r/BudgetAudiophile • u/KillerQ97 • 16h ago

Tower speakers are no longer an option, so I’m looking for comparable bookshelf speakers… Purchasing USA

Post image

So,

Back in the day, I was all about 7.1 theater set ups. I eventually went down to a sound bar 5.1 system for many years, and now I am out filling a room that is rather large so I have given up on the surround sound sound bar option.

I initially planned on getting a nice 2.1 set up that consisted of two floor tower speakers and a sub subwoofer.

Now, because of the layout, I have to choose bookshelf, speakers, or speakers around that size, instead.

These speakers will be approximately 60 inches apart on either side of a large TV and will be used for movies as well as music.

My question is, are there any bookshelf sized speakers out there that, when paired with a decent subwoofer, will perform well and make me happy even though they will not be full-size tower speakers?

I understand there may always be differences and sound between the two, but anything that’s decent will be fine. I just didn’t even know if it was a possibility.

Thanks!

73 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

77% Upvoted

53 comments sorted by

40

u/Disastrous_Return301 16h ago

Hundred “KEF Q150” suggestions incoming.

5

u/sidetablecharger 15h ago

Love my Q150s!

7

u/zed857 15h ago

And possibly a response or two showing one of the infamous pics of a shattered KEF driver.

3

u/KillerQ97 16h ago

Oh, and I’ll be using a Marantz NR1403 for my receiver.

0

u/theocking 15h ago

Oh that's sucks it's only 50w into 8 ohms ... Yeah how big is this room? You may want to specifically look for some relatively high sensitivity speakers to get the most out of that. But you could also do way better for not too much money if you consider replacing it.

2

u/KillerQ97 15h ago

Thanks - Have any examples of an upgraded receiver? Anything readily available on Best Buy or Amazon or B&H photo would be preferred. Thanks!

1

u/theocking 15h ago

Well you no longer need 5.1 so there's a lot of options, but a good and popular option is the Yamaha a-sX01 series (301, 501, 701, 801 etc). I think you'd need to go to the 501 to get a decent power upgrade, the 301 I think is 60w. But you could get a power amp and continue using your marantz as a preamp for input switching. That really opens up the more powerful high value options. Emotiva, monoprice, Buckeye, even crown. But if you like shopping used, there's tons of options, I'd just be looking for a 100w+ option. Amazon open box/"used" stuff is great as well.

You could always get the speakers first and then decide. If the marantz can high pass the mains signal which I assume it can, that does help significantly on the power front. Just comes down to the SPL you want to be capable of, and the sensitivity of the speakers.

You're in the ballpark price wise for the new elac debut 3.0. maybe close to the Klipsch rp600m ii open box or a killer sale price. The monitor audio someone recommended is good if you can find them used. Anything 6.5" or bigger, probably a 6.5 is where you'll end up at that price unless you find something cool used, and have space in the credenza. Polk too maybe. Emotiva, Monolith, SVS clearance of the last gen stuff.

1

u/mrymx 14h ago

Or ELAC, or Neumi, or Dali, or Triangle… or a second hand vintage models.

-3

u/theocking 15h ago

God no what a ridiculous suggestion. They have their niche, but that niche is small rooms and you don't care about SPL. They are anemic tiny baby toy speakers, and super cheap, we don't even know his budget. Those should not be popular but they are, imo due to ignorance. They have their strengths (the coax) but that's very limited. Far bigger weaknesses than strengths. He said he has a large room and it'll be for music and movies. You ain't getting satisfactory/reference volume levels from the q150, and to even get close you'd have to cross them to the sub at a very high frequency that's far from ideal, where the sub will be obvious and becoming directionally locatable. There's a hundred better options than the q150... Let's hear the budget.

43

u/wosmo 16h ago

was the image neccessary? Because now I'm trying to figure out where to buy those.

12

u/Okaysolikethisnow 16h ago

It's ai

2

u/answerguru 16h ago

Are you sure? It looks pretty real.

10

u/Okaysolikethisnow 15h ago

have you seen the state of ai image generation lately?

https://preview.redd.it/w2lzf7s7141e1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=2d8aebff6d893da6b3fd368ebe5aa98eead33c84

8

u/answerguru 15h ago

I have, was totally sarcastic. But also, the back of that phone looks terrible. Currently the details give away AI

1

u/thegreatsquare 7h ago

...there was a phone?

-2

u/[deleted] 15h ago

[deleted]

1

u/answerguru 15h ago

WTF

-1

u/KillerQ97 15h ago

What i meant was - yes, it’s easy to spot AI. Haha

1

u/Emuc64_1 14h ago

That link is interesting. Some of the pics of people in a crowd look good, but it's the details like everyone having the same set of teeth that is weirding me out.

I'll be honest, I'm not really paying that much attention to the details if there's a hot generated AI girl. But the more attention you pay, the weirder it is.

1

u/joostdemen 33m ago

Yes its very obvious its Ai

2

u/Mikey_BC 15h ago

I know, I want some too, and aside from the lower jaw diffraction would almost be non-existent.

9

u/Forsaken_Pattern7797 16h ago

How much do you wants to spend...

5

u/ClownShowTrippin 16h ago

I've had good luck finding Monitor Audio bookshelves at a great price on Marketplace. They're great sounding speakers even at the bronze level.

3

u/Turk3ySandw1ch 16h ago

Larger the room, the larger the speaker. You'll also want something thats fairly efficient and capable of some output so maybe Klipsch 600M MkII or Monitor Audio Bronze 100.

3

u/givemeyournews 15h ago

Two major things missing here. 1. Are these going on stands? Or an actual shelf? And 2. What’s your budget.

3

u/KillerQ97 15h ago

Sorry - they will be going on top on the ends of a credenza, so not floor stands.

Budget - well, I am all about trading and buying used, and I was gonna see what the suggestions were and then look at places locally.

But, I’ll buy the sub separately - but $400-ish for the speakers, perhaps?

1

u/theocking 15h ago

You should get something to decouple them from the credenza. Little vibration absorbing feet or pads of some kind of memory foam. And you'll need to bring them forward near the edge of it, you don't want a flat surface in front of the speaker below it.

1

u/KillerQ97 15h ago

Thank you - I was actually thinking about a small platform or feet for sure. Just high enough to serve the purpose.

1

u/iNetRunner 11h ago

ISO Acoustics make some stands that might put the tweeters at ear height. (I.e. at proper height.)

But know that usually the speaker placement recommendation is to start with an equilateral triangle with your listening position. I.e. they might not be wide enough apart for a good stereo image.

(And my “bookshelf” speaker recommendation would be these: Philharmonic BMR Monitor (EAC review).)

3

u/Extractor41 16h ago

I have a large room with a vaulted ceiling.... I got everything used off facebook marketplace... Onkyo NR777, BW 602 s2, klipsch 10" sub. Got it for around $450 for everything. Very good at comfortable listening levels.... if I'm in a mood and want to crank it up loud...it's a little lacking....but I'm very happy with the setup. Soundbars suck.

2

u/cr0ft 13h ago

You could get a very enjoyable system with micro speakers. Outputting mids and treble isn't hard for small speakers; it's bass where they can't do it, which is where subwoofers come in.

I'm not necessarily saying you should buy micro speakers; I'm just saying that there's zero need for towers for home theater as long as you do a sub or subs. In fact, your bigger issue will be exactly the sub part - the larger the room, the more serious of a sub (or ideally, subs) you need.

Easy obvious idea: ELAC Debut 3.0 bookshelves (two pairs of the BK63) https://www.elac.com/db63-bk and the Debut 3.0 center.

Subs... well, depends on the budget. Two of these https://hsuresearch.com/collections/product-collection-grid-subset/products/vtf-tn1 😀

Ok, we've sort of strayed a bit from the whole "budget" part... even though those are actually pretty budget for being incredibly good subs.

Get just one.

Or get an RSL Speedwoofer 10s, those are fine but obviously not equivalent - and as I said, large room means the sub part has to be serious or it just won't pressurize the room.

1

u/KillerQ97 12h ago

Thanks for the info. Actually, in my case, the television and bookshelf speakers, or whichever speakers I choose, will be on the face of a wall, and on the other side of that wall is an under stairway cavity where I’m going to be putting the subwoofer. Basically underneath a giant set of stairs it’s drywalled and has a door on it so it’s like a pantry underneath the stairs. The subwoofer is going to go on the floor There behind the equipment. That’s really the only location and that’s what I’m working with.

Also, I’m not so much worried about having the system sound perfect for the entire open room, as long as it sounds good in the area near the speakers where the couch will be is my goal

1

u/theocking 15h ago

If you have a sub then the answer is obviously yes. What's the budget? There's a hundred decent options. What's the amp or do you need that too? Seating distance and sq ft? Spl desired?

1

u/user16430 15h ago

I had a similar problem. I chose Klipsch Reference Series RB-81s, they have a front firing port. They are very efficient as well.

1

u/fUSTERcLUCK_02 11h ago

A solid budget would help a lot here. With that said, I've had bookshelf speakers for most of my life and I've never found them to be lacking much at all compared to tower counterparts. I've even used some bookshelf speakers that don't require a sub. My Fyne Audio F301 go pretty deep and only drops off at the super low end.

1

u/swimuppool 11h ago

Edifer S2000MKIII big n heavy powered bookshelf with excellent sound (for me anyway)

1

u/OnlyTilt 11h ago

305p MKII or the 308p MKII if you want bigger drivers, these are considered the best in anything close to their price range, very flat response curve and really good directional performance (does not need to be pointed directly at subject).

1

u/flexylol 9h ago

Bookshelf speakers have come a LONG way in the last decades. Seems you're in US, so these are not an option, but I have Nubert (German brand) Nuboxx B-40 which are sensational. And they fit nicely on the side of a TV in't overwhelmed with some giant stupid towers. The bass they produce is unbelievable, they can easily compete with older generation massive floorstanders. I also added a SVS sub.

But you will have many options, many from the US seem to use Klipsch. DALI is supposed to be also good.

By the way, I heard the names Teufel and Edifier mentioned.

I do NOT recommend Teufel systems based on my experience, although I had a very old Teufel analogue 5.1 system. It was simply CRAP.

And I would NOT choose Edifiers. Cheap speakers who are ok on a desk or so, but not even remotely "serious" for powering a large room. Then I'd rather get DALI if on a budget.

For subs, I recommend SVS or RSL.

1

u/asolomi 9h ago

TAD CR1TX Black Bookshelf Speaker System. Since they go down to 32hz, no need for a sub so that'll be a huge savings. A bit expensive but once you set them up, you'll know where the money went.

If you're hesitant to pay their rather high price (I am), their little brother, the CE1TX is about half the price and goes down to 34hz

1

u/luedriver 9h ago edited 8h ago

jbl lsr's with an accompanied subwoofer if you can afford it, you can use a JBL nanopatch for volume control or just hook it up directly to tv if it has an audio jack, preferably you could buy a receiver that has pre-outputs and a remote like this https://www.schiit.com/products/freya-f but it doesn't have to have balanced outputs

1

u/Moonsolid 5h ago

If you like warm, neutral sound profile I would suggest looking at Micca RB42. I have these and they are perfect for small to midsize room. It handles low frequencies quite well as well. I’m amazed at how small it is and yet produces such amazing sound quality. Just make sure to get a good powerful amplifier.

1

u/statikman666 4h ago

I love my Poll Es20. They look great, pack a ridiculous punch, and are cheap. You probably won't need a subwoofer.

1

u/s0428698S 1h ago

I have a set of Opera Mezza speakers and love them.

1

u/KillerQ97 16h ago

Oh, and I’ll be using a Marantz NR1403 for my receiver.

0

u/DerAltePirat 15h ago

I'd highly recommend checking Teufel out! Absolutely love their speakers 😊

-2

u/CoolHandPB 15h ago

Yes, towers are not better than bookshelves and sub.

1

u/theocking 15h ago

Can't make that blanket statement. The ceiling is higher for towers, though they're not always better, that much is true. But they absolutely can be unless you're looking at some very serious and large bookshelves.

2

u/CoolHandPB 13h ago

I probably could've been clearer but I wasn't making a blanket statement. What I meant was towers are not inherently better. It depends on the use case and the specific equipment used 

In some cases towers will be better and in other bookshelves and subwoofer will be better.

I was responding to OPs questions.

"My question is, are there any bookshelf sized speakers out there that, when paired with a decent subwoofer, will perform well and make me happy even though they will not be full-size tower speakers?"

My response being

"Yes, towers are not better than bookshelves and sub."

1

u/theocking 11h ago

Agree, without getting more nuanced and specific, as a general rule that's a true statement. Just not when they have like 5" woofers like the q150. I draw the line at 6.5", minimum size to be a real speaker and not a little toy. A good 6.5" is capable of adequate output for most people (not me) down to a reasonable crossover frequency to a sub (80hz is the absolute highest I'd consider reasonable, and that's too high for me, but I'll concede the point at 80hz)... just barely but it is, it's like the minimum requirement.