Everyone from recording engineers to home theater enthusiasts to hardcore audiophiles has a place in their life for a good pair of bookshelf speakers. Small speakers can deliver great imaging and fit into small spaces in ways that floorstanding speakers simply can't.
The traditional bookshelf speaker is passive, meaning that you need to connect it to an amplifier. However, active (powered) bookshelf speakers are growing in popularity, particularly for desktop and other nearfield applications where you sit closer to the speakers.
Combine a set of bookshelf speakers with a subwoofer, and enjoy a two-channel or multichannel system that is both room-friendly and high-performance.
Here are some resources that can teach you more about speaker design.
• What’s the Ideal Speaker Driver Configuration?
• How to Pick the Right Amp for Your Speakers (and Vice Versa)
• Picking and Placing Your Display, Speakers, and Subwoofer by THX
• First-Order Crossovers: Panacea or Problem?
• How DSP Can Take Audio to New Heights
Clear and expansive sound makes these Focal bookshelves hard to pass up.
Do the latest SVS wireless bookshelf speakers deliver the goods?
If this is what form following function gets you... I want more, please!
Here are some great active speaker options for putting together a turntable-based stereo system.
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The Ai41 Powered Bookshelf Speakers offer great sound and connectivity options that should satisfy most listeners.
RBH's powerful active speaker is equipped with features and performance capabilities that make it stand out in the studio monitor marketplace.
If you're shopping around for bookshelf speakers under $1,000, you owe it to yourself to audition this wonderfully neutral budget offering from Paradigm.
Bowers & Wilkins 600 Series Anniversary Edition speakers celebrate 25 years of production with the promise of higher performance.
JBL recreates an iconic look with its L82 Classic loudspeaker. Olivia puts the retro yet versatile bookshelf speaker to the test to see how it compares to its predecessors.
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DALI makes a push for the US speaker market, and they’ve put their best foot forward with the Oberon 1 bookshelf speaker, Vokal center, and Sub E-9 F.
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We collaborated with Joe N Tell to bring you a comprehensive review of The Fives by Klipsch, space-saving, powered speakers at the top of their game.
Roku's Wireless Speakers are great sounding and affordable speakers that can serve as satellites or substitute for a soundbar... but only in conjunction with other Roku gear.
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My relationship with Magico's ACC ($6,800) got off to a painful start. The ACC arrived in a modestly sized cardboard box, so I thought nothing of bending down to...
Given their performance, aesthetics, and price, Definitive Technology's Demand series speakers set a very high bar, says Sean Killebrew.
The highly configurable and timbre-matched Mod1 speakers from Orb Audio are perfect for apartment dwellers, or anyone who doesn't want big speaker boxes hanging from the ceiling.
MartinLogan is best known for its high-performance hybrid-electrostatic speakers, but those large panels generally command a premium price tag, to say nothing of their real-estate demands. For the past...
