Best bookshelf monitor under $1000 new or used.

Depending on your priorities, the Spica TC50s (and maybe TC60s) are some of the best small inexpensive speakers out there. What they won't do is play at very high loevels, play with top-shelf dynamics, or give very deep bass or vary high highs. If you can live with these limits, what thye will do is give a better balanced tone across the board than just qabout anything at any price; very good resolution; excellent imaging and soundstaging; a very natural and non-fatiguing sound; and they will sound at least good no matter what you use with them, or how you position them (mine are currently sitting directly on the floor). They will allow also reward you with improvements in sound as the rest of your equipment improves. It actually makes sense to use very expensive gear with them, because unlike many inexpensive speakers, they will let you easily hear any improvements elsewhere in the chain. But again, they are not party speakers, and if you blow them, you have a problem. I have read that the tweaters are available again, but not the woofers.

Get you a pair of Era Design D5's,new they are hands down the best speakers to be had under $1k.

My personal favorites are the Alon Petites.
New they sold for $1k. If you can find a pair of them used, they are an absolute steal. I just put a system together for someone who had no experience with audio using the Petites, a Yamaha receiver, and a desktop computer, and it even blew my mind. Seriously, the system sounded better than it had any right to sound. This system also impressed one of my good audiophile friends from Oakland (who is very much into tubes). He was blown away.

KF

The possibilities are endless. I bought my girlfriend a pair of used Spica TC-50; and I echo the sentiments of Honest1 - they are special and an amazing bargain. I have Celestion sl-700 in one bedroom and Rogers LS3/5a in another bedroom; both are excellent and (with patience) available used and in your price range.

Check out NHT M-00 and S-00 for $749 new - they come with built-in amplifiers.

Check out the NHT Threes. They sound great with anything
you throw at them. And they're drop dead gorgeous.
Good luck, dude!

Took a look at those Alon Petite speakers and now I want them!!!! I found a pair in bad condidition for $500 which I think is way too much considering some other prices I saw. Where else do you think I can pick up some of these speakers? Know anybody trying to get rid of a pair?

Also, what kind of yamaha receiver did you end up getting? I might end up going with the same set up and taking your word for it since I'm going to be using my computer as an input for awhile too.

Try the Reference 3a Dulcet.
Other options could be the Rogers LS3/5 or the Spendor 3/5SE, but of course all depends on your listening room dimensions, the amplifier you will use and music preferences.

I forgot the Green Mountain Audio Europa or Europa Max.

I got a beat up pair of Petites for $250 7 years ago or so... So $500 for a beat up pair is high.

I would go with a 2 channel Harmon Kardon receiver to start.

I forget the exact model number of the Yamaha. It sold new 3 years ago for $500.

KF

I'm going to see if I can get that guy to go lower on those Anon's. I would be happy if I could get them for around $350 I guess. Thanks for your help!

Are there any good tube amps that would work well with this set up (computer as input and bookshelf speakers as output)? Or is it not even worth it until I get myself better quality stuff?

When you say bookshelf speakers, are you merely referring to the size, because placement is very important? I have a pair of Spendor S3/5 that are very nice, but they wouldn't sound as good in a bookshelf. The Spendors play well about four feet away from the back wall. The Linn Tukan, which was purportedly designed to placed within a few inches of the rear wall, might be a better choice if the speakers were placed near the back wall or in a bookcase.

Well I would prefer them against the wall but it doesn't really make a difference. If I had to I would store them against the wall until I used them. Yes I did mean size when I said "bookshelf"

Spendor S3/5 se's are excellent-to-great speakers, esp. at the used price of around $600-$700 I think. Almost a no-brainer IMO.....

I own a pair of B&W 602 S3 speakers. These can be purchased used for about 600.00 Oddly enough that's what they also cost new. There's a reason. They're a great value and they are a nice bang for the buck. Most other speakers brands devaluate by a third in a matter of months. They sound great (for 600.00) and don't need much power as long as it's quality. I'm told these were the last of their breed to be built in England. Frankly, to me, they sound a lot better than their current replacement in the B&W line-up. I use them as rear surround speakers now but when they were my mains I enjoyed them every day. The good news is that there are loads of great speakers in your price range. My last suggestion is that you buy something that's used and in great condition. Quality well cared for used gear is as good as it is when it's new except that it's already broken and except for the 602's, usually a lot less money.
Good luck. ps If you go this route, stick with the S3 version.
Mike

As far as new "bookshelf monitor" speakers go, I wouldn't buy without at least listening to a pair of NHT Classic Model 3's.

About the only 3-way in this category, and note the aversion to parallel sides to avoid standing waves.

3-ways have advantages in power handling and more uniform dispersion because each driver gets to operate in a more ideal frequency range for its best bandwidth, dynamic range, and dispersion. And in spite of having two crossovers, transparency is evidently not a problem with this speaker.

The Alon Petite was one of my favorite monitors in the under $1000 category too - very open sounding.

Role Audio Kayaks, tiny (8 x 5.5 x 6.5) giant killers.

Definitely Alon Petite, incredible voice, sound stage and image. Beats my SF Concertinos and even my Proac (Flr Std). Just need to tame the highs depending on the gears you use.

A complete system:
AAD2001 $1400used
Parasound Halo A21 $1400used
Benchmark usb dac/preamp/headphone amp - $1000used

Small system with big sound.
You will be floored.

Mariusz

The Paradigm Studio 20 v4 are a great monitor for the money. Can be had for $600-$700 used here on Audiogon. They received an excellent review in a recent issue of Stereophile. The Studio 20 v3 is also very good, and can be had for slightly less.

The Silverline Minuets blew everybody away at the NYC HE Show using a garage sale CD player and a modestly powered Monarchy DAC/Integrated (so I guess you'd have lots of amp options with these speakers). That modest system managed to physically put a standup bass fully in a good-sized room that you would have expected from a good 3-way floorstander. Everybody's jaw was on the floor, so if you want to be amazed they're probably worth a look if in your price range. I'd also consider Epos.

quad 12L active, biamped, electronic crossover. NO amp expense, highly reviewed quad l series, less than $1000. I have personally commpared to many other speakers and is my speaker of choice at the moment

New AER Pisces MkIII - about $300. You must have good stands too.

You can drive them by Dynaco 70 or any other low power tube amp (20 - 50 wpc) - and you are in heaven! No subs needed.
Try some Chineese based on EL84 tubes...
Solid state.... I don't like cheap solid state...may be NAD, some British electronics - again 50 wpc is enough

KING OF THE MONITORS: DYNAUDIO!

They really are impressive. Check out the 140's or the 52SE's. HUGE bang for the buck. Very neutral, detailed and fun in every sense of the word. I have looked into NHT, Quad 12L, Monitor Audio GR10, but nothing moves me like Dyn does.

I 2nd Rkerv's response. I own a pair of 52SE's too. Just be prepared to feed them with a fair amount of power though.

All good responses. I have a pair of Focal Chorus 806V's that are some of their smaller "bookshelf" speakers and love them.

I also play lossless music- FLAC/SHN off my hardrive through a Linksys Music Bridge and it works excellent. My amp is an ancient Audio Research D-90 Tube/Solid State hybrid with their SP-12 Pre-amp. Also use a Bob Carver
D-8 Dominator Subwoofer that is perfect size for my room and really sounds excellent.

All in all I'm very happy with my system and highly recommend the Focal speakers and Bob Carver Sub. Hard to not like.

I like the Triangle Titus 202.

Easy to drive, sounds great with any kind of music at any volume, front ported to help with the low end you'll need if the shelves sit up high and truly small enough to fit on most any bookshelf. Add a sub later and you have some serious full range sound.