Best bookshelf speakers


I’m building my first high fi system after being more of a portable audio person. I want to start with the speakers. Space is limited so bookshelf speakers are a must.

Preferences:
Balanced and revealing with a hint of warmth.
Midrange most important to get right over highs and lows
Timbre is super important - I listen mostly to acoustic music especially jazz
But I do need some bass as I also listen to some electronic music
Smaller is better but SQ is most important
A speaker that sounds good with different amps but also scalable with high quality sources
Wide sweet spot - I wont have money for a great amp at first but want them to be scalable for later

These speakers have caught my eyes - any thoughts on them?

Ascend Sierra 2s - Ribbon = dispersion limitations?
BMR Philharmonitor - See above. Also massive.
Buchardt S400/S300 - Wary of the sudden hype train and limited info
Silverline Minuet Grande - Limited info
Reference 3A De Capo - This caught my eye as a potential endgame speaker if I could blow up my budget a little. But concerns about BE tweeter as well as some potential snake oil stuff (cryogenic treatment (!?)), exaggerated sensitivity claims and wonky measurements put me off.

What else should I be looking at?

Edit: I could have sworn I had <$2,000 in the title... Anyway, my budget is 2k.

stuff_jones

Showing 7 responses by roberjerman

Au contraire, Geoff! Long-term listening with the LS3/5A's is most satisfying! And I'm a Quad owner, too!
Bass and treble response are fine and in balance with that fabulous midrange! HiFi News did a listening/measuring test of various iterations of the LS3/5A's some years ago. Worth looking up!
Get a First Watt F5 amp to go with LS3/5A's and you'll be in Heaven! This is the combination I use with the Rogers.
The LS3/5A was designed in the mid-Seventies by the BBC as a monitor speaker for use in the limited space of a recording van. Emphasis was on a coherent, natural midrange, particularly voice. I'll take them over ANY of the above listed! Falcon Acoustics is now making an exact duplicate - for considerably more money, of course!
My JBL 4312's and 166's have plenty of dynamics and bass-slam - but you can't put them on a shelf! 
A secondhand pair of LS3/5A's (Rogers, Spendor, Goodmans, KEF ... ). Available usually for under $2K. A true classic that will holds its value over time! Mine cost less than $1K (Rogers) and came from an EBay seller in Lithuania, of all places!