Bookshelf recommendation please

[raghupb]

KEF is king when it comes to books. Only thing, they have to consider the pricing a bit in favour of the consumers. I am a big fan of the Q300. The best thing about that fellow is that he pairs with any amplifier.

KEF house sound can put off some people.
But then, how each of us perceive sound is different.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[jai1611]

KEF is king when it comes to books. Only thing, they have to consider the pricing a bit in favour of the consumers. I am a big fan of the Q300. The best thing about that fellow is that he pairs with any amplifier.

Kefs are at one end of the presentation spectrum. If you like that type of sound, there is nothing quite matches them. If you don't like that presentation, they will need a lot of careful system matching to get them into listenable territory and even that may not work in the end. Very much do an extended demo before committing type of speaker.

 

[chander]

@chander If we keep the sound absorption pads on the wall without sticking taking support from the floor , is it still effective ? There since there is no way i will get permission to stick it up due to aesthetics , if i can pick up and use it as and when needed it would be awesome.

They should be. These are the days when I was "tripping" on the studio monitors, started on M-Audio AV 40s, then genelecs (can't remember the model, I still have them). This is when I just got over the Enbees. Yes it worked for me, mostly the sound absorption pads would just rest against the wall and it actually worked. They did reduce the bass boom and controlled the bass a fair bit. Eventually, while the room aesthetics were still under my control ;D, I used a similar setup with a bunch of rear-ported bookshelves and it does help with boominess to some extent. Please also understand, it could be extremely subjective or just placebo, as I have no measurements to prove this; though it works for me. Also during my younger and "green and happy" days I hung out with some musicians, and a lot of them were using these pads behind their monitors.

Johncy's is doing take-aways only, you can still make a quick trip

 

[raghupb]

<snip>
Also during my younger and "green and happy" days I hung out with some musicians, and a lot of them were using these pads behind their monitors.

Green and happy, eh?
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[DB1989]

You love your q350s!! That amazing man, being so happy with your kit, I wonder how many of us are in that boat. I am sure not, I am never happy with what I have. I always have that next one I want to get my hands on, but I never get what I want to get my hands on, just spoils the game.

Thats the case with all of us i suppose. It is only after i got the quad s5s and the evos that i realised i alredy had something special with me. Its only when you compare is when the pros and cons come out. I still feel the constant need to try out something new all the time but, im shifting my focus from speakers to amplification and source. No point having a lot of speakers without extracting the maximum they have to offer.

 

[chander]

Green and happy, eh?
Cheers,
Raghu

I ain't sayin nothin'.

 

[DB1989]

KEF is king when it comes to books. Only thing, they have to consider the pricing a bit in favour of the consumers. I am a big fan of the Q300. The best thing about that fellow is that he pairs with any amplifier.

My experience with kef as well Regarding amplification except that it does not pair well with class d. Im surprised you said they need to price their stuff better. I got my kef q350s for 44k and the compelling reason was the price in india compared to the price which its peers were being sold for (the emit m20 was 69k and b&w 606 was 70.)

 

[irv]

You love your q350s!! That amazing man, being so happy with your kit, I wonder how many of us are in that boat. I am sure not, I am never happy with what I have. I always have that next one I want to get my hands on, but I never get what I want to get my hands on, just spoils the game.

Well said
I too want to hop in to that boat

 

[prateekatasniya]

Anyone interested in b&w 606 should have a look at its frequency response and then decide.
Sharing the graphs.

 

[TheAudioGuy]

This video should help you understand the pros and cons of what different brands are offering in this segment. Some may be above your budget.

Other than these, I'd recommend the PSB Aplha A5s, Wharfedale Diamond 11.2s and the beautiful Wharfedale Denton 85th Anniversary Edition bookshelf speakers.

 

[superczar]

Interesting opinion. is that an apprehension based on the uni-q metal dome tweeter? I’m quite surprised you said it would need a subwoofer since it produces nearly as much bass as the Evo 4.2s which are almost double its size and weight. In fact, i find it produces even more bass than some floorstanders. Perhaps you tried it with class D amplification which it pairs with terribly! What was the chain that you tried the kef q series speaker with? After long hours of listening, i found the kef q 350s to be less fatiguing than quad s5s which are known for their silky smooth nature . I suppose it boils down to subjective tastes. Evo 4.2s are speakers i listen to for short durations only, mostly because they don’t play well with all types of music and i have to switch back to the KEFs or the Quads. Again, just clarifying that this is to my ears (and also my better half. She has no interest in speakers or my hobby but whenever she does listen to music, she insists on the KEFs. Strangely enough,so do most other people who have auditioned my system.) you can check out dome sound clips below and they give a pretty good feel of the bass that the kef q350s can produce (the reviewer has also summed up the sonic characteristics pretty well, albeit not in the most articulate manner)

I will second that - I suppose there is something about KEFs that makes one either love them or hate them.
I use KEF Q300s in my Bedroom that I suppose would sound very similar to the Q350s.
The speaker placement is as bad as it gets - they are wall mounted well above ear levels yet they are somehow my favorite set of speakers
It's probably the combination of their precise nature coupled with the relatively omnidirectional sound they produce (i.e a much wider sweet spot compared to most other speakers)

The bass response is actually quite a bit more than what I would have thought for their size - although it could also have something to do with the fact that they are rather close to the wall

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Anyone interested in b&w 606 should have a look at its frequency response and then decide.
Sharing the graphs.View attachment 47663

That looks awful!

 

[prateekatasniya]

That looks awful!

What kind of sound will you expect from these speakers?
I assume they will sound very bright.
Vocals will suffer big time.
And any low quality Audio track will be very harsh to the ears.

What's your opinion?

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Too many peaks and valleys in response wpuld result in making certain details easy to hear if they happen to be at the peaks and totally disappear from the mix if they fall into the valley of the same critical band. Anyways this is a very kuch colored sound. Depending on kind of colored sound preference (mostly due to a lack of perspective) some people may like it. This will be livelyfor sure!

 

[DB1989]

This video should help you understand the pros and cons of what different brands are offering in this segment. Some may be above your budget.

Other than these, I'd recommend the PSB Aplha A5s, Wharfedale Diamond 11.2s and the beautiful Wharfedale Denton 85th Anniversary Edition bookshelf speakers.

I think the Dentons are twice the price of the Alphas and the 11.2. Thanks for the link, im really looking forward to this shootout...

 

[drkrack]

suppose it boils down to subjective tastes.

KEF house sound can put off some people.

Absolutely, I mention coz that's a subjective preference. I don't have anything against Kef in particular, Only the Q series is bit unimpressive for me . in fact I was looking to buy LS50 for my 2nd setup few days ago.

Anyone interested in b&w 606 should have a look at its frequency response and then decide.

Many other speakers will measure similarly I think, but measurements never deter me from buying Or recommending something which I like, (I do give importance to measurements but that's never a final say in my buying decisions) of course YMMV. I feel measurement based recommendations have 3 important limitations (after assuming that measurements are done with perfect prerequisites) .

1. It assumes that the speakers that measure well sound well. Well, Its not necessary for a speaker that measures well, to sound well in a real world experience. It is like asking everyone to take a properly balanced diet every time ( Like measured Protein bars, vitamin pills instead of actual food), and Expecting everyone to like this Food. Especially when it's for enjoyment you can't be eating measured protein bars!

2. It assumes that the calibration mic and analyzing software are same as human ears and listening Part of cortex. So, In reality, the speaker that measures well sounds well to the mic and analyzing software & not necessarily to human ears and listening part of cortex ; which is often swayed by emotions and numerous other factors.

3. It assumes that All the parameters related to Reproduced sound have been completely discovered and there's nothing left to discover. The most important factor in SQ Of a setup is Tonality & emotional connection for me, you can call it subjective preference For a Certain combination of distortion But I firmly believe that, None of the measurements elucidate these parameters effectively. That's why I advise everyone to audition before buying. Music is a Art form, and science mostly falls short when explaining Art. Finally, From Einstein himself "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Absolutely, I mention coz that's a subjective preference. I don't have anything against Kef in particular, Only the Q series is bit unimpressive for me . in fact I was looking to buy LS50 for my 2nd setup few days ago.



Many other speakers will measure similarly I think, but measurements never deter me from buying Or recommending something which I like, (I do give importance to measurements but that's never a final say in my buying decisions) of course YMMV. I feel measurement based recommendations have 3 important limitations (after assuming that measurements are done with perfect prerequisites) .

1. It assumes that the speakers that measure well sound well. Well, Its not necessary for a speaker that measures well, to sound well in a real world experience. It is like asking everyone to take a properly balanced diet every time ( Like measured Protein bars, vitamin pills instead of actual food), and Expecting everyone to like this Food. Especially when it's for enjoyment you can't be eating measured protein bars!

2. It assumes that the calibration mic and analyzing software are same as human ears and listening Part of cortex. So, In reality, the speaker that measures well sounds well to the mic and analyzing software & not necessarily to human ears and listening part of cortex ; which is often swayed by emotions and numerous other factors.

3. It assumes that All the parameters related to Reproduced sound have been completely discovered and there's nothing left to discover. The most important factor in SQ Of a setup is Tonality & emotional connection for me, you can call it subjective preference For a Certain combination of distortion But I firmly believe that, None of the measurements elucidate these parameters effectively. That's why I advise everyone to audition before buying. Music is a Art form, and science mostly falls short when explaining Art. Finally, From Einstein himself "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”

A speaker which measures well will be close to the source material. If you want to play the sound engineer by using your speaker as a filter in between the music and you then yes, subjectively the speaker will be better for you. Tonality is quantifiable as measurement. If you know how to read the graphs, you dont need to hear the speaker to know how it sounds. The problem with subjectively liking a speaker and buying it is, that particular sound you heard at the demo is conifned to that seat, that room and your health condition at that particular time. Thats not going to work in your room unless you replicate it the same way.

 

[DB1989]

Absolutely, I mention coz that's a subjective preference. I don't have anything against Kef in particular, Only the Q series is bit unimpressive for me . in fact I was looking to buy LS50 for my 2nd setup few days ago.



Many other speakers will measure similarly I think, but measurements never deter me from buying Or recommending something which I like, (I do give importance to measurements but that's never a final say in my buying decisions) of course YMMV. I feel measurement based recommendations have 3 important limitations (after assuming that measurements are done with perfect prerequisites) .

1. It assumes that the speakers that measure well sound well. Well, Its not necessary for a speaker that measures well, to sound well in a real world experience. It is like asking everyone to take a properly balanced diet every time ( Like measured Protein bars, vitamin pills instead of actual food), and Expecting everyone to like this Food. Especially when it's for enjoyment you can't be eating measured protein bars!

2. It assumes that the calibration mic and analyzing software are same as human ears and listening Part of cortex. So, In reality, the speaker that measures well sounds well to the mic and analyzing software & not necessarily to human ears and listening part of cortex ; which is often swayed by emotions and numerous other factors.

3. It assumes that All the parameters related to Reproduced sound have been completely discovered and there's nothing left to discover. The most important factor in SQ Of a setup is Tonality & emotional connection for me, you can call it subjective preference For a Certain combination of distortion But I firmly believe that, None of the measurements elucidate these parameters effectively. That's why I advise everyone to audition before buying. Music is a Art form, and science mostly falls short when explaining Art. Finally, From Einstein himself "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”

A speaker which measures well will be close to the source material. If you want to play the sound engineer by using your speaker as a filter in between the music and you then yes, subjectively the speaker will be better for you. Tonality is quantifiable as measurement. If you know how to read the graphs, you dont need to hear the speaker to know how it sounds. The problem with subjectively liking a speaker and buying it is, that particular sound you heard at the demo is conifned to that seat, that room and your health condition at that particular time. Thats not going to work in your room unless you replicate it the same way.

Interesting conversation about measurements. I was watching this video by danny from GR research and he said he could make two speakers which measure identically but sound very different. Linked below for reference:

 

[DB1989]

Absolutely, I mention coz that's a subjective preference. I don't have anything against Kef in particular, Only the Q series is bit unimpressive for me . in fact I was looking to buy LS50 for my 2nd setup few days ago.

i haven’t heard anything from kef apart from the q350. The ls50s are sort of a reference speaker for the price range for the past 9 years or so from what ive seen. Somehow, My ears just don’t seem to pick up the ?harshness? in the treble in kefs (in my case, just the one kef). I think its time to visit the ENT .

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Interesting conversation about measurements. I was watching this video by danny from GR research and he said he could make two speakers which measure identically but sound very different. Linked below for reference:

But there is no proof in the video about what he says. When he say measurements , what measurements did he mean? Yes if two speakers ha e identical specs in frequency response, yet with a different dispertion pattern at your listening spot they would sound different. If every parameter is one and same, they WILL sound the same.