Bookshelf Speakers - Musical Fidelity A300 & Rock

Slate1

I own a pair of LSi15s and at first I thought the tweeter was kind of laid back too. Then I removed the grills, gave them so toe-in, and replaced the flat jumpers with some quality ones(Maybe you already tried all this), and bingo, it was perfect. I would also recommend giving them some time to break in. The thing about that tweeter(IMHO) is that is so damn accurate, and uncolored, it kind of takes time to get used to it too. It doesn't call any attention to itself, but at the same time, it gives me all the detail there is to give in a totally unforced manner. Once I figured this out, others speakers seemed bright (maybe even a little hard) by comparison.

Again removing the grills, and replacing the jumpers gave the LSi15s the little bit of sparkle I thought was missing, without making it bright or anything like that.

If that still doesn't work for you, maybe some of the recommendations that were given may be better choices. I would also recommend you check the Amphion Argon2...

Just for reference, if it helps I'm using Analysis Plus Silver Oval cables(which I bought used here on Audiogon for a good price) and Analysis Plus jumpers. I'm also using a Perreaux Radiance R200i integrated amp(Awesome amp by the way) and a Sim Audio Nova LE CD Player. As for the kinds of music I hear(just for reference)...I listen to a lot of different kinds of music Pop, Rock, Jazz(specially like CDs where trumpet is the showcased instrument so to speak), Vocal Jazz, Latin Pop, Latin Jazz, Spanish Rock, R&B, and even some Hip-Hop...I sometimes use the song Ants Marching from Dave Mathews band's "Under the Table and Dreaming" CD to kind of get a handle on how my system is sounding.

Hope this helps...

Forgot to mention:

Check out Von Schweikert Audio VR-1 monitor speakers. Very VERY impressive indeed.

Also, I use a lot of the Buena Vista Social Club tracks to kind of calibrate my ears and my system...As well as Miles Davis "Kind of Blue"(isn't that, using "Kind of Blue" as a reference, like the biggest audio cliche ever).

Again, I'm giving you all these references about the music I use, just so you get an idea of where I'm coming from and what kind of things I like in music.

Anyway, before you go take the plunge with new speakers, try tweaking the ones you got a little bit(placement, grills off, new jumpers, new cables) you might be surprised...

Should the little tweaks(replacing jumpers, removing grills, toe-in) not work out for you, at the $800 range, I'd suggest checking the Paradigm Studio 20 V3. If you could swing a little more, maybe check the Von Schweikert Audio VR1 ($1000), although I'm sure you can find a used or demo pair for less than your budget limit.

Did you get the Von Schweikerts, Studio 20s??

Good to hear man. I've listened to the VR-1s and I think they are very impressive...and what about their finish?? The craftmanship is great. I've seen them in the Dark Red Cherry and the Maple finishes(in person) and they are quite the lookers. I thought i'd never like anything in a Red Cherry finish, until I saw these speakers. I've never seen the other finishes other than in pictures on the website...

By the way, in what color did you pick them??

As soon as budget allows(maybe in a year) I'll be looking to upgrade my speakers(Polk LSi15s) as I've upgraded everything else, and I know I'll take a look at a pair of VR-4 Jr's.

I hear you on budget... You know what's funny though?? I never thought I would be "foolish" enough to spend more than a hundred bucks on cable, and as of right now I own a pair of Analysis Plus Silver Ovals speaker cables and Analysis Plus Solo Crystal interconnects, both of which are a bit more than a hundred bucks. I never thought I'd spend more than a few hundred on a CD Player and I ended up buying a Simaudio Moon Nova LE player.

This is a sick hobby I'll tell you...but I'm happy with the music so who cares right? Its about the only hobby I got too...

Right now I'm in the process of moving into a new house, so as soon as I do, I'll try to post my system and some pictures of it(probably about a month from now). I'm really happy to hear you're happy with your system. Right now I can't listen to music at all, everything is packed and plus I live in Orlando, Florida, and we've been dealing with a whole bunch of hurricanes this season. So every time one comes around I disconnect everything and put it in a safe place.

Anyway, great to hear you're enjoying the new speakers. I know you ordered the African Hazlewood ones, but is that Cherry finish beautiful or what?? Maybe I place too much emphasis on looks, but I don't want my speakers to embarrass my living room, specially not when I move into the new house.

I hear you. I suppose I'm lucky as I am not married yet. I do get some grief from my girlfriend about how weird I am buying cables and stuff like that. Anyway she doesn't give me a hard time about spending (probably cause we ain't married) but she does comments on components that are less than aesthetically pleasing. So having speakers that are nicely finish is great for keeping peace as you say.

Speakers are such a visually imposing piece of furniture(no matter how small they are) that they have to be nicely finished if I'm going to buy them. Specially now that I'm buying a new house and I want it to look at least half way decent.