Musical, Warm and Smooth bookshelfs under 500
Quad 9L actives, warm, inviting, not overly covered up, very musical, maybe the sleeper in the Quad dynamic line. Used ones are right in your price bracket, high end sound for relative pocket change. Stretch your budget a little (around $6-700 used) for 12Ls which can fill a larger space. Sell your amp and just use the speakers with some decent ICs. I own both and love them. |
as per tgrisham, the von schweikert vr1 would be perfect for you--jazz sounds live on 'em. i'm not sure how easy you could score a pair for $500--they don't seem to pop up that frequently. rega rs1 do everything well and are very musical. for a dark horse, i'd consider energy c-3 or rc--somewhat underrecognized, but they image as well as any inexpensive monitor i've heard, sound larger than most on your list and are a very good buy used. |
Thanks for all the inputs gents! Keep them coming in =) Btw, I listened to a friend's vinyl and tube setup recently. A Leben C600 integrated with a pair of Harbeths and man was it wonderful. I'm quite keen on tubes but I'm wondering if the speakers listed here can be mated to something like the Jolida 102b a 20W amp. Most people say that small bookshelves are quite inefficient so it's a concern. |
Silverline Minuets are 88db efficient and should work fine with 20W in a room the size of yours. I believe one of the reviewers used a 25W amp and said it was more than adequate to power them. Harbeth's are great, but I don't think you'll find a pair under 500. |
