Bookshelf Speakers....

[Mark111867]

I have been auditioning some bookshelf speakers for my living room. I have listened to Paradigm, KEF, Boston Acoustics, Athena, Klipsch & B&W. There are many more that I would like to listen to, but they are not available in my area and I don't want to buy something without hearing it first. Out of the models that I have listened to, I have it narrowed down to the B&W 602S3 and the Boston Acoustics CR85. Although the specs are pretty impressive on both, I have read that the B&W's are somewhat tough to drive. My mains are a pair of Mirage standmounts that are rated at 6 ohms and have an efficiency rating of 86 and my receiver has never had a problem. Here are the two questions: 1) Is there something in the specs for the 602s3's that I am missing that would make it difficult for my receiver to drive? 2)I have read a great deal about the B&W's. Do you have any opinions regarding the Boston Acoustics CR85's? Thanks.
PS-My receiver is a Yamaha RX-596 (80 watts per channel). My budget is in the ballpark of $500.

[ryewoods]

Check out the Ascend Acoustics CBM170, the Axiom M22i, Energy C3, and the Magnepan MMG. They are all bargains at their price.

[RGA]

Firstly a ghetto blaster with 10 watts will DRIVE most speakers. How well is another matter.

Revceivers like Yamaha which are raated to 4ohms will DRIVE the speakers too...how well it sounds doing it is something else. But people throw that trm around...Speaker X is tough to drive and needs a power amp. My headphones require a headphone amp to sound good...yet I can run them off of my Panasonic portable cd player. The difference is it sounds a LOT better through a headphone amp.

It may very well be the case that you want to upgrade because you're not actually hearing what the Mirage speakers can really do. I would ask a high end dealer to take a power amp home(assuming the Yammie has power amp add-on jacks on the back) and connect it up and see if you hear a difference.

If the Yammie has no jacks then ask the dealer to let you take home a Roksan Kandy, Arcam 85,or some other higher end integrated amp of around 75-100watts. You may in fact love your Mirage speakers like you never have before.

As for the B&W it is not as tough to drive as previous models over the years. The 601S3 is tougher to drive, perhaps, but the 602S3 is 90db 8ohm both numbers much easier than your Mirage, and a minimum of 3 ohms...which the Yammie should be ok with.

B&W is making speakers that are easier and easier to drive. With tube amp companies popping up all over the place that is proibably not a bad idea.

[yakkosmurf]

I was in the market for bookshelfs myself (around $200 a pair). I picked up a set of NHT Super Zeros on eBay and have been very happy with them.

[manek]

When in doubt play safe with B&W

[JSE]

Mark,

I love the sound of Boston speakers. I have some floorstanders and I love them. However, I would definitely keep looking around for a while. Definitely check out the Energy C3 and other brands as well. You may find the Boston is still the best but at least you know you have made a informed decision. I can tell you this. The Bostons and Yamaha make a nice combination. I have a new Yamaha RX-V1400 and the sound is amazing compared to my last receiver.

JSE

[Willow]

When in doubt play safe with B&W

Providing you like the sound and not just going for them cause of the name...I actually prefer My Polks over the B&W's I listened to.

[Bryan]

To me the question isn't so much which speaker to change to. It is one of what do you feel is missing from your current speakers. That will determine if you need to change out the speakers or add something different.

[Mark111867]

Hi guys. Thanks for your advice. Bryan- I currently have my Polks in my living room. I am looking to move them into my bedroom for a small system in there. So, I am looking for a pair of bookshelf speakers for my living room (to replace the Polks). It really isn't as much a question as to whether or not I am happy with the Polks or not, it is more of a question of replacing them with something of equal or (hopefully) greater quality. As it turns out, I have to shrink my budget a bit, so B&W and the likes are out. I've been checking out the Athena line and speakers in the the $200 to $300 range, which really was not my intention (as per my post regrading B&W and speakers in the $500 range), but I just have a bunch of stuff to pay for regarding home improvement projects. Thanks for your replies. Your comments and opinions are very helpful. Bryan, RGA and everyone else who replied-have a great day and thanks again.

[ciscokid1970]

Honestly...if this is a home theater room, you should try and keep them all the same brand and model if possible. This way they are timbre matched.

If you are looking under $300 I highly recommend:
Athena AS-B1 $180 a pair, free shipping at bestbuy.com if you do not like em just return them to your local best buy
Athena AS-B2 $260 a pair, free shipping at bestbuy.com
PSB 2B $260 a pair at yawaonline.com very nice
warfdale diamond $299 pair at audioadvisor.com
Epos els3 $299 pair at audioadvisor.com

or if you want I will be happy to sell you my B&W 601 S2 for $299 and I will pay the shipping (in the 48 states of course) see ya ciscokid1970@hotmail.com

[Bryan]

Why settle for two bookshelves when you can get a whole set (excluding sub) for around $300? The HSU Ventriloquist package could be right up your alley. Locally, I was fairly impressed with the JBL E-20s that go for $200 a pair. May look at Monitor Audio Bronze as well.

[This Guy]

as soon as i get the money I will probably get these. If i were you I'd take a hard look at them.

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/magnepan_mmgw_mmgc.htm

-Joey

[Debbi]

as I own the following:
1. Klipsch SB3s and RB5s---similar to new series---like both very much-clear bright and very efficient---very good for HT. Dont listen to people who tell you about horn sound nightmares.....they have a vestigial 1inch deep horn which sounds much like the competition in their price range. Try for reference series on line which are cheaper than synergy series at best buy....see some prices at namebranz.com
2. Old Polk RT35s-similar to rt38is and whatever they have out now---pleasant midrange speakers that are neither dissapointing or exciting...typical plastic driver-nylon tweeter-worth their price at 40% off on the net
3. Boston CR8s-----same as CR85s--got set for 160.00/pr so I should not be bitter,but dreadful speaker overall....they sound like two isolated bricks without a sub....painfully cheap faux cherry enclosure.Mine are apparently last US made bookshelves....hopefully they will improve them in the orient...

[jorgillo]

Providing you like the sound and not just going for them cause of the name...I actually prefer My Polks over the B&W's I listened to.
i am not agree with you at all ,i listened the polk before the B&Ws and let me tell you that the clarity and the soundstage of the 601S2 are better than the polk Bookshelfs speakers

[Woochifer]

I have been auditioning some bookshelf speakers for my living room. I have listened to Paradigm, KEF, Boston Acoustics, Athena, Klipsch & B&W. There are many more that I would like to listen to, but they are not available in my area and I don't want to buy something without hearing it first. Out of the models that I have listened to, I have it narrowed down to the B&W 602S3 and the Boston Acoustics CR85. Although the specs are pretty impressive on both, I have read that the B&W's are somewhat tough to drive. My mains are a pair of Mirage standmounts that are rated at 6 ohms and have an efficiency rating of 86 and my receiver has never had a problem. Here are the two questions: 1) Is there something in the specs for the 602s3's that I am missing that would make it difficult for my receiver to drive? 2)I have read a great deal about the B&W's. Do you have any opinions regarding the Boston Acoustics CR85's? Thanks.
PS-My receiver is a Yamaha RX-596 (80 watts per channel). My budget is in the ballpark of $500.

Both models you're evaluating should be easier to drive than your Mirages. Yammies are known for being able to drive difficult loads without shutting down, and since it's a two-channel model, your actual output is probably higher (this is a byproduct of the tougher FTC test required for two-channel receiver specs). I listened to several different B&W models through Yamaha AV receivers and that posed no problem whatsoever, and that was their previous 600 series, which were less efficient that their current models.

The Bostons are probably even easier to drive. They're similar to the B&Ws in that they are well balanced top to bottom with no major problems. I thought that the CR models (the CR85 had just come out when I was auditioning them) were good, but the B&Ws just sounded more "lifelike" to me. The S3 series that you're auditioning is supposed to have a punchier sound than the S2 models that I auditioned, so it should be pretty easy to pick out the differences between the two lines.

I think you're best off sticking with models that you can try first before buying. Just go with the one that you prefer. Both options should be pretty good.

P.S. If that's your birthdate in the screen name, I'm a day off from you.

[Mark111867]

Thanks everyone for chiming in here. I'm still considering several options right now and will let you know what I buy as soon as I make the purchase. The B&W's are over my budget right now, but we'll see what happens. I was originally concerned about the B&W's dipping down to 3.6 ohms (minimal impedence) on my receiver, but maybe I am over analyzing this. RGA and Woochifer seemed to have put that concern to rest. I did listen to a pair of Kef Q1's along side the Boston Acoustics CR85's and liked the CR85's better. The CR85's sounded more laid back and more balanced to me. I have also heard that if you listen to classical music(which I do), that the CR85's may not be the greatest choice. I'll probably end up going back to listen to the Boston's again when I get the chance. Thanks everyone and I will definitely keep you posted.

Mark

PS- Woochifer, we are a day apart. Have a great day:)