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

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.  

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. 

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......    ;-)

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

I listened to these in a room, and not on a desk as near field, but they seemed good.

If you like numbers: 

 

Check out the Aperion Audio Novus Bookshelf. Decent review here and starting at 6:15 he talks about using them on his desktop.