Bookshelf speakers for bedroom

[Sunsetter]

I am in the market for standmount speakers for my master bedroom as part of a remodeling project. The room will be about 16' x 17' with a 9 foot ceiling, and the available spot for these speakers is at the corners of one of the 16 foot walls. The bed will be centered on the opposite 16 foot wall, and the listening position will generally be at the head or foot of the bed. There may also be a chair that is off to the side of the bed but facing in the direction of the speakers. Floor will be hardwood, although it will be covered by a rug at least in part. The amp will be 100W RMS per channel at 8 ohms. I am locked into the Yamaha 4 zone multiroom amp here due to having Yamaha MusicCast throughout the rest of the house (it will power ceiling speakers in two other bedrooms and then will have two channels bridged for this room).

WAF is a major concern here, so a subwoofer is off the table and smaller/stylish is better. Budget is a bit flexible, as my goal would be to buy speakers I will never feel like I want to change, but I cannot go totally nuts here. I am at this point intending to check out the KEF LS50 Meta, KEF R3 Meta and perhaps Ascend Sierra 2EX. I would appreciate any recommendations people here may have for my situation, as well any thoughts from owners of these three speakers or folks who have a similar room setup and love their speakers.

 

[Astoneroad]

My bedroom rig (5.0) has Revel F206 LCR and Revel S16 for the "sides". The S16 isn't stand mounted, although it could be. They come with easy wall mounts and that's how I've used them. For the $, often discounted to $600/pair, they're great, especially matched with their "bigger brother" the F206. They aren't as deep, dimensionally, as the LS50, which I also had in the same bedroom rig (as well as the M16 and 106), so they are more easily placed. I've had more expensive speakers in that system and prefer the S16 and don't feel like I've compromised at all. I've owned lots of Revels, including Salon2 in my main rig, from the bottom of that food chain to the top, I have no complaints of sound or value... imho.

After many stand mount speakers, from $600-23k, I don't see the advantage. They take up just as much real estate as a floor standing speaker. I love the F206 and it takes up the same space as the M16, 106... etc, once you put them on a stand. Also, the cost to buy stands can go into transducers instead... money better spent.

 

[Sunsetter]

My bedroom rig (5.0) has Revel F206 LCR and Revel S16 for the "sides". The S16 isn't stand mounted, although it could be. They come with easy wall mounts and that's how I've used them. For the $, often discounted to $600/pair, they're great, especially matched with their "bigger brother" the F206. They aren't as deep, dimensionally, as the LS50, which I also had in the same bedroom rig (as well as the M16 and 106), so they are more easily placed. I've had more expensive speakers in that system and prefer the S16 and don't feel like I've compromised at all. I've owned lots of Revels, including Salon2 in my main rig, from the bottom of that food chain to the top, I have no complaints of sound or value... imho.

After many stand mount speakers, from $600-23k, I don't see the advantage. They take up just as much real estate as a floor standing speaker. I love the F206 and it takes up the same space as the M16, 106... etc, once you put them on a stand. Also, the cost to buy stands can go into transducers instead... money better spent.

I hear you on the floorstanding speaker space point. It is less about real estate than it is about appearances, as a bookshelf speaker on a stand is visually lighter than a tower. We have a pair of Revel F328be speakers in our living room, and they are legit huge. They are not inappropriate for the space since it is relatively open to the foyer, but the wife has never been thrilled with that and is only going to be on board with something much more unobtrusive in the bedroom. I was originally seeking a pair of the F228be speakers in the living room, but during the height of the pandemic they had a huge lead time and my sales guy shamed Revel into giving me a massive discount on the in-stock F328be, so here I am. I probably should add the Revel M106 to my list though, as I have been very happy with my Revel speakers.

 

[Astoneroad]

during the height of the pandemic they had a huge lead time and my sales guy shamed Revel into giving me a massive discount on the in-stock F328be

So, you've got the Revel bookshelves on your radar already, I've got nothing more to add to that, other than the S16 are perhaps even more visually lighter if wall mounted. Now it's up to your boss. Without naming names... how great a deal did you get on your 328Be's?

 

[fineMen]

I am in the market for standmount speakers for my master bedroom as part of a remodeling project. The room will be about 16' x 17' with a 9 foot ceiling, ...

WAF is a major concern here, so a subwoofer is off the table ... KEF R3 Meta ...

This is an interesting question.
To begin with you won't be able to maintain a proper stereo image.
Not only the speakers would be positioned close to a wall, but the ears also.
Second to that the immediate surrounding would be sound absorbing material in spades (except you are a fakir).
A flat sub might be hidden from preying eyes below the bed (except you are a fakir).

Frankly spoken I recommend the KEF R3s (not meta, btw) as 'end-game' speakers every other day. I would be hard pressed to not say these were utter extravaganca in that situation. They won't fit as well due to the narrowed dispersion.

 

[Astoneroad]

To begin with you won't be able to maintain a proper stereo image.
Not only the speakers would be positioned close to a wall, but the ears also.
Second to that the immediate surrounding would be sound absorbing material in spades (except you are a fakir).

Yup. Totally agree from my experience... and I accept it as still a fabulous overkill for a bedroom. However, I don't have another room for the HT... so I suffer... but certainly not in silence... lol. The sacrifice of sonic quality is so much better than no bedroom rig at all... imo. If I want that... I walk 15 feet to my 2 channel and sink into it.

 

[Sunsetter]

This is an interesting question.
To begin with you won't be able to maintain a proper stereo image.
Not only the speakers would be positioned close to a wall, but the ears also.
Second to that the immediate surrounding would be sound absorbing material in spades (except you are a fakir).
A flat sub might be hidden from preying eyes below the bed (except you are a fakir).

Frankly spoken I recommend the KEF R3s (not meta, btw) as 'end-game' speakers every other day. I would be hard pressed to not say these were utter extravaganca in that situation. They won't fit as well due to the narrowed dispersion.

Why do you recommend the standard R3 over the newer Meta version?

 

[Sunsetter]

Yup. Totally agree from my experience... and I accept it as still a fabulous overkill for a bedroom. However, I don't have another room for the HT... so I suffer... but certainly not in silence... lol. The sacrifice of sonic quality is so much better than no bedroom rig at all... imo. If I want that... I walk 15 feet to my 2 channel and sink into it.

I don’t have much choice on speaker placement given the room configuration. There is 12-15” of space from each corner to a closet door. Then there is a few feet of space between the closet doors. The speakers would be much too close together if they are placed between those doors.

Alternative would be a pair of ceiling speakers, but I would think that is probably even worse?

 

[fineMen]

Why do you recommend the standard R3 over the newer Meta version?

Actually I did, but only because it was quite affordable for some time here; just 1k for the pair. It was a no-brainer especially if one had an equalizer at hand. With some very mild tweaking in the lower treble and adjusting bass for proper room integration, I don't miss anything.

Actually I don't know the 'meta', and I often commented that the 'meta' maybe a technological marvel, but beyond, let's say my personal need.

When it comes to your bedroom I didn't recommend these due to the special environment (see above) that will ask for hefty equalization and still accepting compromises anyway. The R3s would be wasted IMHO. Get something way smaller, lighter knowing that recordings (!) are not made to be listened to under the given circumstances. But of course that's private decision.