The sub-£1000 loudspeaker price bracket has been a hotly contested one in recent years, as manufacturers battle to stake their claim to the more popular, consumer end of hi-fi and home audio. Here at Audio Affair, we appreciate that narrowing down the vast range of speakers available at this price can seem a very daunting task. Worry no more! This blog will help you filter through the range, and hopefully illuminate a couple of standout choices in your search for the perfect budget bookshelf loudspeaker.
We also offer a range of limited stock and ex-demo budget loudspeakers, and there are some true bargains to be had. However, to stay ahead of the curve or build the perfect system on a budget – we can whole-heartedly recommend the following speakers.
Wharfedale Diamond 122
Wharfedale Diamond speakers have seemingly been around forever in one form or another, at the forefront of budget products. The Diamond 122 is the latest incarnation, building on the many successes of the Diamond 10.1. They look sleek, come in a range of classic finishes and the build quality is excellent. The new Kevlar cones are based on those of the high-end Jade series, and don’t disappoint!
Greater scale, bass and punch can be had with the Diamond 122 when compared with the old 10.1s, which were no slouch! This makes the Diamond 122 a very solid choice, and deserving of a listen – and at £279.95, very budget-friendly. A good, solid all-rounder with plenty of detail, scale and bags of power.
Dali Ikon 1 MkII
If I’m completely honest, before writing this blog, I hadn’t had the chance to listen to a lot of Dali speakers in the Ikon range (through no fault of their own). So as one of my first experiences of Dali outside of the Zensor range, the Ikon 1 MkII has more than left its mark, and established very high expectations of future Dali products and innovations.
With the grills on, the Ikon looks a relatively typical and traditional proposition – a nice rectangular wooden cabinet, with a black fascia. However, it is on removing the grille that their uniqueness is revealed. A 5” wood fibre driver sits beneath not one, but two tweeters! As well as a standard 28mm soft dome tweeter, Dali have added an additional ribbon tweeter – a technology normally not found on speakers anywhere near this price point. The result is a sweetness and performance with high frequencies which is truly unique in a sub-£1000 loudspeaker.
Cymbals shimmer and sparkle, and high frequencies are generally presented with a crispness and focus seldom seen in a loudspeaker at this price. The Pixies’ ‘Where is My Mind?’ is presented with a bite and crispness to the upper registers which I have never heard before. This results in the Ikon 1 sounding really quite unique, and bringing previously unheard elements to your favourite tracks.
Tannoy Revolution DC6
Tannoy’s Revolution range is one of few speaker ranges to utilise a dual concentric driver design – that is a tweeter offset within the main driver, much like KEF’s Uni-Q. The advantages of this design are improved imaging and a wider dispersion of sound waves, meaning these speakers are unfussy about placement, and will project a wide, rich soundstage into any room.
The DC6s are What Hi-Fi magazine’s Best Standmounter £350-£700 for 2012, and offer agility, attack and very reasonable weight and depth. Build quality and looks are excellent, and music is sweet, focused and well-presented.
The DC6 are confident all-rounders – What Hi-Fi called them ‘nigh-on flawless speakers for the money’. Add a pair of good speaker stands, and bass performance will improve and tighten – making the DC6 an essential speaker to add to your audition list. The rest of the Revolution range is multi-award winning and highly regarded, so the DC6 is a very good choice.
Dali Zensor 1
The Zensor range are incredibly versatile all-rounders, excelling with both stereo and AV applications. Our best-selling home cinema package consists of Zensor speakers, and we have had nothing but excellent feedback from them. Not just great in 5.1 configuration the Zensor 1 excels in traditional two channel systems as well, for their size they have among the best bass response we have heard – weighty yet detailed and coherent, something which some floorstanders could learn a lesson from!
Dynamics and tone is the name of the game for Dali – the Zensor 1s really excel in projecting music richly and vibrantly. This is not at the expense of detail and precision – which the Zensor 1s have in abundance. Don’t just take our word for it, check out some of the glowing reviews:
‘Despite the high quality of their finish and the partial glossiness of their compact, well-made cabinets, the Dalis don’t look much more expensive than their price-tag – but the sound they make is at considerable odds with a sub-£200 sticker. Equally at home with the sturm und drang of Kanye West’s Power as with the delicacy of Kate Bush’s Flower of the Mountain, they’re an open, explicit listen’ (What Hi-Fi magazine)
‘The balance between refinement and excitement is a difficult one to strike at any price, so the confidence with which the Zensor 1s walk that particular tightrope is striking…you know a company’s on to a winner when the biggest criticism we can level at its speakers is that the grilles could be a bit easier to put on and take off…’ (What Hi-Fi magazine)
Q Acoustics 2010i
The Q Acoustics 2010i are a truly bookshelf design – smart, and compact enough to fit in on any bookshelf. At just 215mm high, they are small, but they sound anything but! Q Acoustics have opted for a modern design with curved edges, an embossed brand logo at the bottom of the front fascia as well as speaker terminals hidden away on the bottom of the cabinet for easy cable management.
The 2010i features new crossovers, tweeters and cone materials over their well-received predecessors – building and expanding on their successes. For the money there is very little out there that sounds this good! What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision magazine recognised their excellence – awarding them 5 stars, and stating that:
‘There’s much choice at this tempting price point, but Q Acoustics remains the brand to beat. And our money would go on the 2010s – if you’re looking for some bargain speakers, you have to hear them’
If space is an issue, or you simply want a nice-looking, good-sounding compact bookshelf loudspeaker, the Q Acoustics 2010i are a very worthy contender. If you are able to go bigger and slightly more expensive however, their older brother – the Q Acoustics 2020i are well worth a look!
Q Acoustics 2020i
‘good enough to stand toe to toe with the very best at this price level’ What Hi-Fi?
The 2020i are a little larger than the 2020i at 250mm tall – an increase in size which enables Q Acoustics to increase the size of the bass unit to a 125mm fibre cone. This results in a richer tone to the 2020i, and an improved bass response over the 2020i.
What Hi-Fi magazine gave the 2020i their ‘Best stereo speaker up to £200 Award’. This price bracket is a very hotly contested one, so it isn’t an award given away lightly! When tested side-by-side with the 2010i, these speakers provide an improved soundstage, greater bass performance, and a texturally richer sound – largely thanks to its larger cabinet and bass driver.
Q Acoustics Concept 20
While you’d be forgiven for mistaking the Concept 20s for the 2010i or 2020i, Q Acoustics have carried out some subtle but significant changes – amounting in a composed and talented loudspeaker. The real joy of these speakers is in the listening (as it should be!) For there size, yes they are on the smaller side they sound huge, I remember at the Bristol show this year: they were in a large room, coincidently larger than the one opposite where PMC were showing of their monster studio monitors! Surprisingly they gave the impression of filling the room with ease but never sound strained, kudos Q Acoustics!
The Concept 20s are very nicely designed, in a gloss black or white finish, and are available with matching speaker stands intended to maximise the potential of these speakers. When on their matching stands, the Concept 20s look more like a contemporary art piece than a budget loudspeaker, so would be a welcome addition to any living room.
Acoustic Energy 301
Acoustic Energy are a fantastic British speaker manufacturer who have made many fantastic award-wining speakers over the years. The 301 is no exception to the rule, having already received What Hi-Fi’s five stars and Hi-Fi Choice Recommend award – sound quality is a given!
The 301 is the most compact member of Acoustic Energy’s new 3 Series, which boasts a whole family of different speaker sizes and shapes. Despite its diminished size it still retains a clean, punchy and verbose sound. Distortion and resonance are kept to a minimum and which allows the Acoustic Energy 301 speakers to treat you to supreme clarity of sound and a cohesion wherever you place it in your home.
“Tonal balance is lucid and fast, the presentation detailed and focused with plenty of bite and attack. It’s not an especially rich of beguilling sort of sound, but it is clear and nicely open. Clarity is excellent, with good separation and fast crisp attack. The treble is incisive, but not overly forward” (Hi-Fi Choice magazine)
Tannoy Precision 6.1
The Tannoy Precision 6.1 is a new premium speaker from Tannoy – sharing and building upon many of the same design principles of the Revolution range. Tannoy have put a lot of effort into redesigning the cabinets on the Precision range – and the result is immediately clear. If deep bass is your preference, the 6.1 may not be the best choice for you – that being said, a pair of solid speaker stands can really add weight to the Precision’s lower range performance. However, mid-range is incredibly strong, and the 6.1s really embody the ‘Precision’ element of their name – offering a superbly detailed, agile and accurate sound. Vocals are particularly rich and defined – Norah Jones’ Seven Years is sweetly voiced and projected right into the room.
Design is understated – real-wood high gloss black or walnut cabinet, aluminium trill and subtle branding all contribute to an unobtrusive and modern look. The precision 6.1, 6.2 and 6.4 are all on demonstration in our showroom – so come and judge for yourself!
STAR PRODUCT:
KEF LS50
– What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision Magazine, Speaker Product of the Year 2012
– EISA Best Loudspeaker Product 2012-13
The first thing you notice with KEF’s LS50 is their unique and dramatic design. Breaking from traditional wooden cabinet design, KEF make a bold design statement with the LS50s – the matte black curved baffle contrasts exquisitely with the sleek gloss black applied to the rest of the cabinet. “KEF” is proudly embossed on the top surface of the cabinet. The gold Uni-Q driver sits neatly in the middle of the speaker, and contrasts nicely with the all black design. The design strikes a fine balance between the studio monitor and traditional Hi-Fi speaker – a nod to its design origins as the historic LS3/5A studio monitor. The result is a truly iconic and beautiful design.
The quality of the finish and build is evident upon inspection, and while they aren’t as traditional looking as a lot of speakers available, they do look very smart indeed. KEF have focused tremendously on a cabinet design which is not only great looking, but is also packed full of pioneering technology. The curved baffle, elliptical bass port and cabinet damping all prevent colouration and unwanted resonance affecting the excellent tonal neutrality of these speakers and interfering with playback of your favourite records.
The response to the LS50 has been nothing short of phenomenal – receiving praise from critics, forums and hi-fi magazines at every turn. We assure you, the hype is well and truly justified!
KEF’s Uni-Q driver design, borrowing technologies from their high-end £20,000 Blade speakers, features a 1” tweeter offset within a 5.25” woofer, which greatly benefits imaging and sound stage. These don’t sound like a compact bookshelf speaker whatsoever!
Many reviews of the LS50 note its ability to “disappear”. That is not to say they are forgettable, but simply that they are able to accurately and naturally represent source music without the colouration or unduly emphasising any particular frequencies. As I write this, we are enjoying Stevie Wonder’s Do I Do portrayed with dynamic vigour and a sense of rhythm not seen in any of the other speakers tested.
Considering their size, the bass performance of these speakers is nothing short of breathtaking – with a reach and richness that would be expected of a high-end floorstander, not a sub-£1000 compact bookshelf speaker! When combined with a good quality pair of speaker stands, the LS50s will really shine.
While at £800 the LS50s are situated towards the upper end of our £1000 bracket, these speakers provide a performance which can’t really be bettered without spending a substantial amount more! In order for the LS50s to become the weakest link in a system, you’d have to have some seriously high-end components.
‘the LS50s have set a ridiculously high benchmark. Its going to take a superhuman effort to top them‘ What Hi-Fi? Magazine
Any audition list for speakers priced £800-£1500 speakers simply must include the LS50s. You owe it to yourself to hear them.
If the LS50s are out of your budget, KEF’s R100 or Q300 are both very capable speakers, featuring similar Uni-Q driver technology.
Speaker Cables
Often overlooked, matching your speaker cable tonally to your kit is a must! While not the most exciting upgrade, getting a suitable speaker cable can really unlock the potential of most systems. You wouldn’t put diesel in a Ferrari, so why limit the performance of your hi-fi with poor or unsuitable cables?
Just like speakers, there is a myriad of speaker cables available – here are a few of our favourites to make your decision a little easier!
Budget – QED 79
At just over £2 per metre, QED Classic 79 Strand is a very affordable solution to your speaker cable woes. A solid choice if you’re on a budget, and good for balancing a system which is tonally too bright.
Mid-Range – Chord Carnival Silver Screen (available in bi-wire)
Chord’s Carnival Silver Screen has been a perennial favourite in recent years -offering a performance which, at the price, is astounding.
What Hi-Fi? Magazine awarded it Speaker Cable of the Year Award in 2009, 2010 and 2011! As far as we’re concerned, nothing has been able to conquer Carnival Silver Screen at this price, so we would whole-heartedly recommend it with most speakers.
Performance – Chord Odyssey 2 Speaker (available in bi-wire)
Chord Odyssey takes the best bits from Silver Screen, while improving the internal conductor results.
Each set of conductors is made up of 19 strands of silver-plated oxygen free copper surrounded by PTFE insulation. The silver plating gives a clear high frequency response resulting in greater detail separation and presentation. Heavy conductors guarantee a high level of signal transfer continuity. With reviews such as: “Keeping it real, this affordable speaker cable just keeps going and going, able to show vivid tonal colours, good leading edge clarity and the clear natural decay of notes” (Hi-Fi News magazine) choosing this cable, given price versus performance, is a no-brainer!
High End – Nordost Leif White Lightning Speaker Cables
Nordost are synonymous with reference, high-end products – however I am pleased to say that the technology they develop for products such as the Odin and Valhalla range trickles down to the entry range such as the White Lighting! This cable is crisp, quick and translucent! Match with warmer sounding components to achieve a balanced sound nirvana.
With their thin, flat profile, they don’t just look different – their deceptive simplicity is a uniquely elegant answer to the conflicting requirements for low resistance, capacitance and inductance that limit the performance of more conventional cable configurations. Now, by re-examining the geometry of each cable, we have reduced dielectric effects still further as well as optimising the physical spacing of the conductors.
Speaker Stands
No bookshelf speaker would be complete without stands – speakers not only look awful on the floor, but they sound awful as well! Even though they are called “bookshelf”, actually putting them on a bookshelf will not realise their performance and potential. Here at Audio Affair we cannot overstate the importance of a good speaker stand! Let’s take a look some important models we offer:
Mid-Range – Apollo A2 Speaker Stands
Featuring a dual pole design, the Apollo A2 is a great place to start, ensuring your speaker is getting adequate support, which is important to the nature in which the speaker will behave. Starting at £67.95 they will not break the bank either.
Mid-Range – Partington Ansa 60 Speaker Stands
Aesthetics and sound design factor heavily in the Ansa– designed from the perspective that Hi-Fi should look good as well as sound good. Finished in a sublime black or sparkling silver finish they are guaranteed to offset any décor you throw them at perfectly!
High-End – Partington Broadside Speaker Stands
A substantial speaker stand offering excellent value and performance for the price – a high end product at a not so high-end price! If you require the absolute best performance from your speakers then look no further than the Broadside. The stand is also fillable to improve bass response and poise. Just have a look at the reviews:
“Improvements to the sound are amazing… Once in place, improvements are immediate : they are so revealing… overall there is added power, weight and scale to the soundstage’ (What Hi-Fi Magazine)
‘Do the right thing by your speakers:put them on a pair of these’ (What Hi-Fi Magazine)
‘While £300 may seem a lot of money to spend on stands – especially such industrial looking ones – in the case of the Dreadnought Broadsides it’s worth it’ (What Hi-Fi Magazine)
Conclusion
If you are looking for a bookshelf speaker then there are many options out there – too many some may say! This blog has taken the work out of choosing and highlighted some fantastic options available to you, it shows how you do not have to spend the earth to get great sound quality but it is important that you seek good advice before making a decision. It is also important to remember the essentials, speaker cable as aforementioned, makes a huge difference to the end result and stands are an absolute must, allowing the speaker to perform independently of anything else. From this blog you will be able to select a few stand-out products, such as the KEF LS50, which we wholeheartedly recommend and enjoy here in store on a daily basis and also the Partington Broadsides – which are one of the best speaker stands available today. Our friendly and helpful team are here to answer any questions you may have, and as always happy listening!