What's the best pair of bookshelf speakers for under $1000?

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Juhazi

Juhazi

Member
Joined 2007
What is actually "bookshelf speakers"

To me this means that they will be placed in the shelf - soffit mounted in a well damped "wall" Bass gets some boost and imaging is good. Minimal short-time reflections. A closed box is fine.

If one means on top of a shelf - you are asking for problems! Lots of fast reflections and intermodulation effects around 200-800Hz. You will need REW and minidsp or similar to make room response good, and then the reflections are messing stereo imaging anyway. A closed box is better suited than BR (if we have a 6" or bigger woofer)

Most 2-way boxes at diy sites are meant to be placed on a pole/stand more that 2' (60cm) away from the front wall. Then we need full baffle step and all the benefit from a well designed bass reflex port to get decent bass. Imaging is far better than near wall.

Well known Zaph Krutke gives xo options for different placing for many of his designs. This is an example that has also impedance flattening feature for tube amps Zaph|Audio - ZA-SR71

My ER18DXT perform really well. If placed near wall/corner - close the port and do room eq!
 
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Octavia

Member
Joined 2008
The good news seems to be that there are a number of really excellent options for superb performing "bookshelf" size speaker under your $1000 price point. But IMO the room placement and your listening preferences are going to be the keys for making the right choices. You've got the great KT88's for power and that's going to influence things a bit too. You mentioned listening preferrences earlier as pretty well civilized (ie no head banging volumes) so I'll just add one more idea into the mix, the Mark Audio Alpair 10.3's seem to be a good way to go if you want to consider a single driver option. By all reports they perform superbly in a 15-16 liter bass reflex.
 
xrk971

xrk971

Founder of XSA-Labs
Joined 2012
etsy.com/shop/XRKAudio
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I know this is way below your price point, but this 15 in tall x 8 in wide x 8.5 in deep ML-TQWT with dual drivers sounds really good and is bookshelf sized. With the drivers I used, the price is under $50 (per pair of speakers), yet still one of the best bookshelf speakers I have heard. Very natural sound, excellent directivity, good dynamics.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/239338-mini-karlsonator-0-53x-dual-tc9fds.html
 
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Downhome Upstate

Member
Joined 2012
Try a pair of these . . .

Blumenstein Orca, for $799 (new):

From Blumensein Audion website:

  • Abaca fiber 3" fullrange driver with rubberized cloth surround and large magnetic circuit for high efficiency, excellent detail retrieval, and room presence
  • Driver affixed to the exterior of the cabinet using all brass and natural rubber hardware in a specialized tuned and isolated arrangement
  • Heavy-duty gold plated brass binding posts for optimal connection quality and longevity
  • Bass reflex ports made entirely out of 1" thick bamboo (not plastic) produce powerful bass and lower mid-range realism
  • 10-gauge internal wiring
  • Finished with a hand-rubbed, non-toxic, food-grade linseed oil and beeswax varnish
  • Hand signed and numbered by their maker
Specs


  • Impedance: 8 ohms, very stable.
  • Frequency response: 75hz - 35khz
  • Efficiency: 89db, conservatively rated!
  • Dimensions: 5 1/2" W x 7" D x 11 1/4" H
  • Material: Natural bamboo
Happy with anything from a 2A3 amp (my experience with my Bottlehead 2A3 3.5W Stereomour) or, according to the manufacturer, SS up to 100W. Beautiful tone, mids to die for, natural but extended highs. Needs a decent sub.
 
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454Casull

Member
Joined 2004
Rodango said:
Re: Bookshelf speakers...

Let's say that they are not going in a bookshelf but onto 30" stands. And I'd like to keep them under 16" high and 12" wide.

So I know that opens the field quite a bit. What are we looking at as being best within that size limitation?
Click to expand...
Still the ER18DXT. Good distortion behaviour, excellent directivity control, and a nearly-flat FR. All things which contribute to a pleasing sound. The sensitivity is not so great but each speaker could handle perhaps 250 W, giving you at least ~105 dB/1 m.
 
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Richard Ellis

Richard Ellis

Member
Joined 2006
It seems some of the recommendations are more than a bit price hyped.....A decent pair of bookshelfs should get well under a grand $800 or so should be the limit.for the pair. $800 for each is way out of line...well into the snake-oil territory. More & more money gets you diminishing returns...lets not forget this concept.



___________________________________________________Rick...........
 
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ScottG

Member
Joined 2003
Richard Ellis said:
It seems some of the recommendations are more than a bit price hyped.....A decent pair of bookshelfs should get well under a grand $800 or so should be the limit.for the pair. $800 for each is way out of line...well into the snake-oil territory. More & more money gets you diminishing returns...lets not forget this concept.



___________________________________________________Rick...........
Click to expand...


True, but look at the thread-poster's comparison and resulting expectations. ;)

-at that point it's all about accumulating as much of those "diminishing returns" as possible. :D
 
GOWA

GOWA

Member
Joined 2007
For this category and budget, you can't go wrong with either Mark K's ER18DXT or the Eton S7 Symphony. Being a big Eton fan, I can't help from leaning toward the Eton S7 but looking at the numbers of Mark K's ER18DXT, it would also be very hard to beat.
Eton S7 Kit: Price: $695.00 without cabinet
 
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