Bookshelf speakers for a sideboard

[TheFlash]

Some grat suggestons here. Lurch mentoned Dali Zensor 1's; I have the Dali Opticon 1's in my kitchen, they're a couple of ranges up and are a much more accomplished speaker than their predecssor Zensor 1's IMHO. I have to have mine wall-mounted and these work close to a wall like this. I'm not sure they're KEF LS50 beaters though...

Mine are in white and with the grilles on they would be a suitably stylish adornment to your room (very nice sideboard by the way).

I've had small speakers and a sub before and they can integrate remarkably well if you get the sub set-up right.

Good luck.

 

[PuritéAudio]

There isn’t an excess of bass, and they have some boundary adjustment, they also have a ‘Sub’ output which might be useful.

They aren’t bad and very convenient for the whole family, bluetooth, remote , input selection etc etc.

Keith

 

[JMcQueen]

Some grat suggestons here. Lurch mentoned Dali Zensor 1's; I have the Dali Opticon 1's in my kitchen, they're a couple of ranges up and are a much more accomplished speaker than their predecssor Zensor 1's IMHO. I have to have mine wall-mounted and these work close to a wall like this. I'm not sure they're KEF LS50 beaters though...

Mine are in white and with the grilles on they would be a suitably stylish adornment to your room (very nice sideboard by the way).

I've had small speakers and a sub before and they can integrate remarkably well if you get the sub set-up right.

Good luck.

Oh, I do like Dali.....Another added to the consideration list, especially as they do actives now. 

 

[dari]

There isn’t an excess of bass, and they have some boundary adjustment, they also have a ‘Sub’ output which might be useful.

They aren’t bad and very convenient for the whole family, bluetooth, remote , input selection etc etc.

Keith

well, the mids are recessed a lot when you place LS50W close to back wall so - as a result - it feels like bass is exaggerated

 

[Cloth-Ears.]

By the way Auralex do fabric covered board mounted on foam risers, for things like sub-woofers and a small one I think which can be put under say a gaming rig sub to minimise vibration transfer affecting neighbours below. I actually use big Auralex risers ( rectangle shaped ) under my floorstanding speakers which not only stop direct vibrations going through the floor but provide a more even platform for the speakers to stand on. They are a good and inexpensive solution. 

 

[PuritéAudio]

well, the mids are recessed a lot when you place LS50W close to back wall so - as a result - it feels like bass is exaggerated

That is what the boundary filters are for.

Keith

 

[dari]

Like I've said, even with those all the way down the bass is so-so.. 

 

[PuritéAudio]

Boundary filters adjust the amount of bass.

Keith

 

[dari]

Thank you, I know and - for the third time - that's what I'm talking about. 

 

[DomT]

I went to audition KEF SLX and LS50 wireless and Naim Muso 2 at a dealer today. I listen to each on a double width hifi rack. Don’t know make of stand but looked expensive and was made of wood. Also listened to the KEFs on stands and the LS50s on a desk stand on the rack. Room was probably 4x5m playing down the room.

Whilst I owned a Muso QB I had only listened to it on my desk 50cms away from me. So I thought that as this was for our main lounge system that I should have a proper listen. Listened to Muse, Stevie Wonder, and some 80s pop. All listening via Roon/Tidal.

The KEF SLX had to be almost full volume and were lightweight on the stand and a bit boomy on the rack. LS50 was very boomy on the rack but less so with desk stand but still too boomy. Naim’s bass was  much better controlled probably because it was designed to work sitting on top of furniture. Naim had more detail than LS50 but also a more forward sound. Depending on your tastes you would prefer one or the other. Stereo image is not something that I find important yet the KEFs had the edge as it sounded a bit more ‘normal’.

We changed some of the KEF LS50 settings to remove some bass and that improved things but it upset the natural balance of the speaker. Maybe with more time I could have got a better result.

Given that the OP will place speakers on a sideboard this could proof very tricky to get a good result. 

The KEFs really do need desk stands and this is a deal breaker for me as the TV would need to be moved too high up. 

Thanks to someone in the thread who mentioned the KEFs to me as it was a really interesting listen. If my circumstances were different I might well chose the KEF LS50 wireless. 

 

[Rayymondo]

Primacoustic RX5-HF Nearfield Monitor Recoil Stabiliser

I use these to better control bass on bookshelf speakers

 

[MartinC]

Primacoustic RX5-HF Nearfield Monitor Recoil Stabiliser

I use these to better control bass on bookshelf speakers

I haven't seen levitating speaker bases before  .

 

[DomT]

Justbto state that the desk stands that we used are the ones used in studios. Sorry can’t remember the brand. 

 

[PuritéAudio]

I went to audition KEF SLX and LS50 wireless and Naim Muso 2 at a dealer today. I listen to each on a double width hifi rack. Don’t know make of stand but looked expensive and was made of wood. Also listened to the KEFs on stands and the LS50s on a desk stand on the rack. Room was probably 4x5m playing down the room.

Whilst I owned a Muso QB I had only listened to it on my desk 50cms away from me. So I thought that as this was for our main lounge system that I should have a proper listen. Listened to Muse, Stevie Wonder, and some 80s pop. All listening via Roon/Tidal.

The KEF SLX had to be almost full volume and were lightweight on the stand and a bit boomy on the rack. LS50 was very boomy on the rack but less so with desk stand but still too boomy. Naim’s bass was  much better controlled probably because it was designed to work sitting on top of furniture. Naim had more detail than LS50 but also a more forward sound. Depending on your tastes you would prefer one or the other. Stereo image is not something that I find important yet the KEFs had the edge as it sounded a bit more ‘normal’.

We changed some of the KEF LS50 settings to remove some bass and that improved things but it upset the natural balance of the speaker. Maybe with more time I could have got a better result.

Given that the OP will place speakers on a sideboard this could proof very tricky to get a good result. 

The KEFs really do need desk stands and this is a deal breaker for me as the TV would need to be moved too high up. 

Thanks to someone in the thread who mentioned the KEFs to me as it was a really interesting listen. If my circumstances were different I might well chose the KEF LS50 wireless. 

The ‘boom’ is the room ( the interaction between room and loudspeaker )  not the loudspeaker , I tried them on both stands and desk, I thought them pretty versatile.

You can correct ‘boom’ with EQ, Roon for example has built in parametric EQ filters.

Keith

 

[DomT]

The ‘boom’ is the room ( the interaction between room and loudspeaker )  not the loudspeaker , I tried them on both stands and desk, I thought them pretty versatile.

You can correct ‘boom’ with EQ, Roon for example has built in parametric EQ filters.

Keith

If you read again what I wrote you will see that we did adjust the settings to correct the bass. Your answer to all problems seems to be eq. I prefer to use instruments that broadly work for their intended purpose and fine tune if required rather than force fit.

It was obvious that the Naim worked better in terms of bass management without the need for extensive adjustments. It would have taken a lot of work to get the KEF balance right in the professionally treated room that I listened in (bass traps, diffusers etc etc)

 

[PuritéAudio]

Bass ‘boom,’ is caused when a speaker excites a frequency which is twice the length/height/width of the room, the axial modes.

Although you adjusted the bass, the speaker was still producing a bass frequency that excited that particular mode, perhaps the bass of the Naim didn’t extend enough to excite that particular room mode.

The shop could and should have used Roon’s EQ to bring down that bass peak, the Kefs are not boomy in and of themselves.

Keith

 

[DomT]

Bass ‘boom,’ is caused when a speaker excites a frequency which is twice the length/height/width of the room, the axial modes.

Although you adjusted the bass, the speaker was still producing a bass frequency that excited that particular mode, perhaps the bass of the Naim didn’t extend enough to excite that particular room mode.

The shop could and should have used Roon’s EQ to bring down that bass peak, the Kefs are not boomy in and of themselves.

Keith

You were not there you don’t know what we did and what we heard And I am not going to write every detail.

I did the demo largely to help the OP because I only have a small alcove space 1.2m and not to argue with you. I’ll put you on ignore AGAIN!

 

[DomT]

Although you adjusted the bass, the speaker was still producing a bass frequency that excited that particular mode, perhaps the bass of the Naim didn’t extend enough to excite that particular room mode.

Keith

For the OP’s attention to say that purites statement is factually wrong as he was not in the room. We adjusted the bass response of the KEF. The boom was removed. The speaker sounded unbalanced. This is what I wrote in my first comparison post but I didn’t want there to be any confusion about this. The room was treated. OP should home demo. The Naim has extended AND controlled bass. 

 

[PuritéAudio]

I couldn’t see any FR specs for the Naim, are they published anywhere?

Keith

 

[tIANcI]

I couldn’t see any FR specs for the Naim, are they published anywhere?

Keith

Stereophile?