Best bookshelf speakers with a natural and mellow sound under 1 lac

Venkyrenga

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Jun 22, 2022
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I want a speaker that is mellow, easy to listen to for a long time and natural sounding. I listen mostly to orchestral and instrumental tracks. Please give your suggestions.
 
+1 very natural, easily driven and midrange reproduction is awesome. You feel like listening 24x7.
totally agree, there mids are great. I have big brother of Diamond mishra for last 3 years and also signature mishra 2.0. Signature mishra's pair wonderfully well with class A be it SS or Tube. With class AB amp diamond mishra is a very nice match.
 
I bought the Denton 85. But I am not completely satisfied. The Dentons are very lively, open and warm. But they sound very colored. It makes all music sound pleasant and misses the raw emotion.
I'd sell that and look at getting something beyond the 1 lac budget if i were you. There is a Harbeth P3 on sale for around 150k in Bangalore. Maybe look at that.
 
I wonder if a certain amp can solve the problem. Marantz model 40n is said to be very soft sounding with unsharpened treble. Any views on this?
 
I wonder if a certain amp can solve the problem. Marantz model 40n is said to be very soft sounding with unsharpened treble. Any views on this?
@Venkyrenga , honestly buying / exploring a 3.0L amp without auditioning it along with your audio chain, that too when you have already spend a considerable amount on speakers, might not be wise. I feel to solve this puzzle, you should follow below points:

1) Explore if someone can loan you the speaker / amp that you are interested in or if you could go and audition at his place
2) Check with the dealer if they have a demo piece that they can loan or offer look - in period
3) As you have a clear understanding of your sound preference, always carry your source / dac / amp / speakers for audition depending on what you are demoing. Last thing you want is another decision going wrong
4) Travel to Bangalore for demo, if possible. Chennai to Bangalore trip might cost lesser than the potential loss you might bear to sell a newly acquired speaker / amplifier
 
@Venkyrenga , honestly buying / exploring a 3.0L amp without auditioning it along with your audio chain, that too when you have already spend a considerable amount on speakers, might not be wise. I feel to solve this puzzle, you should follow below points:

1) Explore if someone can loan you the speaker / amp that you are interested in or if you could go and audition at his place
2) Check with the dealer if they have a demo piece that they can loan or offer look - in period
3) As you have a clear understanding of your sound preference, always carry your source / dac / amp / speakers for audition depending on what you are demoing. Last thing you want is another decision going wrong
4) Travel to Bangalore for demo, if possible. Chennai to Bangalore trip might cost lesser than the potential loss you might bear to sell a newly acquired speaker / amplifier
Where in Bangalore?
 
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I also wonder if there is a way to unsharpen the treble using graphic or parametric Equalizer. If there is one my problem will be solved easily.
 
I also wonder if there is a way to unsharpen the treble using graphic or parametric Equalizer. If there is one my problem will be solved easily.
Colored and sharp sounds are different things. You can tame sharpness using eq, but coloration is difficult to solve as that is most likely the nature of the speaker. lot of people believe that eq degrades the integrity of the original audio signal thus reducing the fidelity, hence eq is best avoided
 
I bought the Denton 85. But I am not completely satisfied. The Dentons are very lively, open and warm. But they sound very colored. It makes all music sound pleasant and misses the raw emotion.
Unpopular Opinion
That's already decent enough gear ; Keep listening to Denton and Marantz amp, if they're brand new speakers they'll take at least 500 hrs to start singing, especially improvement in dynamics and Detailed presentation. Meanwhile invest your time and money on room Acoustics if not done already, Speakers Positioning, improving the source components etc. Borrow from Local FMs and or audition different speakers in your neighborhood. Do have open mind by changing the cables, especially power and speaker cables.

All your next decent upgrade speakers will cost above 2L, but they'll all demand more capable and perfection in upstream electronics to perform at their best. Also they'll demand a beefy premium amplifier, so just upgrading the speakers won't get you anywhere. You should look at Harbeth, Graham, Falcons or Spendor if looking for BBC LS type presentation. Premier offering from Focals, Monitor Audio Platinum, B&W 8xx Series, ATC and KEF Reference Series etc. But don't go to this segment without decent room Acoustics, Premium Amplification and Excellent Source SYNERGY. Otherwise you'll feel that the Denton, Marantz combination was better, and your costly upgrade was a mistake, you'll see such rants from different FMs (including me previously) saying "our previous cheaper setup was much better sounding than our Now Expensive Setup". It's like buying a 4k TV and playing SD content from VCD and Complaining about Pixellation, then saying my previous 720p TV was much better.


If you have deeper pockets above 10L for stereo , have all the time and patience to chase your dream SQ, catch hold of a reasonably honest (need to use your interpersonal skills to zero in, because lots of Cheap charlatans around) friendly HIFI dealer/reseller in your neighborhood and work with him, and explain him what you're looking for and make sure he'll provide you with multiple gear home audition options without much deep financial implications. Listen to as many setups or gears as possible and you'll reach your destination. That's the only possible path I can see.
 
Get the Wharfedale EVO 4.2 3-Way Standmount Speakers at a Special Offer Price.
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