and should be more than sufficient bass wise for a small listening room. I would look into mounting these on wall brackets though, instead of on a bookshelf.
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post #5 of 8
6/21/06 at 7:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daishiman
(...) so we're talking small here. (...)
How small exactly? You'd best give us a maximum. And what are the dimensions of the room? Oh, and how far away will you sit from the speakers - and how far above the floor will the speakers be placed and at which distance from one another?

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini
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post #6 of 8
6/21/06 at 7:08pm
I also like the B&W DM303. I bought a new pair about 4 years ago for $270. I bought them after listening to atleast 5 different brands, with entry level Paradigm coming in at a close second.

The DM303 is rear ported and as with any rear ported speaker you need to allow for extra space behind them and not cram them against the wall...of course most any speaker will perform its best a couple feet from room boundries.

Good luck Daishiman.
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post #7 of 8
6/26/06 at 12:28am
Thread Starter 

Great responses!

First of all, thanks everyone for the quick replies!

Well, to give you some more info, I'd be sitting 6 feet away from the speakers, usually sitting down (Working@Home!). The max height for the speakers would be more or less 16 inches, max width 1 foot (TG for Google's unit conversion thing). My room's dimensions are 8'2'' by 8'. There's a bookshelf on one of the narrow sides that occupies half of the wall's width and starts from 4 feet off the ground. The only signifact acoustic dampening is my bed. I might add curtains to the window, which takes up the entire side opposite of the bookshelf.

Another piece of info that might be useful to narrow things down: not a basshead. Nuh-huh. Much less so in a place as tiny as that. I prefer a more refined sound, suitable for jazz, classical, and 60s rock. Sure I like some electronic punchy-punchy every now and then, but losing some bass there is an excellent compromise if I can find more detail in my classical records. Then again, I do own some Senn HD-280s which I now find too sterile, so we don't really want to go too much down that path again.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions!
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post #8 of 8
6/26/06 at 9:53am
Monitor Audio Bronze 1, the EPOS ELS-3 are my choices under $300. Both have a very refined but clear airy sound. Both have gotten excellent reviews.
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