Please recommend speakers


I’m just starting my audiophile journey and want to make sure I pair the right equipment before going too far down the rabbit hole. I am coming into this as a complete newbie. I listen pretty much to everything but mostly pop, classical and jazz in a fairly large-ish lower level living room (maybe 20 x 20 feet square) and speakers sitting on bookshelves. I know they should be on stands or floor-mounted, but that doesn’t really work for me right now space-wise. So far I have Jamo 803 bookshelf speakers with newly purchased SMSL DA-9 amp and matching SMSL SU-9 DAC (previously was using an old NAD D 3020 V1 integrated amp with direct connection from iPad to internal DAC). Now I stream directly from an old iPhone/iPad via a USB camera adapter to the DAC which has balanced connections to the DA-9 amp. I pretty much stream music exclusively (currently on free trials with Tidal and Amazon HD). No other sources. No library to speak of. No headphones. The Jamos sound great to me, but I feel like I need something better to pair with the mid-fi DAC and AMP. So I’m looking for upgrade the Jamo 803s which were purchased on sale for $130. Looking to spend up to maybe $800 for a pair. Recommendations? Thanks in advance!

 

Edit:  Here's what I'm considering so far.  KEF350, Polk R200s, Audio Monitor Bronze.  Thoughts on pros and cons?  Anything else?

expresstrain

Well, as noted, you can only get "so much" from bookshelf speakers - and frankly i dont know which ones are good.  But if you can place speakers in free space on stands - consider used Vandersteen 2s (any vintage that hits your pricepoint) or Spica TC-50s with significant money lef over to get a decent active subwoofer.  ELACs too.

The SMSL DAC is pretty decent, but hardly better than the $99 Schiit, and not as good as an ALLO revolution (with a very good external power supply) IMO. A buddy of mine slowly stepped up through he DAC hierarchy not long ago, beginning with a bluesound  (yawn) to the Schiit (surprisingly good) the SMSL (meh) and the ALLO. 

 

True bookshelf speakers are tuned to deal with some of the compromises, but read carefully about setup. and you cannot fight the laws of physics re: imaging. or much else :-)

enjoy.

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@carlsbad

Unlike some Narcissistic personalities of your acquaintance I am not in the habit of photographing myself wearing my 2716  on New Year’s Eve … merely an illustration of my apparels on the day …you actually thought that was a real time image .. how very desperate to go a googling

@carlsbad

 

Just for you sweet heart ….

Little ol me wearing another Breguet my 1475 … you may find it on The Watch Sub section of a HiFi forum far across the great water …