[Paladin79]

My only hesitation with bookshelves with an Aegir is that bookshelves are less efficient and need MORE power than towers.

Many towers are 89 db - 93 db+ (3 db sounds twice as loud) whereas similar bookshelves are 83-86 db which means they need double the power to be as loud as the towers.

The KEF LS50's need much more power than most speakers.

Tekton or Zu are much better fits for your amp.

Makes sense, I do not listen to solid state amps whatsoever anymore so I best not comment. There are very efficient bookshelf speakers but they are less common, I just sold some.

 

[artur9]

...

JC

My black, 10# mini Schnauzer does that on the black carpeting on the painted black stairs. One of these days he's going to get stepped on.

(edit: picture of him attempting his murder/suicide)

 

[artur9]

Any opinions on matching my system with the dirty weekend 6, or the upcoming zu lineup compared to the wharfdales or any other recommendations in this price range(about$3000 per pair or less)would be greatly appreciated .

There's a real boom in bookshelf speakers right now, an embarrassment of riches.
You may also want to ask here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-two-channel-clubhouse.843459/
The current issue of The Absolute Sound is the loudspeaker issue.
Another source of info on all kinds of possibilities is the online mag Tone Audio.

Lastly, Salk in conjunction with some outstanding speaker designers do amazing work.

 

[artur9]

I am running what are considered bookshelf speakers on stands with small subwoofers and I love them. I have owned more towers and large box speakers than I care to recall and to me it is about the sound. It is about your ears and your wallet, be happy in whatever you choose.

The pinpoint imaging of bookshelves is supposed to be better than floorstanders, so there's that. I do like them with subs. OTOH, the top-to-bottom coherence of a floorstander is nice, too.

@Paladin79 no plug for the Sonus Faber Lumina I or II ?

 

[rfernand]

The KEF LS50's need much more power than most speakers.

That’s fair. 80W into 8 Ohms for mono means you’ll be close to the minimum at 4 Ohms if you run the KEFs in stereo out of a single amp.

Tekton or Zu are much better fits for your amp.

All about that bass, about that bass, about that bass…

 

[artur9]

I really like the idea of some kef towers after a little research and review reading but which series? Especially if I intend on keeping the aegir as the amp?

I’m curious why No one has recommended or mentioned the zu audio speakers as they seem seem super efficient?
And is an aegir not good for wharfdale lintons or are there just better speakers to be looking for to pair with it?

I've read some discouraging things about the Zus. I heard them at a show and was not impressed. Same show, heard some Joseph Audios and OMG, those were great.

Fyne Audio might suit your needs: https://www.fyneaudio.com/choose-the-right-speaker-for-your-room/

One of their floorstanders is rated at 94db/W :-O
A different one, the F302I is rated at 90dB and inexpensive....

 

[rkw]

smaller box speakers, especially if not ported, can be very inefficient.

That's why I got Tyrs.

 

[earnmyturns]

Judging by the content of this thread, I’d have to guess that a disproportionate percentage of hard core headphone enthusiasts are also professional coders, or at least designers of some sort. If so, what do you listen to while coding / designing?

Nik Bärtsch, Philip Glass and related minimalist/rhythmic stuff.

 

[tincanear]

My only hesitation with bookshelves with an Aegir is that bookshelves are less efficient and need MORE power than towers.

Many towers are 89 db - 93 db+ (3 db sounds twice as loud) whereas similar bookshelves are 83-86 db which means they need double the power to be as loud as the towers.

The KEF LS50's need much more power than most speakers.

Tekton or Zu are much better fits for your amp.

dB are logarithmic, so 3dB is twice the power (e.g. 10W instead of 5W). (20dB is "twice as loud", but that actually takes 10X the power, e.g. 50W instead of 5W). While towers with larger woofers / driver radiating areas are more efficient at producing low and mid bass than bookshelf speakers, efficiencies can vary greatly. standard efficiency units are measured under anechoic conditions, dB/1W/1m. some speaker manufacturers play a bit fast and loose with the efficiency specs (rated using 2.83Vrms input instead of 1W input, non-anechoic conditions, large +/- frequency response band, etc.) to get higher numbers.

 

[earnmyturns]

I became an expert in a product that eventually ended up using xml files for configuration.
When it did, it took a 100K (maybe, don't recall exactly) config file and ballooned it into a data structure that exhausted all the memory on the server.

Arrgh, those horrible XML libraries! Over 20 years ago I worked at a startup with a bit of an XML config dogma, until (for my component) I put my foot down and created a simple Lisp-like DSL with C-like syntax (I was a bit of PL maven then ) where a config was a small program. It worked really well, the developers who used it to configure tasks loved it. The startup was caught in the 9/11 downdraft and its assets were sold to a sequence of companies. A few years ago, I met someone I knew from the industry at an unrelated event, and he asked me if I could help them (for a fee) figure it out since the documentation (which I wrote) had been lost along the way. I excused myself being otherwise very busy, but I'm still a bit regretful that my code, which I was quite proud of, had ended up in the Sargasso Sea of stranded software.

 

[earnmyturns]

Now I need to work on my Jazz music collection, I have many of the classics but I need to fill in some West Coast Jazz.

A few recommendations, not West Coast formally, but in a related spirit:

https://www.billfrisell.com/east-west
https://www.mackavenue.com/store/mac1119
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sonny-rollins-way-out-west/
https://www.discogs.com/release/16766112-Edward-Simon-Scott-Colley-Brian-Blade-Steel-House

 

[Rensek]

Wow greatly appreciate all the input. Well between everyone’s thoughts and explanations I’m still a bit split between bookshelf speakers on proper stands and tower speakers. But I’m leaning towards sticking with towers and just finding the right ones for my taste.
I like the thought of ease of placement of bookshelf speakers as I’m not really willing to rearrange the room to put the speakers in specific spots and I don’t have much room to work with. But I’m willing to forget that and deal with mediocre imaging with towers that can deliver better overall sound and bass. And I think the current placement is pretty good for good acoustics and imaging in this room.

I really like the idea of some kef towers after a little research and review reading but which series? Especially if I intend on keeping the aegir as the amp?

I’m curious why No one has recommended or mentioned the zu audio speakers as they seem seem super efficient?
And is an aegir not good for wharfdale lintons or are there just better speakers to be looking for to pair with it?

You have many options in speakers to choose from, but I love my Zu. I have their now legacy model Zu Omen DW mk II. Great speaker. Rich, Full detailed sound. Look like pieces of art/fine furniture. I haven't heard the new models yet. Even more expensive than they used to be

But I also love my Magnepan LRSs, and my KLH Kendalls can separate/image voices like nothing ive ever heard. Also, I've had great results with bookshelf speakers, on stands.....friends here love their Tektons, I probably would too had I chosen those.... so many choices, good luck.

 

[liamo]

Now I need to work on my Jazz music collection, I have many of the classics but I need to fill in some West Coast Jazz. I have many CD's on the way, then I will get a turntable going for my vinyl once I build a new audio rack.

I was delighted to see that a major part of the soundtrack of my childhood is getting a special release.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/vince-guaraldi-jazz-impressions-black-091238456.html

 

[Paladin79]

The pinpoint imaging of bookshelves is supposed to be better than floorstanders, so there's that. I do like them with subs. OTOH, the top-to-bottom coherence of a floorstander is nice, too.

@Paladin79 no plug for the Sonus Faber Lumina I or II ?

I have not heard them, they are pretty reasonable in price compared to other Sonus Fabers. The Olympica I's new with stands were about $7,300, a big difference in price. It was their sound with a tube amp that sold me, I have several floor standing speakers by the way but nothing I have competes IMHO.

 

[Paladin79]

A few recommendations, not West Coast formally, but in a related spirit:

https://www.billfrisell.com/east-west
https://www.mackavenue.com/store/mac1119
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sonny-rollins-way-out-west/
https://www.discogs.com/release/16766112-Edward-Simon-Scott-Colley-Brian-Blade-Steel-House

Any and all recommendations are appreciated, I have a busy morning and I will check those out later.