Home theater - Bookshelf speaker SHOWDOWN!

[Catzzye]

Hello!

 

I’m not very well versed in Audio overall, so I seek your help!

 

I’m looking to do a simple 2.0 Home Theater in my flat (smaller apartment, no subw since neighbours would kill me), so it would be nice if regular bass was sufficient (I’m not crazy for bass, but some is great!) 

I’m looking at 5 different options, with all of them priced very similarly; around 350-400EUR.

The options are: Dynavoice DM‑6 vs B&W 686 S2 vs DALI OBERON 1 vs KEF Q150 vs DALI ZENSOR 1

 

I would be running them off a Sony AVR (STRDH190) which will unify my audio setup.

I prefer cleaner/detailed sound and listen to a WIDE variety of music, so I’d love to pick one that’s “best overall”.

 

I can give any more info if needed.

Thank you guys so much!

[emosun]

Just go with Alesis I've never heard of any of those brands

[ToboRobot]

33 minutes ago, emosun said:

Just go with Alesis I've never heard of any of those brands

B&W is a well known brand, KEF too.

Have you looked on the used market?   Used speakers are often a good deal.

[Catzzye]

1 minute ago, ToboRobot said:

B&W is a well known brand, KEF too.

Have you looked on the used market?   Used speakers are often a good deal.

Hey! Yeah these are used models near me, so KEF Q150 might be the way to go? They aren’t the best looking, but if they work well, I don’t mind! Cheers

[ToboRobot]

1 minute ago, Catzzye said:

Hey! Yeah these are used models near me, so KEF Q150 might be the way to go? They aren’t the best looking, but if they work well, I don’t mind! Cheers

Do you look at speakers or listen to them?

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kef-q150-bookshelf-speaker-review-by-erin.31249/

[Catzzye]

37 minutes ago, ToboRobot said:

Do you look at speakers or listen to them?

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kef-q150-bookshelf-speaker-review-by-erin.31249/

Just browsing my local marketplace, I’d have to meet with each one of them to give them a test, so I’m hoping to go by other people’s experiences.

[KTown]

Try demo'ing the Klipsch RP-600M II. Probably the best bang-for-the buck speakers in your price range. 

[Catzzye]

38 minutes ago, KTown said:

Try demo'ing the Klipsch RP-600M II. Probably the best bang-for-the buck speakers in your price range. 

Hi! Thank you for the recommendation. I see one nearby for 450EUR. Do you think it’s worth the upgrade? I love music and I want to have this setup for decadeS hopefully. I don’t mind spending a bit extra

[KTown]

Best advice I can give is to not rush a purchase. Try to demo as much as you can to find what sounds best to you within your room. What one person likes may not be what another person likes. I have heard the RP-600M and the RP-600M II and prefer the Mark IIs. The 6.5" woofer may help achieve your desired bass response without a sub. They should match well with lower powered amps (8 Ohm impedance / 94.5 dB sensitivity).

[Catzzye]

5 hours ago, KTown said:

Best advice I can give is to not rush a purchase. Try to demo as much as you can to find what sounds best to you within your room. What one person likes may not be what another person likes. I have heard the RP-600M and the RP-600M II and prefer the Mark IIs. The 6.5" woofer may help achieve your desired bass response without a sub. They should match well with lower powered amps (8 Ohm impedance / 94.5 dB sensitivity).

Hey, thank you for the advice. I've found an open boxKLIPSCH RP-160M a person is selling for 300EUR. From what I've read it seems it's super close to 600M Mark ||s so I'm 99% sure I'll just go with them tomorrow. Cheers 

[Cocococo]

I haven't tried every speaker you listed, but i can definitely vouch for the KEF Q150, they sound absolutely brilliant and have pretty decent bass extension for such a relatively small bookshelf speaker. Dali Zensor is also quite good, i had a hard time not choosing them when i was looking at bookshelf speakers for a friends setup. But the KEF are much closer to what you want

[saintlouisbagels]

I find that Klipsch sounds really unremarkable, idk, and IMO I think they look really ugly.

 

B&W speakers sound too bright to me.

 

I've recommended the KEF Q150 to at least 6 different friends and they are all extremely happy customers and have had no desire to upgrade in the last nearly 7 years.

[Psittac]

I have the KEF Q950 towers powered by a class-A amplifier and they're great, however after a while I got tired of them with a noticeable thump in the kick drum area, eventually that was all I could hear when I listened to music.  I believe that this is however due to the passive radiators and them not doing a little extra with the crossover and leaving the refinement to the higher end speakers.  I believe that the Q-150 won't have this issue as it's one driver.

 

I also have an older pair of Klipsch Tower speakers that are fanfreakingtastic, very bright but easily tamed with Audessy Multi-EQ.  What ever you go with can be accented with a different receiver that has an EQ some day, should that be desired.

 

I also have experience with 3 other bookshelves

Jamo S803 and Polk TSi100 were both boring AF.

Micca RB42 is fanfreakingtastic with tons of bass out of a 4" woofer but requires a ton of power.

 

I would look into JBL speakers for your needs as well, they tend to have good bass.  Also consider powered monitors and the possibility of selling your amp to put into the budget.