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Can recommend some non-fatigue SMALL bookshelf for near-field listening?

Hi guys,

I have been searching for a pair of small passive speakers for near-field listening for a long long time. Ideally, something with <27 cm depth would be a great fit. A relaxed/non-fatigue/good bass sound would be preferred. 

I tried these.

B&W 607s2 -- currently using -- can be aggressive/bright quite often

Dynaudio Evoke 10 --- pronounced at 2-5 kHz, sounds thin to me.

LS 50 meta ---- bass a bit tide... need some volume to sound good.

 

Can you guys recommend some other speakers that can do the job? What about Mission QX1 MkII or Wharfedale Denton 80? My amp is Nad c275bee with a Schiit freya+ preamp.  Thanks a lot guys!

 

 

 

 

tension255
arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,599 posts
 

+1 to all who recommended Harbeth P3esr's. That's probably the only speaker I regret selling. For nearfield setup you don't need a sub, but just in case a REL T/Zero is very compact and goes surprisingly low.

Another option is Fritz Carbon. Can't go wrong with either.

 

thyce
32 posts
 

The best nearfield speakers I’ve ever heard were Wilson Audio Tune Tots, but they are very expensive compared to most. I bought a pair after listening to them and I don’t usually care for the sound of small speakers. Harbeth is always a safe bet and good value. Absolutely add a subwoofer so you don’t drive your neighbors crazy turning it up to try and get some bass. A nearfield sub can really rock your world without bothering the neighbors. Despite what salesmen say about their small speakers with big bass do yourself a favor and offload the low frequencies to a subwoofer so your mains can reproduce the frequencies that they do accurately. Your ears and your neighbors will thank you

dpl35
18 posts
 

Not sure what your budget is, but the Silverline Audio Minuets are great.  They are small in size, project a big sound and the highs are nice and relaxed.  

robbo945
1 posts
 

If you are considering the P3ESR also check out the Tannoy Autograph Mini for a bit less money.  They have a very small footprint and look great on a desktop. 

tension255 OP
13 posts
 

Thanks all!  Sorry for my late update, but I have been doing quite some research re. the suggestions. Checking the frequency response/review/home demo. 

I did a home demo of KEF R3, and I found they are still a bit bright, and I set a roll-off from 4kHz - 20KHz, ~  -0 to -10 dB.   Yes, rolling off the upper-mid and treble of the KEF R3 would be what I am looking for. 

I would have kept the R3s but they are just too big for near-field. 

Now I can really narrow the options to be more specific.

- A rolled-off upper-mid to treble sound. (if say kef r3 is nature, then I need a really dark one).

- Not forward vocal (this can rule out many great classic speakers)

- laidback sound stage 

- <27 cm depth 

- okish bass (50Hz -3dB). 

Guys, it seems nothing is left now. Maybe evoke 10 or Elac solano, or maybe I should give up......    ;-)

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