enframed wrote: Tue Mar 29, 2022 9:03 am
Yo, Motorbike, what are some good front-ported bookshelf size speakers?
Ok, to be clear, I have not heard a lot of small bookshelf speakers. I have heard Paradigm Reference Studio 20s. I bought them for my son. They sound amazing. Front Ported. Generally I have liked the Paradigms that I have heard, nice tweeters, good balance. Nice finishes.
As I mentioned above, I have heard Polks, although not the newest crop. They also have nice tweeters, not too bright, decent midbass, go pretty loud. Some have rear ports, some have front, some have no ports.
I have heard a few different speakers by Totem - usually rear ported unless they are sealed. One in particular stands out; the Totem Mani-2, a small two way sealed box monitor with two woofers in an Isobaric configuration. (look it up) Takes a lot of power but makes amazing bass for a small speaker. Would love to have a pair of those.
I used to own Linn Tukans, which were great. Rear ported though. They needed to be a good 3 feet or so from the wall.
Before the Linn Tukans, I had Boston Acoustics A40s, which are super cheap. Kind of nasty tweeters, and not much bass to speak of, but good midrange and on really good stands that were spiked down, they made some surprisingly fun sounds .
l have heard good things about Elac, ATC, Kudos, KEF, Dali, Sonus Faber, Harbeth, Rogers, Graham, Spendor , Mission, Falcon. Most of these brands have one or more small monitors, some based on the classic BBC LS3/5a design, which is a sealed box, 2 way with usually a 5 or 6 inch woofer, intended for near field monitoring. Some guys swear by this design to the exclusion of all others . I myself need more low end.
My favorite brand, Linn, made a speaker called the Kan for many years. Kans are an interesting speaker, based on the LS3/5a but slightly different. In the right system they can be breathtaking. But feed them a compromised signal or use a less than stellar amp, and they sound like complete garbage. As real monitors should. My actual speakers are like Kans, but with an isobaric (yes that again) woofer setup. Suits me fine and I love them. They are a bitch and a half to drive, and frankly only sound about 60% if run passively.
If you have a little more room - I would suggest other BBC licensed designs, specifically the LS5/9 style - basically your old fashioned 8 inch woofer 2 way. The LS5/9 is a supreme refinement of that design and with good drivers and a decently made crossover, can sound incredible, with life and space and all the good things, plus enough bass to make Neurosis or Kowloon Walled City sound like they should. Of course some of these go for $5000 a pair, so fuck that. Used you can find Spendor BC-1s, Mission 700s, and 770s. You may have to glue the surround back to the woofer, and/or replace a tweeter, but still great value for money.
Take these suggestions, but absolutely listen to as many as you can. No component in your hifi is going to vary as much in voicing and frequency response as your speakers, and they all sound very different. It is next to useless to read a review and try to extrapolate how the same speakers will sound in your room, fed by your amp. Not to mention, we all have different tastes, some people like a more warm, laid back speaker - others want a little sparkle or presence. As you can tell from my list above, I am a huge fan of British speakers. They tend to sound right to me. Other people like JBLs and Klipsch and other American speakers. Some weirdos like Japanese speakers. The ones i have heard sound all wrong to me, but that's just me. Shit, people worship Yamaha NS-10s and those sound like total garbage to me. Depends on what music you like and what sources you have as well.
Try to find a shop that will let you listen to a bunch of things and then try something at home for a few days. Some online shops will even allow you to buy something and send it back within 30 days if you don't like it. Good luck. There is no substitute for doing the work.