Best bookshelf speakers for bookshelf placement

For shelf placement, only acoustic suspension/sealed box or front ported monitors will work best ... you can't change physics, though marketing spiels may try. Question seriously any manufacturer that will claim that a rear ported or a "plugged" rear ported speaker will work well in your situation, unless it can be demonstarted that the speakers work well with near rear wall (less than 3 inches) placement. Fortunately, speakers on an open shelf fare better than speakers on a shelf inside of a bookcase (you ultimately wind up with a box inside of a box). I speak with a lot of experience, as I have had speakers on shelves in numerous systems for the last 15 years (mischievous, high-flying cats).

Hell if I know which are the "best" speakers for anything. Speakers that I have owned which excelled at shelf placement are: NHT SB2 (depending on your shelf width though, I would go with the SB3 ... a very underrated performer that with the right equipment would shock most people with its nuanced musical performance); Omega Super 3 (a single driver speaker that is magic with tubes); and EPOS 11 (the new version would be M12.2). What didn't work were Wharfedale Diamonds; B&W 300 series; and KEF Uni-Q's.

Regards, Rich

Just an additional note about the NHT SB2's ... I didn't appreciate how nuanced these sealed box speakers could be until I paired them with a Prima Luna Prologue Two tube integrated amplifier. Most people would not pair a $1350 amp with $400 speakers ... I did on a lark and I could not believe that these were the same speakers that I was using in a bedroom system with a vintage Marantz receiver. And I was doing every questionable placement that one could do with these speakers ... I had them on shelves, on their sides, inside a bookcase about 4 1/2 feet off the ground. One of the most musical speakers I have heard under a grand ($400 list) . Now that the SB line is being phased out, I am seriously considering purchasing a new pair of SB-3s and replacing the Omegas that I have currently paired with the Prima Luna. I am not slighting any other speaker, I just think that NHT doesn't get its due because most would classify NHT as mid fi.

Regards, Rich