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Bookshelf speakers for Topping E50 + Topping PA5 stack

junvvin

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Apr 21, 2022
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Hi,
Kindly suggest best bookshelf speakers to pair with Topping E50 + Topping PA5. I find this topping stack somewhat on the brighter/leaner side, a somewhat warm speakers would be nice I believe as I don't like bright and fatiguing sound signatures.

Usage: Music playback through TV (optical out/external DAC) (youtube, youtube music, spotify, apple music, tidal, mp3 and flac files) and Bluetooth streaming from a smartphone.
Listening Distance: About 4ft away from the TV and 5-6 ft away from the speakers)
Room Size/Acoustics: Zero room treatment, with lots of glass windows. Medium sized room, tiled floor with false ceiling.
Music Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie-Pop/Rock, Electro Pop, Dreampop, Post Rock, Progressive Metal, Instrumental, ZERO RAP/HIP HOP (although I also love good bass)

I am not fond of V shaped or U shaped sound, I prefer lush thick intimate vocals with great detail that does not sound bright or fatiguing.

Keeping in view the above scenario, what are my best options:

1. Polk R200 - Good reviews everywhere, I'm afraid they are a bit too lean for my liking as per youtube sound demos. I could be totally wrong though. ($827)
2. Elac DBR62 - Looks good, how are these? ($905)
3. Fyne Audio F500 - Are these any good? ($1048)
4. Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 - And what about these? ($564)

I would have opted for the wharfedale 85th anniversary edition, but these are out of stock and not available anywhere. The Linton Heritage is out of my budget.

Any suggestion is greatly appreciated, please.
 

Katji

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What speakers are you using now?
 

NiagaraPete

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Hi,
Kindly suggest best bookshelf speakers to pair with Topping E50 + Topping PA5. I find this topping stack somewhat on the brighter/leaner side, a somewhat warm speakers would be nice I believe as I don't like bright and fatiguing sound signatures.

Usage: Music playback through TV (optical out/external DAC) (youtube, youtube music, spotify, apple music, tidal, mp3 and flac files) and Bluetooth streaming from a smartphone.
Listening Distance: About 4ft away from the TV and 5-6 ft away from the speakers)
Room Size/Acoustics: Zero room treatment, with lots of glass windows. Medium sized room, tiled floor with false ceiling.
Music Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie-Pop/Rock, Electro Pop, Dreampop, Post Rock, Progressive Metal, Instrumental, ZERO RAP/HIP HOP (although I also love good bass)

I am not fond of V shaped or U shaped sound, I prefer lush thick intimate vocals with great detail that does not sound bright or fatiguing.

Keeping in view the above scenario, what are my best options:

1. Polk R200 - Good reviews everywhere, I'm afraid they are a bit too lean for my liking as per youtube sound demos. I could be totally wrong though. ($827)
2. Elac DBR62 - Looks good, how are these? ($905)
3. Fyne Audio F500 - Are these any good? ($1048)
4. Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 - And what about these? ($564)

I would have opted for the wharfedale 85th anniversary edition, but these are out of stock and not available anywhere. The Linton Heritage is out of my budget.

Any suggestion is greatly appreciated, please.
Have you checked the review index? Be a great place to start. BTW the Topping stack is transparent no bright leaner, that's a speaker thing.
 
OP
J

junvvin

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What speakers are you using now?
I have a dali spektor 2 with the e50+pa5 stack and mission qx2 with quad vena. They are both okay speakers, but both certainly did not wow me like most reviewers made it out to be.
 
OP
J

junvvin

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Have you checked the review index? Be a great place to start. BTW the Topping stack is transparent no bright leaner, that's a speaker thing.
I have checked several reviews and sound demos on the above mentioned speakers, yet to research on more speakers.
 

Putter

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Where to begin..... People in this forum don't really believe (as backed up by measurements and blind tests) that most electronics (with the possible exception of vacuum tubes) have a 'sound'. Competently designed electronics are indistinguishable with a blind test as long as they're operating within their parameters (i.e. not overdriven). Also warmer sound vs. brighter sound is somewhat harder to define. If a speaker has a 'flat' frequency response, it will be neither warm or bright.

Obviously a 'warm' sound is considered to have more bass and a 'bright' sound has more treble. I would say that you'll get more 'warmth' by adding subwoofer(s) to fill in the low end since neither of the speakers goes very low (QX2 44 hz, Dali 54 hz according to their spec) or with some form of Equalization.
 

fieldcar

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Some measurements from another post tells me that they are pretty decent speakers. You may be best off getting into room correction and EQ with a minidsp SHD studio and adding a small sealed sub like the SVS 3000 micro.


index.php
 
OP
J

junvvin

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Where to begin..... People in this forum don't really believe (as backed up by measurements and blind tests) that most electronics (with the possible exception of vacuum tubes) have a 'sound'. Competently designed electronics are indistinguishable with a blind test as long as they're operating within their parameters (i.e. not overdriven). Also warmer sound vs. brighter sound is somewhat harder to define. If a speaker has a 'flat' frequency response, it will be neither warm or bright.

Obviously a 'warm' sound is considered to have more bass and a 'bright' sound has more treble. I would say that you'll get more 'warmth' by adding subwoofer(s) to fill in the low end since neither of the speakers goes very low (QX2 44 hz, Dali 54 hz according to their spec) or with some form of Equalization.
I do not consider myself an audiophile so I am not familiar with most audiophile terms, but I prefer forwarded mids/vocals (thick vocals/not lean sounding if that makes sense). Previously, I had psb alpha s10 subwoofer connected to quad vena and dali spektor 2. While that was better, it still did not wow me, so I sold the s10. Maybe my component pairing is not towards my taste. However, I do prefer a 2.0 setup than 2.1 because of space constraints.
Some measurements from another post tells me that they are pretty decent speakers. You may be best off getting into room correction and EQ with a minidsp SHD studio and adding a small sealed sub like the SVS 3000 micro.


index.php
And I'm afraid Room correction and EQing are too complicated for me as I am a total noob when it comes to these.
 

kma100

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Where are you located (country)? That might narrow things down.
 

Putter

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You may well have eq through your smartphone. Another enhancement would be curtains on the windows and carpets on the floor. These would 'warm' the sound by absorbing high frequency energy.
 

fieldcar

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And I'm afraid Room correction and EQing are too complicated for me as I am a total noob when it comes to these.
That's unfortunate, as it's really a way to get the sound you really desire. Keep learning, give it time, and pull the trigger when you're ready. I'm personally doing the Audyssey XT32 on a Denon X3700H with MultiEQ-X, and I'm extremely satisfied with the results.
Room Size/Acoustics: Zero room treatment, with lots of glass windows. Medium sized room, tiled floor with false ceiling.
I don't know how I missed this, but I'd look into fixing first reflections and the rear reflection points before doing anything else, even room correction.

EDIT: a much more simplified explanation.

EDIT: just realized this is all technical jargon. sorry about that.
 
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Dougey_Jones

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Hi,
Kindly suggest best bookshelf speakers to pair with Topping E50 + Topping PA5. I find this topping stack somewhat on the brighter/leaner side, a somewhat warm speakers would be nice I believe as I don't like bright and fatiguing sound signatures.

Usage: Music playback through TV (optical out/external DAC) (youtube, youtube music, spotify, apple music, tidal, mp3 and flac files) and Bluetooth streaming from a smartphone.
Listening Distance: About 4ft away from the TV and 5-6 ft away from the speakers)
Room Size/Acoustics: Zero room treatment, with lots of glass windows. Medium sized room, tiled floor with false ceiling.
Music Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie-Pop/Rock, Electro Pop, Dreampop, Post Rock, Progressive Metal, Instrumental, ZERO RAP/HIP HOP (although I also love good bass)

I am not fond of V shaped or U shaped sound, I prefer lush thick intimate vocals with great detail that does not sound bright or fatiguing.

Keeping in view the above scenario, what are my best options:

1. Polk R200 - Good reviews everywhere, I'm afraid they are a bit too lean for my liking as per youtube sound demos. I could be totally wrong though. ($827)
2. Elac DBR62 - Looks good, how are these? ($905)
3. Fyne Audio F500 - Are these any good? ($1048)
4. Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 - And what about these? ($564)

I would have opted for the wharfedale 85th anniversary edition, but these are out of stock and not available anywhere. The Linton Heritage is out of my budget.

Any suggestion is greatly appreciated, please.

With the Topping E50+PA5 stack, I'd say the Polk R200 would probably have the best chance of taming the lean nature of your electronics. Elac DBR62 are great (I have a pair), but I wouldn't pair them with those electronics.

Just my $0.02.
 
OP
J

junvvin

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That's unfortunate, as it's really a way to get the sound you really desire. Keep learning, give it time, and pull the trigger when you're ready. I'm personally doing the Audyssey XT32 on a Denon X3700H with MultiEQ-X, and I'm extremely satisfied with the results.

I don't know how I missed this, but I'd look into fixing first reflections and the rear reflection points before doing anything else, even room correction.

EDIT: a much more simplified explanation.

EDIT: just realized this is all technical jargon. sorry about that.
Thanks, I will definitely look into this.

With the Topping E50+PA5 stack, I'd say the Polk R200 would probably have the best chance of taming the lean nature of your electronics. Elac DBR62 are great (I have a pair), but I wouldn't pair them with those electronics.

Just my $0.02.
Thanks, this is just what I needed to hear.
 

Dougey_Jones

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Thanks, I will definitely look into this.


Thanks, this is just what I needed to hear.
I owned, and truly loved a pair of Polk LSi7’s, which are the predecessor to the new R line and used the first generation ring radiator tweeter. Make sure you get some kind of acoustic treatment on the nearest boundary to each bookshelf to soak up the first reflection, then sit back and enjoy very precise imaging. The tweeters punch above their price point.
 
OP
J

junvvin

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I guess my first task is to install some kind of acoustic treatment first. Thanks y'all.
 

Katji

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The other thing is, the type of vocals you describe, it is more about the recording/production. If that harshness/whatever was not there before, something changed, the Topping gear just made it really noticeable.

Room acoustics... couches, rugs, curtains. If there is fair amount of absorbent stuff like that, and the problem is there, then you best look into..acoustic absorber panels - and lots of reading. :-s
Acoustic foam panels usually not worth bothering. ...Rest is google - or maybe local forum, find out where to get, prices, recommendations.


PS: Welcome, and please go here, help to improve data :) https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/poll-where-are-you-guys-from.9924/page-30
 
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