Bookshelf speakers on a bookshelf (Sad)

Magico A1 maybe doable in a bookshelf. The Vivd S12 are also another that should also work. The Focal Kanta lineup maybe another that may work.

I would also look at the KEF LS60 and sell all the other gear. It is only as wide as an iPhone and considered the baby Blade.

If you’ve really got money to spend, consider the Raidho XT1.

if you want 85% of the performance for 70% of the cost, check out the Scansonic MB-1B. 

Both speakers are incredibly musical and highly resolving, and they play enormously huge for their size. They are also both front ported, which make them an ideal choice for a bookshelf speaker.

In full transparency, I am in the process of becoming an official Scansonic dealer, but this is because I have owned a pair of Scansonic MB-6B and was very impressed with them for the price. In my application, the $10K Scansonic unseated a $25K Wilson Yvette.

Should you want to discuss more, I’m happy to chat. 

Juan Charvet

blisshifi.com

If it was me I would start off by re-purposing the console cabinet.

She sold my B&W 802s when we moved but thinks the McIntosh stuff looks cool so that can stay.
 

Maybe it would be wise to let her pick the next set of speakers for you. Sounds like you got very little input in what is going on. 

She sold your speakers? You need a pair of something alright, but it's not speakers.

Haha. Well we move from NY to Florida during Covid and had to make some decisions on what we were keeping.   All jokes aside, it’s taken 2 years to build this house and we have had bad experiences with storage in the past.  ‘She sold” is a bit a stretch, but they are gone and I still have some some hifi stuff I want to get the most out of without wasting money.  Thanks for the input.  Redoing the cabinetry is not happening, too much wallpaper and BS the designer we hired really F’d me.  But I gotta move on. 

I’ll go by house and take a pic of the godforsaken cabinet later.  LOL 

Vandersteen makes speakers for bookshelf placement!

https://www.vandersteen.com/categories/compact-speakers

Another option is the Spendor A1!

https://spendoraudio.com/a-line-loudspeakers/

Raidho xt1 could do the trick, they look nice great reviews.  Wouldn’t mind finding a pair used.

"the designer we hired really F’d me. But I gotta move on. "

mduffy18d,

Unfortunately, living in Florida you’re going to run into A LOT of that.

Incompetent, fly by night companies and individuals abound. Dishonesty is a hallmark trait of doing business down there. I’ve dealt with so many people who are full of sh*t, especially automotive, home repair and AC services. Some of these guys years in business. None of them would last a week in New England.

Yea Carp, the good news is we have a GREAT builder.  NY guy, hits singles not HRs.  He basically took over and fired the designer but some damage was done and we integrated stuff that screwed my audio project.   Just don’t have the space, 3 kids lots of crap.  

Legacy Audio has some in-wall/on wall speakers that might work. Their speakers sound decent.

Larry , Calibre?

Used Wilson Audio Duette 2?

Or Tunetot?

There is a used pair of paradigm persona B’s on eBay for like 3500 bucks, is that crazy?

@mduffy18d The speakers you list are all very good, but in your case, implementation is everything. Sticking anything with a rear port or side firing direct on a bookshelf is always going to result in muffled imaging and will sound congested as they typically need a few feet of free space around them in all directions. You should opt either for a front ported design or sealed design, and most if not all sealed designs will be limited in bass delivery given the small size of the cabinet.

@mduffy18d 

@blisshifi is giving you proper advice. We have a tv room with a similar shelving handicap. I tried Harbeth, Wilson Tunetots, etc, etc. Rear ports are out. Just forget about them, even the tunetots. The best arrangement I found was with Audio Note Super K’s but the gear you have would be a poor match. I hesitated even replying because it will take work. You may need to install some acoustic panels in the shelves, you may need some adjustable stands to isolate and be able to get the tweeter firing at the listening position. 

See if there is an Audio Note dealer near you who might have a demo pair for you to see how they work in your application.

we have the perfect solution

jern cast iron loudspeakers

sealed cabinetsdesigned to go in a cabinet affordable

incredibileimagining even in s cainet

alows for seemles integration with a small sub

great looking

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect nj

Us jern importer

There are so many red flags in the original post.

wife killed my stereo ambitions

She sold my B&W 802s when we moved

You, sir, have bigger fish to fry than a stereo system........

Ozzy, you arent kidding.  3 kids, moving to new state, wife didnt want to, etc etc.  I got what I got.  LOL

Ozzy, you arent kidding.  3 kids, moving to new state, wife didnt want to, etc etc.  I got what I got.  LOL

Ok, so now that we've established that. I like the idea of the Wilson Duette. Your situation is kind of what they were designed for.

what about some large inwalls? 

Johnk, Ill post a pic of the wall later.  Dont think i have the space.  One side opens up to pool, other to the front entry, kitchen behind it and a built in w big screen and whatever audio stuff I can jam in there.  

Duette's wont work in a shelving/cabinet unit. They work fine close to wall but no way in a cabinet.

Duette's wont work in a shelving/cabinet unit. They work fine close to wall but no way in a cabinet.

 I guess I missed the part about them being inside the cabinet. Not many speakers work well in those conditions. It would probably have to be something that is truly designed to be soffit mounted.

Also, in addition to being IN the shelf, from my experience Wilson and McIntosh will generally produce a very warm, less than resolving sound. Wilson benefits from "whitish" sounding electronics like Simaudio or Audio Research to sound its best.

@blisshifi Indeed...you give/gave wise advice.

I had a similar situation for a room and tried almost everything. I ended up with the Audio Note K SPX (the OP should probably consider the SPE for cost) driven by SHindo electronics. The K is so versatile, its shallow and its a sealed design. Without seeing his intsallation if he bought a Leben 300, an OTO SE Signature or even a Sugden/Luxman class A, somthing like that I predict excellent results. I had the K's installed on their sides on some Isoacoustics Aperta stands for adjustability and the sound was superb. Very little compromise other than at higher volumes the sound didn't "scale" evenly. At lower volumes it was a little like having a loudness button engaged. Had a wireless subwoofer setup that I only used maybe 25% of the time.

Try something good/inexpensive to get you started.

The Sonus Faber speakers (linked) were designed with bookshelf placement in mind, plus they are nice looking and well received/reviewed.

They could always be used elsewhere once you are settled in and have a grip on the new room's sonics.

DeKay

I would get rid of the cabinet and tell her it was stolen. My wife knew long before we were married that the stereo is my baby only. 

Then he would need something to cover the gaping void...

DeKay

Hahahahahah!

thank you guys for all the help I need it.  I’ll be honest, it basically comes down to a free pass to drink and play golf every Friday-Sunday and she gets to design the house.  It’s not as bad as you thin. (We live on a golf course).  So I’m not a total P&%sy.

There's so much discussion about the state of High End audio and the problems that plague it, from the state of the economy to changes in lifestyle, but I think that the biggest single enemy of the High End is women.

@roxy54 

I'm not so sure, there are a couple of data points in the OP's dialogue that deserve mention.

(1) His wife obviously has exceptional hearing if she expelled from her home and summarily banished a pair of B&W's and,

(2) She agreed to jointly build a home on a golf course.

There is a special place in heaven for all of our significant others (if there happens to be a place in the cloud for us at all). The problem here may rest with whether we deserve our good fortune or not. A footnote to this story as well...since they were building, the OP could have specified a purpose built listening room and he did not. Therefore, if splitting hairs, this is a self inflicted challenge the OP must overcome LOL. Best to all.

@ghasley is absolutely right. No one build a new house and worry about where to put his gears later. Unless he doesn’t really like audio. That’s a lifetime opportunity. The poor wife might even have nothing to do with the ordeal. She might just be a scapegoat. Anyway, none of my business. Sorry I even commented on it. My bad.

I would have recommended Harbeth, I have them on a bookshelf, but they are not a good match with McIntosh (no hate there, I had that setup and it was not a good match). And if you liked the sound of your B&W's, you probably won't like the Harbeth sound. The Raidho and Kef are good suggestions as I have heard them, and they were also recommended to me as bookshelf's when I was looking. I heard the Wilson's, but was not impressed for the price, but they would work if you can hear them first. Other suggestions here seem good too, but are ones I haven't personally heard.

Enjoy the new home. Jealous of the golf course!

I will second the Vandersteens. The VLR's are made for bookshelf positioning and if you add a Sub 3 or two, you will own a very capable system- especially if they are driven by the Mac's.

Don't let the diminutive size fool you, these little guys can Rock when you put the juice to them.

If you are near a dealer, I recommend scheduling an audition.

Bob

Instead of asking us, I think you should ask your wife. Obviously the safer route in your household.

Isn’t Devore Fidelity coming out with a true bookshelf speaker? You might want to call John at Devore and ask for advice. 

Boys, there was one room where I tried it.   She claimed it was going to be a guest room (for her mother) and we settled on it being neither and it’s a bathroom/office for my wife who doesn’t work.  Just putting the above comments in context.  

How about KEF Ref 1 in the cabinets. They can go horizontally without impaired imaging. The MA352 has equalization to manage the effects of shelf placement. 
This solution will satisfy your conflicting requirements and should offer a quality listening experience without risking a domestic insurrection.

Be your own man and value your wife’s input. Don’t set up an audio room that turns into an anti-social behavior zone. Contrary to popular belief, the people in your life are more important than your stereo.

+1 for the Raidho XT-1

@uncledemp 

Contrary to popular belief, the people in your life are more important than your stereo.
 

Everyone here values their families more than their stereo system. When my grandchildren are around, I put everything on hold to enjoy them. Life doesn’t have to be always binary. Doesn’t have to be a choice between your wife and your system. You can have both and still live in harmony. 
The OP didn’t ask for advice about his marital life, and no one would advise him to choose his system over his wife, just to clarify things. 

I didn’t ask for a critique of my post, either. 

Ha, we’re all good.  I’m going with the Raidho XT-1s for better or worse.  I’ll let you know how it goes and I’ll post some pics when I got em.   Thanks for all the help.    

House renovation.

Rule no.1            Don't hire a designer.

Rule no.2            Don't even think about it.

Many years ago I broke rule no.1 in an office furnishing project.  The designer couldn't measure.  She ordered furnishings that didn't fit in the spaces.  Yes, it was 'she' but the rules apply to designers whatever their orientations.

Clearthinker, you couldn’t be more dead on.   The one we hired we got introduced to randomly, she had great style, but cost us an arm and a leg. Basically ended up firing her after I said I was going to sue her, and we went our separate ways. But the damage was done.

I hae a pair of ProAc D2R's in my book case built in and they sound great.  I use a moon integrated w/ DAC and node for streaming.