budget bookshelf speaker recommendations for stereo streaming and a bit of surround

mattie

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Hi all

I've put my question in this forum as I'm more interested in stereo than surround.

We've moved house and I'm rejigging the hifi, and I'm having my turntable in my study and re-fitting a Denon 7.1 amp for the front room.  I've previous used some Monitor Audio Silver RS1 as part of this set-up in stereo mode, with some other cheap satellites for when I'm using the amp in surround mode- the Monitor Audio will now be in the study and I'm after some bookshelf speakers for the front room as replacement.

These need to be very compact, smaller than the RS1 as space is at a premium and they have to go up on a shelf to stay out of the little'uns reach - this means they'll be hard up against a wall.  I'm obviously not expecting great shakes with this set-up so no point in breaking the bank, but I'd hope certain speakers might be less disastrous than others in this sort of use.  I can use the subwoofer to give some help if needed. 

I was looking at something like the Q-acoustics 3010 as a starter for 10, any suggestions which might be better would be appreciated.  Happy to up the budget from these if it'll make substantial improvement, and also more than happy to entertain any used speakers in classifieds.

I realise that this is one of those annoying, niggly requests for help, but guidance to anything that will provide some light relief whilst keeping the kids from killing themselves much appreciated.  When they're older I'll be swapping the speakers out for some more suitable floorstanders but it's not a great option at present (the reason why the turntable is off to the study!) which is why I'm just looking for something cheap and easy that won't hurt the ears.

All advice gratefully received.

 

Lurch

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Mordant short m10 are sealed so no probs close to a wall. For front ported which are also happy close to a wall, are cheap, but sound excellent look at the wharfedale Diamond 9 or 9.1. Also the QA 2010\2010i are good and cheaper to pick up than the 3000 series. 

 
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garn63

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Hi Mattie...try to snag a sealed design that are known to perform reasonably well on a shelf ?  Make a little space around the spkr or consider a well made cheap bracket to mount them. Some sorbothane feet might help ?   M.

 

Nopiano

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The QAs all gave a nice warm balance, but they are physically quite deep - in dimensions.  This may not be ideal in some settings, so best to get a tape measure out.   They do offer wall mountings, however.  

For a similarly modest price, under £200, the Dali Spektor 1 or 2 might be easier to fit in.  If your lottery ticket comes good, the Neat Iota is tiny and perfect for wall mounting at around £800 a pair. 

 

uzzy

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Please fill in your profile - location and the kit you use - it makes answering queries so much easier.   I would check out eBay for bargain bookshelfs with a great performance .. anyway - one of the finest bookshelf speakers ever made were the Radford Tristars .. they are a three way with a 12 inch woofer in a sealed compact cabinet.   If you have room for these babies you will not be disappointed ... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Radford-Tristar-50-3-Way-Loudspeakers/363347505007?hash=item549932ef6f:g:5F0AAOSwGFdga481

My favourite small LS35A type speaker - Kef ref 101 (think LS35A with balls) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KEF-Reference-Series-101-vintage-high-end-monitors-Type-SP1122-matched-pair/203336527677?hash=item2f57cd2f3d:g:TTUAAOSwHZ5gaedm

Both the above are sealed cabinets so placement gets easy (no ports to contend with) 

Good luck in your search 

 

t1no

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Dimensions of your bookshelf and max. budget wouldn’t go amiss. A stereo pair of wireless speakers sounds like a good option to me. Then you can lose the receiver as well to make even more space.

 
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