Any takes of bookshelf speakers?

[Sam Lord]

The OP made his choice, but I have some opinions to add. First, congrats on Sonus Faber, they are an *outstanding* brand. Second, bookshelf speakers are nearly always a bad idea, unless you put them *on a bookshelf*. Little speakers on good stands cost the same as minitowers with the same footprint, and have less bass.

 

Typical 2.1 systems, i.e. bookshelf speakers and a sub, are an even worse idea. They take more room and are very hard to integrate: 98% of 2.1 systems sound broken IMO. Bookshelf mounting is fine however, especially on a strong shelf laden with books. That creates a nicely diffused infinite baffle, though still lacking in bass.

 

The 2.0 Sonus Fabers weren't taking more useful room, but they looked bad in your tight setup. But in most rooms minitowers will look okay and sound better. Also on-wall Magnepans or in-wall speakers make sense.

[JW Audio]

The OP made his choice, but I have some opinions to add. First, congrats on Sonus Faber, they are an *outstanding* brand. Second, bookshelf speakers are nearly always a bad idea, unless you put them *on a bookshelf*. Little speakers on good stands cost the same as minitowers with the same footprint, and have less bass.

 

Typical 2.1 systems, i.e. bookshelf speakers and a sub, are an even worse idea. They take more room and are very hard to integrate: 98% of 2.1 systems sound broken IMO. Bookshelf mounting is fine however, especially on a strong shelf laden with books. That creates a nicely diffused infinite baffle, though still lacking in bass.

 

The 2.0 Sonus Fabers weren't taking more useful room, but they looked bad in your tight setup. But in most rooms minitowers will look okay and sound better. Also on-wall Magnepans or in-wall speakers make sense.

 

A lot of people would disagree with this. My self included. An 8 X 8 room will not handle very many tower designs. Bass would be an issue.

Let the OP enjoy his choice without pissing on his parade.

[Oscar0990]

I cant see the sonus faber 1.5s being any bad as an introduction to this hobby. Im not really trying to find the "perfect" setup when i still dont know much about this hobby! Im learning along and will audition speakers down the road... But at the end of it all, im just more interested in sitting down, kicking back and just listening to some good ol' tunes!! Im 25 years old and i have a LONG way to go to find the "truth" in this hobby. For now, i just want to get my setup going, and enjoy the music.

[17629]

The OP made his choice, but I have some opinions to add. First, congrats on Sonus Faber, they are an *outstanding* brand. Second, bookshelf speakers are nearly always a bad idea, unless you put them *on a bookshelf*. Little speakers on good stands cost the same as minitowers with the same footprint, and have less bass.

 

Typical 2.1 systems, i.e. bookshelf speakers and a sub, are an even worse idea. They take more room and are very hard to integrate: 98% of 2.1 systems sound broken IMO. Bookshelf mounting is fine however, especially on a strong shelf laden with books. That creates a nicely diffused infinite baffle, though still lacking in bass.

 

The 2.0 Sonus Fabers weren't taking more useful room, but they looked bad in your tight setup. But in most rooms minitowers will look okay and sound better. Also on-wall Magnepans or in-wall speakers make sense.

 

 

I'm not sure how you came up with the above comments, but you're allowed to have your own opinion. That said, I think most people would disagree. Looking at your first comment, I can't think of 1 pair of mid to high end bookshelf speakers that were actually designed to be put on a bookshelf. This is something you don't have to take my word for. Look in the owners manual for any bookshelf speaker you want, and read the setup instructions.

 

Moving on to the 2nd paragraph, I get that 2.1 systems may be challenging to set up, but the reality is, you've probably heard less than 1% of the 98% your reference. Not only that, a 2.1 system gives you a lot more options than a mini tower does in a small room. You can put the sub where it needs to be for best sound, and the bookshelf's where they need to be. If everything's in the same box, you'll have to make some compromises.

 

For the last part, there's no way that you can know all that. You're talking about speakers like they're generic items. They all sound different, and you have to make a choice based on personal preference.

[Sam Lord]

Hi JW Audio, Oscar, and 17629.

 

Sorry, this is a very late reply. My earlier one was very skewed. In talking about Sonus Faber I was urging people to leave it, Oscar had already bought the speakers. In my opinion, Sonus Faber can't make a speaker that isn't musical and very good in other ways. One reason I commented was that a relative had *just* gone through the same process, ending up with SF Venere 3.0s....but in a larger room. I think SF is a *great* company.

 

I said that bookshelf speakers were usually an inferior decision compared to minitowers, and there is ample evidence. I worked professionally with great systems for a number of years and helped design some of the world's best speakers (Intuitive Denali and Master One), so there's that. Sturdy bookshelves with real books are excellent for small speakers; that is often a superior position to being placed out in the room on stands: there is an infinite baffle and no front wall reflection.

 

I need to correct something I said. The cost of stands usually *doesn't* equal the premium for bigger cabinets. But geez, there are many bookshelf speakers and bigger monitors with dedicated stands that *are* very expensive. Minitowers take no more usable volume than bookshelf speakers on stands. But they can *look* more imposing, and that can be important. Almost any minitower, having usually a tweeter and a 6-7" woofer, won't overload a small room, though 8x8 is an extreme case and Oscar chose with his ears.

 

I shouldn't have gone on the anti-2.1 tangent, though I have plenty of experience with the bass distortion they always present. A single sub is a bad idea for music. Even placed optimally, about between the mains, phase at zero and slightly closer the the listener's ears, they still distort the bass relative to any properly-placed twin-sub system. Oscar was smart not to get any subs. Two subs and two mains take a lot of space unless they are vertically arrayed. Some systems displace a pair of subs away from mains, but to work they require digital delays. See Bob Katz's studio for ideas.

 

Look at the bottom photo: he has his subs placed correctly relative to mains, time-aligned with no processing. But since that picture was taken, he began using Acourate to delay his main output relative to the subs, and places the subs about a foot out from each corner. Acourate has very good phase performance even with EQ, suitable for that mastering engineer. But very few people with 2.1 systems pay attention to time alignment. And the cheap filtering on most subs should be avoided.

 

I apologize for speaking harshly about the setup: Oscar made a good choice. I took the occasion to discuss general advice about bookshelf speakers and subs.

 

A lot of people would disagree with this. My self included. An 8 X 8 room will not handle very many tower designs. Bass would be an issue.

Let the OP enjoy his choice without pissing on his parade.

 

I cant see the sonus faber 1.5s being any bad as an introduction to this hobby. Im not really trying to find the "perfect" setup when i still dont know much about this hobby! Im learning along and will audition speakers down the road... But at the end of it all, im just more interested in sitting down, kicking back and just listening to some good ol' tunes!! Im 25 years old and i have a LONG way to go to find the "truth" in this hobby. For now, i just want to get my setup going, and enjoy the music.

 

I'm not sure how you came up with the above comments, but you're allowed to have your own opinion. That said, I think most people would disagree. Looking at your first comment, I can't think of 1 pair of mid to high end bookshelf speakers that were actually designed to be put on a bookshelf. This is something you don't have to take my word for. Look in the owners manual for any bookshelf speaker you want, and read the setup instructions.

 

Moving on to the 2nd paragraph, I get that 2.1 systems may be challenging to set up, but the reality is, you've probably heard less than 1% of the 98% your reference. Not only that, a 2.1 system gives you a lot more options than a mini tower does in a small room. You can put the sub where it needs to be for best sound, and the bookshelf's where they need to be. If everything's in the same box, you'll have to make some compromises.

 

For the last part, there's no way that you can know all that. You're talking about speakers like they're generic items. They all sound different, and you have to make a choice based on personal preference.

[OldBigEars]

I like the B&W CM6 and KEF LS50's, but love the following:

- Proac D2 Response

- Fritz Carbons

- Trenner & Friele Sun

[hornytoad]

Elac unifi B5 . 500/pair . 3way speaker .

[Lcocozza]

In your case the size of your room will a deal breaker, I wouldn't buy anything before listening in the actual room.

Just my 2 cents.

[Kiendo]

Try Wavetouchaudio Grand Teton Gen 2 and you never disappoint. I've been using a pair for one and a half year, will upgrade to SE soon. The speakers are amplifier friendly and support from manufacturer is quite okay.