Need advise regarding small bookshelf monitor

Energy Loudspeakers manufactures some good bookshelf monitors at reasonable prices. I had a pair of the Take 5's for a while. No bass but good for a 2nd pair in a small office or for surrounds. They have a C-100, C-50, and RC-Mini that will fit your space requirements. I was going to suggest the Proac Tablette 8 Ref speakers which will fit in your space but they are a very high priced speaker line out of the UK. Even their small units are way up there. B&W produces some mini-monitors such as the LM-1 and M-1. I have 3 of the M-1's as my surrounds and center channel. Super sound but again, no bass. The M-1's I believe sell for $200.00/each.

I bought a pair of Usher S-520's for a system for my daughter and have been very impressed with them. They're small enough for the entertainment center, are front ported and cost $400 new. Here's a Stereophile review.

Fantastic Amphion Helium 2. There are some on agon for ca. 600$. Won't be disapointed.
Check Stereophile review, is ok, I know these speakers.

Ontjesr, I second the Amphion recommendation.

Another possibility is a variation on the Loki kit from Madisound. The Loki uses a 6.5" coaxial driver from Seas. I was going to manufacture a speaker based on this driver, and even showed a pair at an audio show in Dallas earlier this year. But the Loki kit undercuts my price by so much that I abandoned my plans, and my prototypes are now sprinkled around the living room in my home theater system.

http://www.madisound.com/MD04.html

Now the only problem is the Loki's enclosure is 15 inches tall. But Madisound sells a 12 inch tall enclosure that will also work - you'll have to cut the holes yourself though. This box is 7.5 liters, and just leave it sealed for response down to 70 Hz (and probably down to the mid-50's with boundary reinforcement). Get the shielded version of the driver, and use Madisound's Loki crossover.

The advantage of the coaxial driver in a less-than-optimum acoustic environment is that the woofer cone acts as a waveguide to narrow the tweeter's radiation pattern in the octave or so above the crossover frequency. Imho this is very valuable, as otherwise you can easily end up with a speaker that measures well on-axis but sounds harsh because there's an extra 6-12 dB or so of reflective off-axis energy in the lower treble region, right where the ear is most sensitive. The trade-off is in dynamic capability; the coaxial's woofer has a smaller linear excursion capability than a comparable stand-alone woofer does.

The Amphion uses a separate dedicated waveguide instead of the woofer cone to control the tweeter's radiation pattern.

Other companies that make compact coaxials include KEF, Tannoy, and Gradient. In the interest of full disclosure I'm a Gradient dealer, but even the smallest ones are above your price range unless you find a used pair. And as you can see this post is a Madisound plug, not a Gradient plug.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

Omega 3's