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Bookshelf speaker help

J

jamiecantar

Well-Known Member
Hope everyone is having a great summer.

I'm interested in getting some smallish bookshelf speakers for my office. I've read great reviews about the new Andrew Jones ELAC Debut B5 speakers and his previous Pioneer SP-BS22-LR. Has anyone had the luck of hearing both, and if so which one IYO sounded better. or Can you suggest another brand and model that out perform in this price range... Thanks

ELAC Debut B5 retail for $229/pair
Pioneer SP-BS22-LR retail for $129/pair

 
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The BS22's do sound great for the money but I'd bet that the ELAC's are a big step up. Give Andrew Jones almost double the budget and the experience he gained at Pioneer and I think it adds up to a large improvement. The B5 reviews from the Newport Audio show were stellar.
 
JMHO; but the rear-firing bass ports will dictate where you can position either of these choices.
 
nfafan said:
JMHO; but the rear-firing bass ports will dictate where you can position either of these choices.
Click to expand...

Correct, but the benefit is reduced or eliminated audible port noise.

For true bookshelf use (i.e. against a wall), a port plug could be used (at the expense of some low-end response).
 
It really boils down to your budget...The Pio's are good, IMO the hype is due to their price, which is very valid. But, if you are talking about spending $300.00, you can do better than those Pio. As for the new ELAC I cannot comment favorably nor negatively, as I have not heard or read much about it. Having said that, I saw this video, and even in my laptop's factory integrated Altec Lansing speakers, probably setup for mostly dialogue, it sounds respectable.

Anyways, here is a short list of other NEW speakers you might want to consider:

+ PSB Alpha B1
+ Canton GLE-426
+ Wharfedale Diamond 10.1
+ Polk TSi100

But, as I keep reading those ELAC Debut might be the killer.

EDIT: I forgot about these speakers, Infinity R152, almost no one talks about them, but they are extremely good; another AK'er when he read that my favorite speaker is the Revel Performa3 M106 advised me of the new Infinity Reference series. What Harman did was use the technology developed throughout the years for their Revel brand, specially their Performa3 series, and made a very affordable speaker under their Infinity brand. The result is a great speaker that sounds close to my favorite speaker series, Revel Performa3. I was able to audition the Infinity Reference series at the local dealer, and I was amazed as to how close they are to the Revel, which I had auditioned a few months earlier at the local Revel dealer.
 
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Thanks to all who have added their comments and suggestions. I have attached a chart with a review on 14 bookshelf speaker testing 2015 from some source. it's subjective but at least it has prices, figures and measurements.

http://bookshelf-speakers-review.toptenreviews.com/

Their opinion is the klipsch Synergy's for $177. I never heard these... the Pioneers's came in 11th place...

 
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Thanks to all who have added their comments and suggestions. I will do some live investigating and report back. TAVES Consumer Electronics Show October. In the mean time I have attached a chart with a review on bookshelf speaker testing 2015 from some source. it's subjective but at least it has figures and measurements.

Their opinion is the klipsch Synergy's for $177. I never heard these...

 
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botrytis said:
To the OP, I would take those ratings and reviews with a HUGE GRAIN of SALT.

All you can do is go out and listen - let your ears guide you.
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Chill out a little.
I think he's got your point covered already

jamiecantar said:
In the mean time I have attached a chart with a review on bookshelf speaker testing 2015 from some source. it's subjective but at least it has figures and measurements.
Click to expand...
 
That list coincides with my opinion of the Pio SP22BS. Every list is different, but you can find a few of the ones mentioned in other similar lists from other publications.
 
I recently purchased a pair of JBL Professional LSR305 Active Studio Monitors for $250 including shipping. These are self-powered with twin 41-watt amps in each cabinet powering the two-ways with the HF Image-Control Waveguide design developed for the new M2.

These sound absolutely fantastic with an incredible soundstage and full-range response that is quite unexpected from a 5-inch woofer!

But don't take my word for it! http://www.cnet.com/news/jbl-lsr305-resetting-sound-expectations-for-desktop-speakers/
 
At that price, there's no doubt I'd give these a try:

http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html

Dennis Murphy really knows what he is doing. I had purchased the stock BS-22's for $59 on sale and returned them promptly because I was not at all impressed with the sound. Recently I ordered Dennis Murphy's modded BS-22's (before they were discontinued) because I wanted a low cost speakers to use in a utility room and I had read good things about his mods.

All he did was replace the tweeter, add damping material and work his crossover magic and the modded BS-22's sounded like a completely different (read much better) pair of speakers. I couldn't believe how good he made them sound.

I wouldn't hesitate to give his "New" AA Monitors a try.
 
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Bumping this - it may be five years later but the Pioneers are still available, and AJ has revisited the ELACs at least once with the "Debut 2.0" series.

The Pioneers are still fantastic value for under $100. Paired with a Lepai LP-2020+ (which is pretty much the cheapest amplifier you can buy, and punches far above its weight as long as you stay below half volume), they put surprising volume and are good enough that I could clearly distinguish the difference between DACS costing $10 (Apple Lightning headphone adapter), $50 (Schiit Fulla 2) and $100 (iDSD iFi Nano Black). The distinction was clear enough that I took to using the iDSD pretty much any time I used them.
The ELACs are still much more expensive but should be much better if you have a good amplifier to power them. There's a fair amount of advice around about how they need proper amplification to shine. I tried a pair of Debut B6's with an anaemic little fifty-dollar class-D amplifier (not the Lepai), and I was very disappointed. I suspect that the amp was the major part of that disappointment, along with not breaking in the ELACs properly before evaluating them.

One other option: if most of your listening is streaming, skip all the passive speakers and pick up one or two IKEA Symfonisk Sonos speakers. $99 each, they support Airplay 2 and Amazon Alexa and Tidal, and for smaller spaces they are shockingly good for a hundred-dollar streaming speaker. You can pair them in stereo or group them, too. There's no microphone, but you can add an Echo Dot or maybe a Google Mini for voice control, and you may never miss wired speakers,

Just a thought - leave it with you, use it, don't use it...
 
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