Best bookshelf speakers???

[maddrummerboy]

Looking to upgrade to some new Left and Right front bookshelf speakers, dont like floor standing type, any suiters?

[Lucy Diamond]

Paradigm....end of story.

Clean, tight, quick response.
Great imaging. Liquid filled so they can take SKADS of Bass.

The second you underestimate them, they will kill you.

They even smell good.

[RUR]

Originally Posted by maddrummerboy

Looking to upgrade to some new Left and Right front bookshelf speakers, dont like floor standing type, any suiters?

What do you plan to spend on them?

[maddrummerboy]

hmmm probably no more than $800 for the pair, unless i can really be convinced otherwise!

[Beta Man]

I purchased B&W 705's for mains.... but then upgraded and moved them to the rears, and also purchased some B&W 686's

The B&W 685 has a larger enclosure than the 686, and gives a little better bass extension, and I think they'd set you back about $650 a pair or so (not sure)

Paradigm, and Monitor Audio make nice bookshelf speakers too. It all comes down to personal taste.....

The range of my 705's are worth the extra coin in my opinion, but as far as best bang for the buck, B&W's 600 series is really tough to beat.

[Scooby Blu]

Beta Man beat me to it. Yes, the 685's sound great ! Great sound for the money. However, you must audition a wide variety to make sure YOU like them ! Some will sound good, some will sound blah, so what ? Next speaker please !

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I purchased B&W 705's for mains.... but then upgraded and moved them to the rears, and also purchased some B&W 686's

The B&W 685 has a larger enclosure than the 686, and gives a little better bass extension, and I think they'd set you back about $650 a pair or so (not sure)

Paradigm, and Monitor Audio make nice bookshelf speakers too. It all comes down to personal taste.....

The range of my 705's are worth the extra coin in my opinion, but as far as best bang for the buck, B&W's 600 series is really tough to beat.

Originally Posted by Scooby Blu

Beta Man beat me to it. Yes, the 685's sound great ! Great sound for the money. However, you must audition a wide variety to make sure YOU like them ! Some will sound good, some will sound blah, so what ? Next speaker please !

Hell, even the Bowers & Wilkins M-1 speakers are great. They are a little big, but they come as bookshelf speakers and they pack quite a punch at about $500/pair. I can't say that they are "the best" but I have them and they have stood up against most other system setups that I've heard which are much more expensive.

[ozzman]

I agree with Lucy. Paradigm makes awesome bookshelf speaker for people on a budget. You could buy new but if you go back a couple years and don't mind putting in some time and research i would suggest older titian speakers(they remade the titian speaker but personally i like the older ones .) I feel you get more bang for your buck.You should be able to get them cheap. Trust me there awesome. But really all around you can't go wrong with paradigm(tight and clean)Good luck my friend

[prerich]

Originally Posted by maddrummerboy

Looking to upgrade to some new Left and Right front bookshelf speakers, dont like floor standing type, any suiters?

Take a trip to several "audio salons" or should I say specialty dealers and have a good listen. Take a view of your favorite CD's, BD's ect and listen well. If this is going into a HT, you may want to audition a new center channel (timbre matching is very important). At that price point, you can get into Dynaudio, Legacy, Kef, B&W, Bag End (they make more than subs) the list goes on - find the ones you like!

[maddrummerboy]

perfect, thanks guys. Just the info i was looking for!

[badboi]

You guys are so silly. Stop feeding this guy bad information. You all know these are the best.




Seriously though, all the recommendations so far are solid. I heard a nice HT setup a few days ago that had all B&W speakers, and I was amazed at the smoothness of them. Now I have the upgrade bug.

[Turnda643]

Question: What do you guys think about the Sony SS-B3000 and SS-B1000 bookshelf speakers??

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Turnda643

Question: What do you guys think about the Sony SS-B3000 and SS-B1000 bookshelf speakers??

Does this answer the question (not trying to Bose bash - I'm just saying that I'm not fond of the SS-B series speakers) At least they're priced right (the Sony's not the Bose).

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Turnda643

Question: What do you guys think about the Sony SS-B3000 and SS-B1000 bookshelf speakers??

I have the b1000 speakers, and they work good. the b3000's wouldn't fit in my space, so I don't know how well they work. I would go for the b3000's if you have room for them. Personally I want to eventually upgrade all the speakers and will have to once I get the 7.1 receiver. Then I am prolly gonna get the aforementioned B&W 686's(2 sets).

I also have the CN5500 sony center and the f5000 floor and the w3000 sub, my purchase was limited by my budget. eventually they will all get upgraded.

All that said, I would say I get good sound out of the b1000's, but i don't think many people on here like sony speakers.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by callas01

I have the b1000 speakers, and they work good. the b3000's wouldn't fit in my space, so I don't know how well they work. I would go for the b3000's if you have room for them. Personally I want to eventually upgrade all the speakers and will have to once I get the 7.1 receiver. Then I am prolly gonna get the aforementioned B&W 686's(2 sets).

I also have the CN5500 sony center and the f5000 floor and the w3000 sub, my purchase was limited by my budget. eventually they will all get upgraded.

All that said, I would say I get good sound out of the b1000's, but i don't think many people on here like sony speakers.

Hey that's a big jump (B1000'S TO B&W 686's) after one listen you will se why many people do not like sony speakers (with the exception of the SS-M9's, 7's, and 3's last high end speakers I've seen Sony make).

[callas01]

oh i know, my dad has all b&w's I love watching movies at his house...

but i had a limited budget and a small living room when I bought these.

[DBlackGT]

I see that you had polk speakers already and if you want awesome new bookshelf speakers you should check out the LSi7's from polk. They are freakin amazing for the price ($699) and they have a ring radiator tweeter which is found in speakers 2 to 3 times the cost. And they look good.

otherwise...

Paradigm Titans are about as solid as you can get. Even their cheapest line outperforms (in my opinion) most every other bookshelf out there for the price. My dad just got the Paradigm Signature Series S2 and those things are just about the best bookshelves i've ever heard. They are $2000 but my point is Paradigm are GREAT!!

[kingofgrills]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I purchased B&W 705's for mains.... but then upgraded and moved them to the rears, and also purchased some B&W 686's

The B&W 685 has a larger enclosure than the 686, and gives a little better bass extension, and I think they'd set you back about $650 a pair or so (not sure)

Paradigm, and Monitor Audio make nice bookshelf speakers too. It all comes down to personal taste.....

The range of my 705's are worth the extra coin in my opinion, but as far as best bang for the buck, B&W's 600 series is really tough to beat.

Beta Man beat me to the 3 main companies I would recommend auditioning. Since your price range is $800 for the pair, I would suggest steering clear of the big box stores. You'll have good options at a hi-fi specialty store, and B&W, Monitor Audio, or Paradigm should be at the top of your auditioning list. I've had experience with all three lines, and they're all fantastic.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Hell, even the Bowers & Wilkins M-1 speakers are great. They are a little big, but they come as bookshelf speakers and they pack quite a punch at about $500/pair. I can't say that they are "the best" but I have them and they have stood up against most other system setups that I've heard which are much more expensive.

I got 5 of them in my Bedroom.... and he isn't kidding.... they come with little stands, or you can get the wall mounts (mine are on the stands)

[maddrummerboy]

Yeah i listened to the Lsi7's this weekend at Frys, do you think its worth the extra $$$ to jump into the Lsi9's?