Any great bookshelf speaker under $500?

[ahmadfaizadnan]

Hi,

As the title says, I am looking for a bookshelf speaker for under $500 (but can go up to $700).
music genre: Jazz, orchestra, classical, EDM, pop, electronic.

I am looking at these for now
Pioneer Elite SP-EBS73, Elac B6 and Boston Acoustic VR-M50


I read only great reviews about them. If there's any other suggestion, do let me know.

EDIT: Also, if there's any good amp that can go with the speaker, that would be amazing.

Thanks!

Faiz

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Focal Chorus 706 if you can find it. They were going for as low as $399 on some sites until earlier this year.

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

Focal Chorus 706 if you can find it. They were going for as low as $399 on some sites until earlier this year.

They have it for $549 (the cheapest I've seen so far). I heard the Elac B6 at canjam RMAF and they were amazing for its price especially the soundstage and tonality. Will the extra $200-300 for focal chorus worth it?

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I've read lots of good things about (and strongly considered buying, when I have the money) Kef Q100/Q300, Klipsch RP-150M/RP160M, and Q Acoustics 3020.

You could probably also pick up a used pair of B&W 600 series for $500

 

[notsimar]

I’ve been thinking about the elac uni-fi b5’s for a while.

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

I've read lots of good things about (and strongly considered buying, when I have the money) Kef Q100/Q300, Klipsch RP-150M/RP160M, and Q Acoustics 3020.

You could probably also pick up a used pair of B&W 600 series for $500

Kef Q100/ Klipsch Rp-160M/ Q acoustic 3020 I have been wondering about this too. I am quite new in speaker game so I decided to start slow and try to find something under $500 but it turns out there's too many great speakers even at this price range. Also wondering about the sound signature for all the speakers mentioned in this thread. I heard Elac B6 and it was amazing but not sure about the others.

I’ve been thinking about the elac uni-fi b5’s for a while.

me too

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Some others I've considered are also the Wharfedale Diamond 220/225 and the JBL LSR305 powered studio monitors.
I've heard so many raves about the JBLs. Do you have an amp for these speakers yet? If not, I'd say get a pair of the LSR305 and call it a day. Note that you'll need some unuual adapters, but they're not too difficult to find on the internets.

Is this for a nearfield desktop setup or a traditional whole-room style system?

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

Some others I've considered are also the Wharfedale Diamond 220/225 and the JBL LSR305 powered studio monitors.
I've heard so many raves about the JBLs. Do you have an amp for these speakers yet? If not, I'd say get a pair of the LSR305 and call it a day. Note that you'll need some unuual adapters, but they're not too difficult to find on the internets.

Is this for a nearfield desktop setup or a traditional whole-room style system?

I aim for a whole-room style system but that needs to wait for at least a year because I will go back to my home country in another year and a half. That might need to have a 240v system too. As for now, I am looking for a desktop setup (that will be used for over a year) and I am also planning to add amp that could work well with the speaker.

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

Some others I've considered are also the Wharfedale Diamond 220/225 and the JBL LSR305 powered studio monitors.
I've heard so many raves about the JBLs. Do you have an amp for these speakers yet? If not, I'd say get a pair of the LSR305 and call it a day. Note that you'll need some unuual adapters, but they're not too difficult to find on the internets.

Is this for a nearfield desktop setup or a traditional whole-room style system?

Will $277 for Wharfedale Diamond 220 a good deal?

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

After a reading a lot of reviews, I decided to get Wharfedale diamond 220. Will update my impression when it arrives.

 

[atarione]

lots of good suggestions in this thread.. I realize the op already bought but another quite nice $500~ish speaker option is the Wharfdale Denton @$500~basically.. really nice looking speakers also (imho)

https://www.amazon.com/Wharfedale-Denton-Red-Mahogany/dp/B00RDMZJ9U

 

[ProtegeManiac]

They have it for $549 (the cheapest I've seen so far). I heard the Elac B6 at canjam RMAF and they were amazing for its price especially the soundstage and tonality. Will the extra $200-300 for focal chorus worth it?

If you already heard the B6 and like it then it's the safe choice. The thing about the Focal Chorus is that it's kind of like the RS1, with bass performance determined by the driver size and quantity, but has better imaging (although being more like the RS1, in terms of soundstage depth, it pushes vocals forward rather than pushing the percussion farther behind the vocals as a K701 would). Elacs are somewhat in the same ballpark, if anything the Chorus cabinets look a little better than the entry level Elacs.

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Some more thoughts.. (most of this is moot to the OP if he already bought the Wharfedales, but for others who may be in the market for speakers)....

From what I've read, the ELAC UF5s need a lot of power to sound their best. Like at least 60 SS watts/ch.

The JBLs, being powered monitors, work on 100-240V, 50 or 60Hz, so pretty much anywhere in the world. If you move somewhere with different power outlets, just change out the power cable to match the wall outlets in your location and you're good to go. And if you're at all worried about there being a lack of bass with only a 5" driver, don't be. You'll be shocked at the low end coming from them. They're amazing all around. I haven't heard a ton of expensive speakers, but I've seen a lot of people say that they beat up on most every speaker under $500, and give many speakers under $1000 a run for their money.

Also, if you do get any 2 channel speaker setup and find it lacking in bass for your tastes, add a Dayton Audio sub ww.parts-express.com/cat/powered-subwoofers/95 . They sound awesome at any price, and are a steal when they're on sale (which they very often are). Very easy to add in at any time with the usual setup where you have a stereo amp separate from your speakers. Note that this is complicated to do with an active or powered speaker though.

Don't forget to budget for your amp. If you're putting together a new 2-channel speaker setup and you already have a DAC or other source, I'd aim to spend 1/4-1/3 of your total budget on your amp and 2/3-3/4 on the speakers IMO.

Finally, like most things, you can usually get a better deal used if you can stand to wait for a good used specimen to come along, or if you get something that's about to be replaced with a newer updated model

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

lots of good suggestions in this thread.. I realize the op already bought but another quite nice $500~ish speaker option is the Wharfdale Denton @$500~basically.. really nice looking speakers also (imho)

https://www.amazon.com/Wharfedale-Denton-Red-Mahogany/dp/B00RDMZJ9U

That's a nice looking speaker indeed. I keep with the diamond 220 and see how it performs for its price.

If you already heard the B6 and like it then it's the safe choice. The thing about the Focal Chorus is that it's kind of like the RS1, with bass performance determined by the driver size and quantity, but has better imaging (although being more like the RS1, in terms of soundstage depth, it pushes vocals forward rather than pushing the percussion farther behind the vocals as a K701 would). Elacs are somewhat in the same ballpark, if anything the Chorus cabinets look a little better than the entry level Elacs.

Thanks! Will keep that in mind. Currently, considering getting an amp to pair with the diamond 220.

Some more thoughts.. (most of this is moot to the OP if he already bought the Wharfedales, but for others who may be in the market for speakers)....

From what I've read, the ELAC UF5s need a lot of power to sound their best. Like at least 60 SS watts/ch.

The JBLs, being powered monitors, work on 100-240V, 50 or 60Hz, so pretty much anywhere in the world. If you move somewhere with different power outlets, just change out the power cable to match the wall outlets in your location and you're good to go. And if you're at all worried about there being a lack of bass with only a 5" driver, don't be. You'll be shocked at the low end coming from them. They're amazing all around. I haven't heard a ton of expensive speakers, but I've seen a lot of people say that they beat up on most every speaker under $500, and give many speakers under $1000 a run for their money.

Also, if you do get any 2 channel speaker setup and find it lacking in bass for your tastes, add a Dayton Audio sub ww.parts-express.com/cat/powered-subwoofers/95 . They sound awesome at any price, and are a steal when they're on sale (which they very often are). Very easy to add in at any time with the usual setup where you have a stereo amp separate from your speakers. Note that this is complicated to do with an active or powered speaker though.

Don't forget to budget for your amp. If you're putting together a new 2-channel speaker setup and you already have a DAC or other source, I'd aim to spend 1/4-1/3 of your total budget on your amp and 2/3-3/4 on the speakers IMO.

Finally, like most things, you can usually get a better deal used if you can stand to wait for a good used specimen to come along, or if you get something that's about to be replaced with a newer updated model

@pinkfloyd4ever

Thanks for the suggestion. Will definitely take them into account. I will look at dayton audio sub if I find that the diamond 220 lack in bass. Most of my listening time is still through my headphone setup but there are times when I want to just sit and chill listening to classical, Jazz or even pink floyd That is when I use my speaker mostly. I will use Holo Spring Level 3 as my dac (I use this for my headphone setup) and for amp, I am looking at a used Emotiva basX a-300 for around $250 shipped. I am pretty sure this thread will be useful for others too.

Again, Thanks everyone for the help. Appreciate it!

Faiz

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Cool let us know how you like them after you break them in and listen for awhile! I've read a lot of speakers need 100-200+ hours to fully break in, so keep that in mind. Youtube has lots of good 10+ hour pink & white noise tracks I like to use for burn-in.