Our favourite bookshelf speakers £1,000 - £3,000 (Part 1)

I chat with Ian White, Ecoustics Editor-in-chief, to discuss our our favourite bookshelf speakers from £1,000 to £3,000.

Link to manufacturers' webpages:

Link to Ecoustics website:

Link to my Patreon:

Time stamps:
0:00 Intro
2:09 PSB Synchrony B600
12:28 Amphion Argon 1
17:38 Spendor 4/5 Classic

[rbarreda]

I love my Spendor Classic 2/3s. Easy to drive, not fussy about placement, and they sound fantastic. Midrange is to die for.

[surfd]

The Spendor Classic 4/5 are a fantastic speaker. As said in the video, beautifully balanced and fun too.

[williambiggar]

Toruń, great video again. I tried over 30 speakers in my 4m x 3.5m listening room, yes over thirty. After my wife just had enough of me part exchanging loudspeakers losing money, unpacking and repacking them. So I sat down and went through all the speakers I had tried. I made a list of the the things l liked about each speaker. When I did this I saw I didn’t like metal tweeters. I preferred three way. Floor standing speaker too big for my room. After doing this the one speaker that fitted my needs and looked beautiful were Wharfedale Elysian two. Anyway I purchased them about six months ago. They sound fantastic in my room, they are keepers, that was my long journey to my HiFi heaven. I run them on a Sugden ANV 50, perfect to my ears. Nice to see you a couple of weeks ago at Sainsbury’s. I look forward to your next video, Will

[markcarrington]

Hi Tarun, interesting to hear Ian’s take on matching gear. You’ve heard me wittering on about source first, then amp and speakers last. Very unpopular with most reviewers, who insist that speakers are the priority.

I won’t be upgrading my speakers in either of my systems until I’ve carried out a few more tweaks further up the chain. When I do, I’m confident the speakers will be well served so should give me the step I’ll be looking for and, in the study in particular, your choices here will be highly relevant. I look forward to part 2.

[MichaelPsyrras]

Spendor Classic Series all the time… I use me SP2/3Es since 2004 and despite a small problem with the driver rubber surrounding the cone, they still sound so truthful!!

[alanwilson]

So glad I recently subscribed to your channel, really enjoy your content, always easy to watch from start to finish, excellent.

[markburrows]

Argon 1's in our room sound absolutely fantastic and are able to cope being a little further apart than ideal, and if you are not quite in the sweet spot or standing up there is little difference. All with a very modest amp (CXA60) and their addition has made everything else sound new and more expensive. Great across all music I have which broadly is electronic (Techno, ambient) but with vocals (for example Bjork) is very special indeed. Magical speaker!

[greencraig]

"a little wooly and kind of lumpy in the bass"! Imagine a non-audiophile hearing that.

[OllieMarshall]

I have a pair of Amphion Argon 1's arriving this week! Will be paired with a Naim Uniti Nova 👌 I also heard the Amphions at the Bristol hifi show a few years ago and have wanted a pair since then

[jpaulog]

Very happy with my Amphion Argon 1 connected to a Lyngdorf TDAI-1120. Thank you Tarun!

[josephstark]

This is the first time I’ve ever heard another person mention Dead Can Dance. Awesome 🤘

[IrenESorius]

Cheers and thanks Tarun and Ian, , 🍻🍻😎👍‍‍👍‍‍
Spendor Classic 100. 🥰
( KLH model 5 ca1200USD in the US. Ca2800USD in Sweden, , 🤪)

[michaelbaldwin]

Just bought Kefs LSX 2 for my Computer and to move around the house as required.No amp needed, all streaming included.Able to plug in a Sub if your a basehead. Soundstage from the 11th gen Uni Q is fantastic. EQ is adjustable in the app for positioning.There is no crossover, it's all done in DSP.
Cost £1199 ---- Managed to get mine for £999

[outbackwack]

My first hi-end speakers were Amphion Argon 2's and Helium 2's, which I still own and love, but I really wish they were more efficient. I run them with my Parasound A21 and a Yamaha AVR that's 160wpc. I almost bought PSB but wound up with Paradigm because they were a great deal, and love them too. Thanks

[larryh]

Hi Taron, I was watching your discussion with Ian about mid-priced amps and you were saying that the Yamaha WXA-50 was discontinued. I think in February you were correct, but here in the US, it's back in stock everywhere and even back on the Yamaha website. Thought I'd mention it in case you were still interested in one. BTW, I had one for a day and sent it back as it uses an older version of MusicCast that does not support Qobuz. Cheers.

[roblawrence]

Hi TARUN, enjoyed this discussion, more please. Especially from a fellow Canadian :)
Nice to hear the small Spendors getting some love. They seem to get a little lost in the competition these days. I’ve always loved their sound, I’ve owned the 3/5’s and then later the 3/5R2’s. Very balanced and musical, maybe just missing some dynamic’s overall, but hard to beat for a music lover.
Thanks again!
R

[StevePilgrim]

I thought you'd certainly lean toward the Dali Menuet SE. Interesting choices. Also, with the Harbeth P3ESR, all of the LS3/5a brands & the ATC speakers crossing the $3000 line, I guess I can see the choices. Great discussion. Can't get enough of these.

[kesm]

I had the Spendor A1 (sold ‘em off)…regretted it..& purchased the Spendor Classic 4/5. There’s just something very special about the tuning on the Spendor.

[AgentPepsi]

Hi Tarun!!
Another amazing video!! I am going to keep my Wharedale Linton Heritage speakers. 😉😊 I finally got the rebuilt Adcom GFA-555 amplifier in. ABSOLUTELY In combination with my Adcom GFP-815, it puts my Yamaha A-S701 to shame. The Yamaha sound like a beat-up, used entry level receiver against it. Speaking of smaller houses... my house is pretty small!! 😂🙂😂

Keep up the good work Turan!!

[lonniefarmer]

Thanks for information I would never check! These are more in my range, but not application needing 90+ sensitivity for 11 speakers driven.