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Best bookshelf speakers

I’m building my first high fi system after being more of a portable audio person. I want to start with the speakers. Space is limited so bookshelf speakers are a must.

Preferences:
Balanced and revealing with a hint of warmth.
Midrange most important to get right over highs and lows
Timbre is super important - I listen mostly to acoustic music especially jazz
But I do need some bass as I also listen to some electronic music
Smaller is better but SQ is most important
A speaker that sounds good with different amps but also scalable with high quality sources
Wide sweet spot - I wont have money for a great amp at first but want them to be scalable for later

These speakers have caught my eyes - any thoughts on them?

Ascend Sierra 2s - Ribbon = dispersion limitations?
BMR Philharmonitor - See above. Also massive.
Buchardt S400/S300 - Wary of the sudden hype train and limited info
Silverline Minuet Grande - Limited info
Reference 3A De Capo - This caught my eye as a potential endgame speaker if I could blow up my budget a little. But concerns about BE tweeter as well as some potential snake oil stuff (cryogenic treatment (!?)), exaggerated sensitivity claims and wonky measurements put me off.

What else should I be looking at?

Edit: I could have sworn I had <$2,000 in the title... Anyway, my budget is 2k.

stuff_jones
stuff_jones OP
65 posts
 
@motokokusanagi1
This thread is fun, but also nuts. The best advice I can give is go look up local dealers, check out what brands they carry, then make a shortlist and have as many auditions as possible, ideally with your own gear. Speakers are completely subjective things and one person’s audio nirvana will sound utterly crud to the next person. Remember also that the actual space footprint of a mini bookshelf on stands may be no smaller whatsoever to a slim floorstander


I’m building a system from scratch. Of course in a perfect world you’d be able to go to the few dealers near you and try all the speakers on your radar, including the direct sale models, with all the amps on your radar and all the DACs. That’s obviously not possible. Instead you have a very limited selection of gear in your vicinity that is not representative of the best gear at your price point in the world.

The problem and beauty of this hobby, I'm learning, is that there's so much good gear coming from so many different tiny manufacturers. If you're buying a laptop or a car, you more or less know the universe of manufacturers and can pick from among their models. I'm over a month into my research on this and am still discovering gear that I think I should be looking into. 

A small floorstander might do the trick too, but so far none have piqued my interest. Any suggestions?
chrisr's avatar
chrisr
543 posts
 
Not sure what your listening space is, but mine has always allowed a 7ft equilateral triangle and sometimes 9ft in my living room.... 
Latest arrival in my 7ft triangle is an old pair of totem hawks,  and this is the best compromise i have ever had, between small size, deep bass, easy placement, relatively easy to drive, dynamics, sweet spot, and  fantastic stage and imaging.  They have been around for about 20 years and they are not cheap.  But i think that they do what an audiophile wants in a small package.
Maybe the totem sky measure up and  more at a lower price point.  There's always the used market.
stoney40
18 posts
 
I purchased the Devore Fidelity 3XL's and haven't look back. They are definitely worth a look. I couldn't be more pleased. 
motokokusanagi
189 posts
 
A small floorstander might do the trick too, but so far none have piqued my interest. Any suggestions?
-- Living Voice Auditorium sounds to me like your perfect speaker, but they’re way above your budget new http://www.borderpatrol.net/livingvoiceloudspeakers.htm

Another variable is synergy with a given amp and interaction with your room, hence the need to go visit some dealers and just get some initial pointers on viable systems.

Brands/Models I’d recommend to try to hear are the Nola Boxer, various Totems, Harbeth P3-ESR and the ATC SCM11s. All have their attendant compromises, but broadly fit your stated sonic preferences.

Two current listings that catch my eye both happen to be Italian! 
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis99e4g-opera-mezza-bookshelf-speakers-cherry-pair-13119-monitors...
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis99848-diapason-audio-neos-full-range
stuff_jones OP
65 posts
 
Trying to glean more wisdom from the audiogon vets:

What are your thoughts on using a disproportionate portion of a system budget on "endgame" speakers and skimping a little on electronics? You can slowly upgrade your electronics to get more out of your speakers if you’re not satisfied/curious.

I think it was Steve Gutenberg who recommended a 50:33:17 speaker:amp:dac cost ratio. What if you do something more like 70:20:10? Will you get better SQ out of a more balanced "Gutenberg distribution", given a fixed budget?
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