Best bookshelf loudspeakers under 10,000 for the pair
Check out the Trenner and Friedl "Sun" speakers; under $4000. Ken Micallef of Stereophile said ". . .the best small speaker experience I've ever had." See "stereophile.com/content/trenner-friedl-sun-loudspeaker." I bought the SEAS tiny co-ax drivers (RE12-XFC from Madisound, built the recommended cabinets, bought the fancy crossovers, and they sound great. DIY for under $600 including cabinet. Add a subwoofer and they're hard to beat. |
I second the recommendation on the Focals. A lot I like about them. I have owned a pair of Totem Signature Ones for a couple of years that I very much enjoy. If I had your budget, I would probably grab a pair of Totem Element Fires version 2. I listened to them for a couple of hours at a local dealer. Beautiful noise! Blistering speed on attacks and transients, presence, palpable holographic sound stage, highly musical, and at 7k, you will have some money left for other toys. Drops down to 30 highly accurate cycles, so you will get most of the frequency range and almost all if any instrument barring the lowest registers of a pipe organ. But having listened to pipe Organs on them (and lots of other tunes) you’d have to really know your stuff to notice what’s missing. |
I was in the market in this segment for a while and have heard a few of the things mentioned in this thread, so will share my $.02. As always, no offense intended to those who disagree. :) Paradigm Persona: I have heard the B's and 3F's and just couldn't warm up to them. They sounded rather brittle and not organic at all, klling tonal and dynamic nuances. The combination of beryllium drivers and 3rd order x-over just does not work for my ears. Focal Sopra: I think I heard the bigger ones, not the No. 1's - Jerry Siegel @ 10audio likes the No. 1 and I have liked a number of components that he does. That said, the bigger Sopras do some things well but I just can't get over the Focal voicing which is slightly forward and nasal and a bit fatiguing and unnatural to my ears. TAD: Yet another hard-sounding speaker to my ears. Perhaps I just didn't hear them set up properly (it was with an Ayre EX8 which didn't sound like a good match at all) but the midrange was thin, upper midrange coarse and treble peaky. I have yet to hear a beryllium driver my ears can tolerate. Dynaudio Special 40: a very fun speaker, big tone and dynamics but the bass response is not very even, sounds underdamped and resonated badly on certain cello notes. Dynaudio Contour 20: a more detailed and neutral speaker than the Special 40, but a little dry and uninspiring. I found the Special 40 more enjoyable. Boenicke: I heard the W7, but I imagine the W5 has a similar character. A very interesting speaker, cool looking and full of character which can be a pro or a con depending on your ears. The cabinet is designed to have some sympathetic resonance which can sound magical but colored. Same for imaging, it initially sounds holographic and spacious but after a while it feels a little gimmicky. If you like euphonic effects it could be great, but it's not what I would call accurate. Audiovector SR 1 Arreté: This, along with the Silverline SR17 Supreme, was my reference monitor for a couple years, until I upgraded to the SR 6. It lacks some body, is finicky to match and sounds a little flat at lower volumes, but dialed in just right it's remarkably transparent and insightful, and for such a small speaker it is amazingly clean playing crazy loud. I find it preferable to all of the above, and the new R1 model should be better (less dry). Silverline SR17 Supreme: For situations where the Audiovector was a bit too lean and analytical, I turned to the Silverline. Some of the best drivers Dynaudio has every produced, perfectly meshed with a minimal crossover that results in a more seamless, organic sound than anything I've heard from Dynaudio themselves. Only major knock is the cabinet has some lower midrange resonance which results in some congestion at high volumes, rather euphonic with acoustic music but the Audiovector is cleaner for rock/electronic. A music lover's speaker that doesn't sacrifice resolution or transparency. Wilson TuneTot: the pair I heard wasn't fully broken in, but regardless it was wholly unremarkable. I haven't heard the Fritz speakers - was in touch with them but didn't get around to an audition - but have very good things about them. I know the OP was looking for a bookshelf, and I am a mini monitor fanatic myself, but for $10k I would try to check out the Audiovector R 3 Arreté. It has pretty much all the virtues of a bookshelf, with dynamics and bottom end few can match, and the footprint is tiny. TAS just published a review. |
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Cannot wrong with KEF Reference ones. The older R 300s and current R 3’s get you pretty close. I have owned the Reference 1 and R 300, as well as listening to them many times at Quest For Sound in Bensalem, PA. They have always impressed with a wide variety of amplifiers and sources. I did have the chance to compare them in the store with ELAC Andante bookshelves. The ELAC were very good but I preferred the KEF’ S. I currently have a pair of McIntosh XR 50 bookshelf speakers. They offer an amazingly full range sound from a compact/attractive cabinet. The Mac’s need serious amplification to sound their best. |
I thought I’d hit the spot with my ‘86 11ohm Roger LS3/5As. Had them dialed in perfectly in my listening room with high quality electronics front to back. I’m now playing a set of JM Reynaud Twins MkII and after over a month of moving things around can now say they are better in every way to the little Rogers Brit Boxes. I mean these with dedicated stands (albeit mine are on spiked Target open stands) were about $1500 new! The imaging is scary good, bass is tight, right and well improved (transmission line open, but stuffed, port in front) over the Rogers as well. Midrange is liquid and voices are true and accurate both male & female. High end is delicate and articulate with just the right amount of sizzle and cymbal decay. I’m going to search out a pair of JMR Magic Stands which are said to truly complete the package sort of like the AB1 is available to reel in a better bass result from the LS3/5As. Now that’s a shootout I’d like to read about having not had both of these systems at the same time. If u can find a set of JMR Twins, MKII, MKIII or newer Bliss each WITH their dedicated Magic Stands you gotta them a twirl. Great reviews out there too especially from Bob Neill at Positive Feedback. $10K, not sure u need to drop that kind of money. Spend some time and budget on room treatment and proper placement and the dividends will pay off handsomely. Quality speaker runs too. Soooo much out there so in this $ space both new and pre-owned but these JMRs are special. Just my opinion... |
+1 for Joseph Audio Pulsars with the Benchmark amp. I should add that I've tried mid-range Audioquest, Shunyata and Nordost Norse power and signal cable and have found that with this combination, nothing beats the Nordost. Frey 2 is best, but I'm using Heimdall 2 as well for USB and some power cables. Power cables seem to have the most significant impact, but using one brand throughout seems to sound best, regardless of brand. |
The Joseph Audio speakers being touted here use stock off-the-shelf SEAS Excel drivers, which are exceptional. But you can buy the very same drivers from Madisound and build a speaker every bit as good for a fraction of the money. And Madisound has a cabinet maker they work with that can build them for you and they just show up at your door, ready to play, still for a fraction of what you'd pay Joseph Audio. I'm going to take a swag and say that the kit below, assembled and shipped to your door would be about $3300. Or you could build it yourself and have a LOT of fun doing it, for about $2300. Go look at the Joseph Audio line and then look at: https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/mtm-speaker-kits/new-odin-kit-pair/ But if you have a hole burning in your pocket and just HAVE to drop Large Cash, there's a used pair of the Avalon Acoustics Mixing Monitor on Reverb.com for only $7000/pair. They listed at $18,000/pair new. I've been a huge fan of Avalon Acoustics for many years. Really some of the very best sound anywhere. True Hi-End. https://reverb.com/item/17692196-avalon-pro-mixing-monitor-black |
Well, I just skimmed over this but once again I see NO mention of PMC! Apart from the best Phase alignment using Linkwitz Riley x-over design, they employ ATL / transmission Line bass loading which cannot be surpassed by any bass reflex design. This is Physics Fact. I personally cannot listen to bass reflex designs any more and anyone can make a bass reflex speaker, it's child's play and old technology... PMC have several models but for around $5K, I challenge anything that will beat the Twenty5 / 22 bookshelf. Just spend the extra on good stands and get ready to hear dynamics, resolution, tonal accuracy, and space like you never heard before. |
Look for Ocean way audio eureka speakers designed by Allen side .huge dynamics and sound stage. Only problem is waiting time will be 6 to 8 weeks. https://oceanwayaudio.com/eureka/ |
A little more than $10000 (MSRP $12K) will get you Dutch & Dutch 8c, which received a glowing review from Stereophile https://www.stereophile.com/content/dutch-dutch-8c-active-loudspeaker-systemUnless you only interested in casual listening, bookshelf speakers need active correction to sound full range. You can retire power amplifier to offset the cost too. |
I am a long-time stand mount speakers + dual subs fan. I recently replaced my Revel Ultima Gems (great speakers) with Raidho XT-1's and I am exceptionally happy with them. The tweeter in the XT-1's is identical to the tweeter in the most expensive Raidho model, and the driver was also their best as of a couple years ago, so nice trickle down. If I were in the market, in addition to my Raidho's, my list would be narrowed down to: 1. Vivid Kaya S12 (soon to be released). The US distributor told me they will retail for $6,000. They don't have a dedicated stand as of yet, but that is in the works. 2. Jean Marie Reynaud Voce Grande (the speaker stand is incorporated with the speaker-they are not separable), which has only been in the market for a few months. Pulsars or a used pair of Alta Celesta FRM's would also be worthy of consideration, but for me personally, it would be Raidho, Vivid or the JMR's. |
I'll offer a different view. I have Monitor Audio PL100 II, and to my ears they are great. I have a sub, but they go down pretty low without it. Clear treble, big and deep soundstage, a really full sound. Before I got them I listened carefully to Kef Ref one--was ready to buy based on reviews--found them weak, soft, unclear. Heard some other speakers--Totem Element Fire, kind of vague, and Aerial 5t--thought that was excellent. sonus faber Evolution--that's $24k but demo for 12--top notch and admittedly better than than anything I'd ever heard. But I got the Monitors for 1/2 price, only 11 months old. And still think they are great. They are around 6k new now... Have fun. |
So many options. I use the Adam Semiactive Tensor Delta bookshelf and stand design. A three way with AMT Tweeter and Midrange with a 9" woofer (very light and stiff). This is a front ported design with the woofer being self powered and electronically crossed over at ~500 Hz. The Midrange and Tweeter are driven by your supplied amplifier. The sensitivity is 91 db/1 watt/ 1 meter; so not inefficient. Used this can be found for less than $5,000 but sold originally for ~$10,000. Internal bass amplifier is Class D at 250 watts. I use a Levinson 27 on top with 100 watts and it is delightful. Sound is crisp, clean, detailed and dynamic with no harshness unless the recording is poor or in a nutshell very neutral with and gives you what is on the recording. It can be forgiving but it depends on the media type as well (source). I use Nordost cables. Good luck on your search! Sam. |
The Joseph Audio Pulsars and Dynaudio C-1's are fantastic standmount speakers, but similarly worthy are the Buchardt S400 speakers which are vastly less expensive and perform very similarly. You can audition their speakers free with no shipping charges. I auditioned them and completely loved them, but still prefer the presentation of my Spatial Audio speakers, but I the Buchardts sounded fantastic in my room. Go for the SE version with better caps and Dueland wiring. Just my take. |
I don't think it can get any bettter price wise, but these are certainly worthy of putting on your list. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis994g3-sonus-faber-guarneri-evolution-in-red-violin-with-stands-monitors Hope it isn't a double post. They not only sound fantastic, they're great looking. PL+SF= great way to pass the time quarantined. Naturally, "best" is your ears. I never heard the combo "bad" sounding, as long as you set them up properly. A sub or two... now or later makes it even more convincing. I have the PL HP(integrated) |
If I had something like your budget I'd sell some un-needed equipment after I buy these: https://www.stereophile.com/content/dutch-dutch-8c-active-loudspeaker-system |
Surprised no one's mentioned THE (well) under 10k bookshelf that has it all - transparency & bass plus higher efficiency, then all competitors - the B&W 805D3. Less than half the price of the TAD ME-1 & quantifiably better in some respects. https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/bw-805-d3/ https://www.stereophile.com/content/bowers-wilkins-805-d3-loudspeaker The continuum mid is better then the driver it replaces & that one was better than the one in current kevlar drivers in the current floor standing 800 series range. Musical as all get out too. Can't beat a great diamond tweeter, on top of all its other virtues. See for yourself, |
I'm no expert but i have been to NY audio twice and Sonner was always the monitor highlight: https://www.monoandstereo.com/2019/10/sonner-audio-allegro-unum-speakers.html#more Be interested if anyone has got suggestions that sound similar for a smaller price as they never come up used! Cheers |
