Warm and accurate bookshelves that can handle volume


Hi and thanks for your help. I have been collecting and trying vintage speakers and ended up with B &.W 803 matrix series II, and also Celestion ls700 Se. The latter  are bookshelves and I use them with an NHT SW2 subwoofer. I like them both but prefer the 700s because they more accurately bring out the timbre of orchestral instruments and can be less fatiguing. Troubke is I have a pretty big room and I can’t play full orchestra at realistic volumes on the Celestions without distorting the sound. Are there bookshelves that will be warm, musical and accurate like the Celestions, but can handle volume?  Rest of the system is Qutest DAC, RA LS25 II pre, Adcom GSA555 II speakers. Thanks for feedback on which speakers to try. My reading etc suggests Harbeth Spendor Sonus Faber. Locally have tried kef and paradigm, but can’t get to much else. Will travel to try your recommendations. Seems that satellite and sub will be more flexible and cost effective than tower. 

arhgef

Hmmm, you can have “accurate” and “warm”, but it usually means flat-ish frequency response up to 15-17kHz and then rolled off response above that to reduce listening fatigue.  So, actually “accurate” across all frequencies except the very highest treble.  Old JBLs sounded great in the showroom, mixing room, and at home when drinking heavily, but for long serious listening sessions, they were a bit much.

Classical music is more demanding for system performance across the board.  You have a very smooth but detailed DAC that can reveal the detail imbedded in classical recordings.  For a higher end solution, I might suggest Monitor Audio Platinum 100 3G combined with a good REL sub.  That pairing would provide a great performance envelope for nearly any type of music with your gear.  For a lower price point solution, I agree the Wharfedale Linton with a REL sub could be very satisfying.

Seconding the recommendation for Aerial 5T. I love mine, and they sound so sweet and lifelike. They are not finicky about source material or placement. They just play everything well.

Fritz Carrera BE.  An incredible speaker and really nice guy that builds them.

Well so many suggestions. I would likely steer you towards something of greater size. Either a floor standing speaker or large bookshelf like the KLH 5. Your listening space is pretty large so I think something quite small will struggle to fill your space at higher volumes. A subwoofer, will extend the frequency range downwards but won't necessarily allow for that much greater volumes before you hit the limit.

What ever you decide, I strongly recommend you try to listen to speakers before you buy, I have had experience where I bought some very highly regarded/reviewed speakers without having heard then (Harbeth Compact 7s) and it turned out they were not my cup of tea despite what I would have thought based on reviews. I do agree with previous posts, they don't play very loud before they fall apart. If you buy used, and if it turns out you don't like them, it's easy to recoup your expenditures. If you can travel to increase your ability to hear more speakers then you will have a better idea of what would work for you.