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great bookshelf speakers vs 12-18 k floor speakers

Just something i never considered, if you have a rather small room 13x20 with less tha perfect accoustics (Glass walls),high-rise. Anyway, i have always had tower speakers, currently Paradigm S8's v1. I have never explored smaller speakers, the so called bookshelf. Can i buy smaller speakers and still get the full range and soundstage that i get from the floor speakers? What would you consider as the best... especially when you don't have a large room. I don't always compare by price although you'd think a 15,000 set of speakers should be all around better a than a 5,000 set of bookshelfs? I have 180 Rouge Audio monoblocks, Rouge 90 pre amp, Ayon c-2 CD, Shenada Hydra 8 and much better than mid range cables.
bobmclean
ghasley
2,487 posts
 
Bookshelf speakers are visually smaller but the facts are that with appropriate stands, the footprint is similar. With that disclaimer, a good pair of monitors, depending on your placement options, can be easier to integrate with your room. If you are a bass nut, you could supplement with a sub, enabling you to integrate the sub into the room properly and blending with the monitors. I think we've all experienced speaker placement issues where the soundstage and bass response were not in the same place....

To answer your original query, some awesome monitors in no particular order, all of which have a healthy bass response:
Dynaudio C1
Focal JMLabs Diablo
Wilson Audio Duettes (disclaimer, I own these)
Vienna the Kiss
There are others....go to a shop and listen.

Good luck
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Silverline Audio Minuettes are very musical.
grh1950
1 posts
 
I have a pair of B&W CM1's on stands supplemented with a pair of 2700W Carver Signaure Subwoofers.

I'll take all comers.
tobias
1,534 posts
 
I'm adding my 2 cents to the Joseph Audio Pulsar recommendation above. They are a most attractive-sounding speaker and were very capable in the bass when I hear them at the Montreal show in 2010.

Of course at the price they had better sound good but the fact is that they do. IMVHO they are one good argument to support a "yes" to the OP's question.

For less money, and in a room which won't let you place a speaker far from the wall, the North Creek Kitty Kat is another high performer, with remarkable low bass in a tiny box.
rbstehno
1,411 posts
 
i second the opinion on the totem mani 2's. awesome speaker. for a room that size and depending on how much bass and loudness you are looking for, will determine if you can go with a bookshelf speaker or not. i had a room a little bigger than yours (24ft long) and went with floor standing usher speakers. huge difference, more full sounding, easier to drive, overall a good move. BTW: i even teamed up the totems with a pair of subwoofer which was better but hard to get them dialed in. i also went from a pair of mani's in my other smaller room to the usher x-719 and i like them better too. much easier to drive than the mani's since the mani's have the isobaric woofer arrangement.
good luck.
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