Best bookshelf speakers

@abd1

The BMRs are very high on my list, but have slid a bit for two reasons.

1. The low sensitivity and need for a more powerful amp means that some of the cost savings are offset by having to buy a more powerful amp. And high wattage amps cost more money to get the same sound quality as lower powered amps, right? 

2. The midrange. There are reports its a little recessed and not dynamic which makes sense given that small flat BMR for the midrange. What are your thoughts on the mids?

@stuff_jones

1. I would say that unless you're really cranking the volume (over 95db) then I wouldn't worry too much about the sensitivity. You can often find great amps/integrateds on the used market that can easily handle these speakers. I just saw an ad come up for a pair of Odyssey monoblocks come up for about $800 for the pair. Those are killer amps that can drive anything and sound great. Check it out. Those will sell fast, but Odyssey's come up used fairly often. I wouldn't hesitate to use them with BMRs. For $400-$500 you can get a new NuForce STA-200 amp. It will also sound great with the BMRs. This amp uses a circuit from Goldmund of Switzerland (super hi-end stuff) and is almost exactly the same as the Job225 amp (built by Goldmund). I have both amps and I can't really tell a difference. They easily power anything I've hooked up to them. Those are just a couple quick options, but finding a great amp for the BMRs isn't tough. You could also use an integrated like a Peachtree 150 or 300. Those would sound amazing with the BMRs. 

2. The BMR driver looks odd, but it works great as a midrange. It has great dispersion, and the midbass is covered by the 7" driver, which extends down to the mid-30hz region. But it does look odd.

I just read where someone is comparing the BMRs with the Ascend Sierra RAAL tower and he said he can hardly hear a difference (and that's comparing to the tower). Check it out here.

Last thing I'd add is that someone posted checking out a used pair of Totem Hawks as small towers and I also owned those and would agree that if you want a small tower and can find a used pair ($1000-1500) you're getting a fantastic speaker. Those love power too, so the amp recommendations are the same, but those are great little speakers that sound huge. I prefer the RAAL tweeter to the tweeter in the Hawks, but other than that the Hawks are great and have a great small form factor.

@abd1 Have you heard the BMRs? Are the mids at all recessed? How are the dynamics and transients? How is timbre? 

As I posted in my OP, mids are most important for me so the slight concerns about the mids I read somewhere put me off. 

I do love the idea of great dispersion. I can't imagine only listening to music sitting in one place. To me that would drastically cut the amount of time I could enjoy my system.

Weighing in here based on my own experience: Of the speakers under discussion, I’ve heard/owned a pair of Proac Response 1SCs which were mentioned some posts ago (these spent about 10 years in my system before a change of amplification dictated something larger). I replaced them with Proac Response D2s, which seemed a bit bright and I didn’t like the way their treble and mids balanced. I’ve auditioned Silverline Minuet Grands, as well as several models of Fritz Speakers. Fortunately, both of these companies are based very close to where I live so they were willing to bring the speakers to my house to let me audition them in my own system.

My impressions of the Fritz and Silverline speakers were generally favorable, but they didn’t quite fit my own taste. The Proacs came closer, in the sense that they offered a very detailed and sharply defined sound as well as excellent stereo imaging. Proac has what I consider a proprietary "house" sound which I can’t describe in words but know it when I hear it. It’s a sound that appeals to me, but maybe not everybody. Fritz (who is a very nice guy, BTW, and extremely knowledgeable about his craft) emphasizes balance and smoothness, but for me, at the expense of "edge," that is, they tend to smooth out the sharply defined outlines of the instruments. They’re excellent speakers in all respects, just not exactly to my taste. The Silverlines seemed to be all about "oomph," so if you like room-filling timpani or bass drums or, say, the cannons in Tchaikovsky’s "1812 Overture," these are for you.

What I haven’t seen mentioned here are the speakers I finally settled on, which I think are in your price range: Ryan R610s. These are available from some retailers, so their company is not exactly a "cottage industry." I found mine here on A’gon slightly used, but that just means I didn’t have to spend however-many-100s of hours breaking them in. These are magnificently balanced and smooth like the Fritz’s, have all the bass you’d probably ever need in a small(ish) room, image extremely well, and illuminate the music without coloring it. The edges aren’t quite as sharp as the Proacs, but the overall sound is far more pleasing to my ear. If you can audition these, I highly recommend doing so.

http://ryanspeakers.com/Products/Products/R610.html
Best of luck in your search--there are so many good options out there!

How do you guys feel about Coherent speakers?