Bookshelf speakers, small room, close to wall.

[Chromatischism]

Will watch with great interest for any suggestions matching the »Not China« request, for a new pair under 2k.

Same. I got slapped with a ~$250 import tariff when I bought my speakers in 2020 because they were made at the Hansong factory in China before being finish assembled, inspected, and packed up in Denmark. It seems few people understand that we pay the tariffs, not the country they are imposed on.

I don't think I would have made a different decision though. The new Ascends didn't exist yet and I wasn't interested in the other options around $2k (KEF pre-Meta, etc). It's a more competitive market now.

 

[wscottdo]

Suggested options at this point appear to be:

Revel Performa M106
Ascend Sierra EX v2
Focal Vestia No.1
Something from Dynaudio. Best option?
ATC SCM 7 ?


Kef R3
Harbeth- model?
Spendor - model?
Cabasse -model?
ProAc- model?

Any other suggestions or strong opinions about the options above as they fit within the “must have” framework?

Thanks for your help!

 

[BillH]

A couple thoughts
I have Sierra EX (not v2 - yet). They are incredible. I love them because they serve a very wide sofa of seating with uniform tonal balance due to their very wide dispersion. They also sound incredible with my 15 inch SVS sub.

I also own revel m105’s also great. Might be worth looking for the 105 or 106 used.

Finally, small room. There is another recent thread about small rooms where it is pointed out that narrower dispersion leads to less sidewall reflections which some people find associated with more precise imaging. This would be an argument for the KEFs

Happy journey

 

[Chromatischism]

Suggested options at this point appear to be:

Revel Performa M106
Ascend Sierra EX v2
Focal Vestia No.1
Something from Dynaudio. Best option?
ATC SCM 7 ?


Kef R3
Harbeth- model?
Spendor - model?
Cabasse -model?
ProAc- model?

Any other suggestions or strong opinions about the options above as they fit within the “must have” framework?

Thanks for your help!

Buchardt S400 MKII should be on that list.

 

[Chromatischism]

Finally, small room. There is another recent thread about small rooms where it is pointed out that narrower dispersion leads to less sidewall reflections which some people find associated with more precise imaging. This would be an argument for the KEFs

Conversely, you tend to sit closer in a small room, therefore you need a bit wider.

 

[ehabheikal]

Since you have a subwoofer Kef ls50 meta is a great speaker for the budget.

 

[wscottdo]

Confidently recommended:
Revel Performa M106
Ascend Sierra EX v2
Focal Vestia No.1(How do these rank in the group?)
Kef LS50
Buchardt S400 MKII


Something from Dynaudio. Best option?
ATC SCM 7 ?
Harbeth- model?
Spendor - model?
Cabasse -model?
ProAc- model?

Any other suggestions or strong opinions about the options above as they fit within the “must have” framework? Any other experience with direct comparisons?

Thank you so much for your advice and expertise

 

[ShadowBoxer]

XTZ Spirit-4 comments here on ASR (Sweden).

 

[muslhead]

These looks wonderful, and check a lot of boxes. There has been some chatter about them sounding a bit too bright. Do others share this experience?

"Bright" is a relative term. What is bright to you may not be bright to me.
If you have a way to EQ them then that question is moot. You can tune them to sound any way you like.
I have the LX and use eq, they are excellent. I do not use them near the wall though

 

[geek101]

Hi,

Bookshelf/monitor speaker recommendation under 2k/pair?

Here are the must haves:

Small room requires near wall placement.
For rock/blues music comfortable handle 95db
Nothing made in China
Small footprint, under 20” high
Neutral, not “bright”

Might consider used
Paired with vintage McIntosh 50W
Existing sub

Thank you very much for your help

What exactly pairing with that amp mean ? Speaker with better efficiency?.

 

[sigbergaudio]

XTZ Spirit-4 comments here on ASR (Sweden).

Also made in China.

 

[caught gesture]

Nothing made in China

This requirement is going to require a massive amount of research probably involving contacting each manufacturer. Even then it will probably be impossible to determine the location of manufacturing for every part. For example, the binding posts, if not branded, where were they manufactured? I would imagine that it is probably 100% certain that at least one component will be manufactured in China.

 

[Timmy]

I would imagine that it is probably 100% certain that at least one component will be manufactured in China.

Let’s assume that @wscottdo could convince himself to tolerate that

 

[ZolaIII]

Wharfadale Linton's menage 102 dB without almost any compression and are cheap. They also look vintage. I don't know where they are maid and I don't care. They are made and sold in enough quantity that you will be able to find spare parts for a long time. They are back ported which should be plugged in case of close to the back wall. As those are about 1200$ (or even less) with stand's you should invest rest in standalone DSP and mic (MiniDSP and Umik 1) and I think you need that badly in the small room.

 

[Timmy]

I don't know where they are maid

I really just can’t imagine any section of a speaker that could be maid.

 

[ZolaIII]

I really just can’t imagine any section of a speaker that could be maid.

Made*... It's early and I didn't finish the first morning coffee. For data take a look at Erin's corner and I gona make another coffee for myself.

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

These looks wonderful, and check a lot of boxes. There has been some chatter about them sounding a bit too bright. Do others share this experience?

The LXs are not bright to my ear. They are very linear. If find them unobjectionable for all music, meaning really good but nothing stands out in the mids or highs. I keep thinking about them as a silk dome, not a metal dome as they have, tweeter. The bass stands out in terms of quality for sure. It still hits me on occasion even after 9 month or so of heavy use.

Any dome tweeter you point at your head will get brighter, so if that is an issue, don't do that. I can also get them to sound bright if I set them up toed in a certain way that increases refelctions from my very reflective old plaster walls. But if I set them up for the room, no brightness compared to other speakers I have heard in that room.

The most common complaint in the LX thread on ASR seems to be "too much bass". The plugs can help there, but I would go for one of their options that rolls off more at 50 (from memory) than 40 (LX) for a small room and close to the wall (if our definitions of small are the same). But since I have a pretty big volume, and I set them 8' from a wall, not a concern for me.

This is for sure. With Ascend, you get EXACTLY what they say you will get. No guessing needed, just trust the measurements they provide.

 

[RoA]

Regarding ATC 7; Your 50W amp may not be enough though. My brother has the smaller 7's but drives them with 150w/ch and he seems to think they sound better now than with his previous Advance Accoustics 100w/ch amplifier

Regarding ProAc Tablette 10 or 10 Signature may be worth a look. They look lovely, never mind the sound

Tablette 10 Signature - ProAc

www.proac-loudspeakers.com

 

[Timmy]

Ascend Acoustics makes some excellent monitor style speakers

They don’t have official distributors in Europe, do they? So I wonder about shipping to Europe. Waiting time, extra costs?

 

[JiiPee]

Some suggestions:
- Amphion Argon 1: Made in Finland; approx 1300 € / pair VAT included; 86 dB sensitivity at 8 ohm, so You might get the desired peak volume in a small room.
- Elfton Vigo MK II: Made in Czech republic; approx 1900 € / pair; 91 dB sensitivity at 4 ohm, they go loud and with front facing reflex ports you can place them quite close to wall, size = 485mm x 300mm x 280mm, so they are close to Your limit regarding the size.