Speakers for vocal and instrumental accuracy and low volume listening.

[Ml2316]

Hi,

I'm trying to identify what set of bookshelf speakers is best given my personal taste for audio, which is as follows:

• deep, but soft low end. A low end that goes down to the 30s but is not thumping. I want to hear low end audio to very low frequencies but I don't want it to dominate whatever I'm listening to. (requiring a subwoofer with these characteristics is fine). I want to hear but not feel the bass.
• emphasis on accuracy for vocals, string instruments, piano, and other non-percussive instruments. Also prefer these frequencies to be the most prominent.
• sound great at low volume. I never play my music above the volume of normal conversation.

My budget is less than $300 so just looking for whatever is closest to my ideal in that admittedly limiting price range.

I've done a lot of research but having a hard time mapping how reviewers describe audio characteristics to what I'm imagining. However, my best interpretations of what I'm reading have led me to this list

Jbl a130
Pioneer sp bs22 lr
Kef q150 ($300 on Amazon the most expensive model I'm considering)
Sony sscs5
Dayton audio b652
Jamo s803

Also curious which brands, if any, tend to design speakers with these characteristics.

Thanks.

(also, yeah, I know my taste in audio is weird)

 

[Beershaun]

I would look at powered studio monitor style speakers like genelec or Neumann. This brands are above your price range but these types of speakers have built in amps and dsp, when applied well, tend to produce good frequency response with the trade off being less sound pressure level capability.

Here is a recent cheap one that does OK.

RCF AYRA PRO5 Review (Powered Monitor)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the RCF AYRA PRO 5 powered studio monitor (speaker). I purchased this new from Amazon for US $149 (each) including shipping. The PRO5 looks serious enough although a bit busy for my taste. Like the waveguide for the tweeter which should make for...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Ml2316]

PS: I can't really say how discerning my audio perception is except to say that I've tried two sound bars that got decent reviews And they both sounded terrible for either movies or music to me.

 

[Ml2316]

I would look at powered studio monitor style speakers like genelec or Neumann. This brands are above your price range but these types of speakers have built in amps and dsp, when applied well, tend to produce good frequency response with the trade off being less sound pressure level capability.

Here is a recent cheap one that does OK.

RCF AYRA PRO5 Review (Powered Monitor)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the RCF AYRA PRO 5 powered studio monitor (speaker). I purchased this new from Amazon for US $149 (each) including shipping. The PRO5 looks serious enough although a bit busy for my taste. Like the waveguide for the tweeter which should make for...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Ah interesting point about the dsps, thanks