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Best bookshelf speakers

I’m building my first high fi system after being more of a portable audio person. I want to start with the speakers. Space is limited so bookshelf speakers are a must.

Preferences:
Balanced and revealing with a hint of warmth.
Midrange most important to get right over highs and lows
Timbre is super important - I listen mostly to acoustic music especially jazz
But I do need some bass as I also listen to some electronic music
Smaller is better but SQ is most important
A speaker that sounds good with different amps but also scalable with high quality sources
Wide sweet spot - I wont have money for a great amp at first but want them to be scalable for later

These speakers have caught my eyes - any thoughts on them?

Ascend Sierra 2s - Ribbon = dispersion limitations?
BMR Philharmonitor - See above. Also massive.
Buchardt S400/S300 - Wary of the sudden hype train and limited info
Silverline Minuet Grande - Limited info
Reference 3A De Capo - This caught my eye as a potential endgame speaker if I could blow up my budget a little. But concerns about BE tweeter as well as some potential snake oil stuff (cryogenic treatment (!?)), exaggerated sensitivity claims and wonky measurements put me off.

What else should I be looking at?

Edit: I could have sworn I had <$2,000 in the title... Anyway, my budget is 2k.

stuff_jones
stuff_jones OP
64 posts
 
@cooper52

Which Fritz and Silverline did you hear?
stuff_jones OP
64 posts
 
How big of a factor should warranty be in making a decision? I see a range of warranties from 10 years to no warranty.

Do speakers fail?

Does anyone have any feedback on this? Should warranty be a factor at all in purchasing a speaker?
thecarpathian
173 posts
 
A good warranty should be a factor in any purchase you make, including speakers. That said, speakers are generally very reliable pieces of equipment. For me personally, as I tend to buy used, I would not consider the lack of a warranty to be a deal breaker. This of course is dependent on age, condition, type of equipment, and from where and whom you are purchasing.....I would tend to be less concerned about a lack of warranty if looking to purchase speakers as opposed to other components.
cooper52
108 posts
 
Stuff_Jones: The one Silverline speaker I heard (last year) was the Minuet Grand, as that's the one I specifically requested. Fritz was kind enough to bring over several models of his speakers: Rev 5, Rev 7, Carbon 7 (not the SE, if I remember correctly), Carerra 7(extremely nice speakers, those), and a pair of one-off floorstanders (an experiment, according to Fritz) with a ribbon tweeters that I got to audition in my system for a week. This was a couple of years ago, so I only have the most general recollection of what I heard.
stuff_jones OP
64 posts
 


A good warranty should be a factor in any purchase you make, including speakers. That said, speakers are generally very reliable pieces of equipment. For me personally, as I tend to buy used, I would not consider the lack of a warranty to be a deal breaker. This of course is dependent on age, condition, type of equipment, and from where and whom you are purchasing.....I would tend to be less concerned about a lack of warranty if looking to purchase speakers as opposed to other components.


There's a pair of used Totem Hawks near me which are tempting. However  the comments of this 2011 review of the Hawks show several users with damaged drivers needing replacement. I want to say its because the long throw Revelator but then one person blew out their tweeters. Is this a model specific thing? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVS0GCwNxg
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