Vote

PSB Alpha.

Alon Petites.

PSB ALPHA B1.

Dynaudio Focus 140!

Energy RC-10.

KEF RDM II. Still magic after all these years!

Anything by Harbeth. First-rate for the money.

Polk LSi9.

Dynaudio Contour S1.4.

Though I haven't seen a pair in over 30 years, I still have a soft spot in my heart for the AR2a. More recently I have enjoyed time with both the PSB Alpha in it's latest iteration and The Ruark Epilogue R. The PSBs sit on a shelf in a fairly large airport hanger and are driven hard by skydiving adrenaline junkies. The Ruarks sit on sand-filled Target stands in my office and are more subtly utilized.

Celestion SL-700.

For a small, true bookshelf speaker, it hard to beat the B&W CM-1. Amazing sound for such a small package!

NHT Super Zero.

EPOS M12.2.

Wharfedale Diamond 9.1. Great tweeter and enough bass to fill my bedroom.

Proac Super Tablettes.

Well, it is a toss up between my Infinity Intermezzo 2.6 active and my Goldsound .8 (modified with a ribbon tweeter). Both are great bookshelfs!

Dynaudio Confidence C1.

My favorite book shelf speaker is the Gershman Acoustics X-1. It has beautiful mids, respectable bass, for a speaker of its size, and clear highs that are not in any way tizzy. The speakers are drop-dead beautiful, as well. They elicit a lot of oohs and ahhs from people who have seen them. The WAF for these speakers is very high.

Genelec 1029A, an active monitor with volume control. Connect a source and you're done. Well-controlled dispersion, bass down to 70Hz, which is enough for most music material.

The BBC LS3/5a "family" (regardless of licensee/badge or version).

The Mission M32i is a fantastic ultra budget speaker, especially with Atacama feet.

I assume you mean small speakers, mini-monitors. You can't use an LS3/5a on a bookshelf because it would sound terrible but I had a pair for 9 years. Another candidate was the Spica TC-50 which was the best imaging speaker I ever heard. Another astounding little one was the a/d/s L300. My fourth choice is a pair of Radio Shack Minimus 77 which I modded with an upgraded capacitor, internal damping pads, and plastising the woofer cone. Very nice.

Quite some years have gone by, and still I regret selling my trusty old B&W DM110s.

This is hard because I have owned and own bookshelf speakers. Large Advents, LS3/5As, Met 7s and Harbeth Model 30s. Floor standing Allison Model 1, Thiel CS2s and now Verity Fidelos have also provied music. I still own LS3/5As and my son uses my Met 7s but for me the Harbeth Model 30 are the best of a very good group.

Next year, perhaps, a smaller secondary system. Till then I'll enjoy my lack of close neighbors and the deep bass that would be difficult to do without.

How many people have the opportunity to own and then compare speakers let alone a subcategory such as "bookshelf"? I have heard nice examples from Totem and Dynaudio while at the local shop. I use Polk LSi9s for surrounds and have a pair of Meadowlark Swallows in a second bedroom system. Of the two, I have only listened to the Meadowlarks critically (I enjoyed them while placed in my main system) but I would suspect the offerings I've heard from Dynaudio would surpass the Meadowlarks. Isn't this why we read Stereophile?

Pro Ac Tablette

JBL L-15s. They just sound right! Bass is much better than most small speakers, but that could be because I had to replace the woofers with a cheaper aluminum cone. They really do sound amazing to me!

Celestion A-1. Not as classic as the SL6, but even more refined. Decent bass with a smooooth top end. Superb cherry cabinetry, although a bit large and heavy for a "bookshelf".