recommendation for bookshelf speakers to partner Star

Hello,

I purchased a Uniti Star in the summer to replace a 15 year old Arcam Solo. The sound is wonderful but I’m beginning to think my venerable Quad 11L speakers aren’t showcasing the Star as well as they could.
Does anyone have any suggestions/recommendations for a replacement bookshelf speaker? Budget is in the £1,200-1,300 bracket. I like the look of the B&W 706 S2’s or maybe Focal Aria 906. I’m looking for something that will give good detail and I have a very eclectic musical taste with everything from cathedral organ (like Jean Langlais “Hymne d’actions de grace”) to solo vocal (Barbara Bonney singing Strauss’s “Morgen”) to stuff like Muse and White Buffalo.
Any suggestions on stuff to try that would work well with the Star that I should demo?
Thanks

You are going to struggle to find bookshelf speakers that will give a convincing account of cathedral organ, at least without a sub.

You will also find that most posters will recommend brands that they know and like. So, true to form, I will suggest you might want to audition ATC 11’s. They will certainly give you the detail you seek and much more. Although the Star is at the bottom end of the recommended amplifier power range, they’re excellent with a Nova and I’d expect them to work well if your room is not too large.

Roger

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Do you mean bookshelf, as in sitting on a shelf with back to wall, or even completely surrounded by books and similar, or do you mean standmount, on stands usually some way out from wall? The suitability of speakers may well be different according to which.

And as PeakMan indicated, you are likely to struggle to get a realistic sounding cathedral organ through either.

Star has enough grunt imo but I agree with @Innocent_Bystander you are going to struggle with realism and presentation with bookshelf speakers for organ music depending on room, placement and matching.

Sub will help a fair amount so it’s a good idea (even for floor standing speakers) as per @PeakMan’s suggestion. I just tried. :slight_smile:

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Possibly KEF R3 though only available in Walnut at the moment, Acoustic Energy would also be on my list to audition.

My reservation is the same as everybody else’s about not getting the bass. I have stand mounts and for domestic reasons would be reluctant to have big floor standers again, but do miss the deeper notes every so often.

I had considered svs sb3000 before because of it beefy amp and remote control but didn’t find it as musical as REL so I went with REL. That said, I do have two sets of subs and that is a movie sub which can give me constant rumble effect if I were watching such as star trek. :wink:

Hi David, no room for a sub either, but as most of my musical tastes are acoustic that isn’t an issue.

I have Harbeth P3 ESR and I switched from FB1 , so was aware of trade off. I wish I had heard of the Totem Arro … before I bought the Harbeths , still overall pleased.

I wonder if the OP would consider something like the Totems as people usually go bookshelf/ stand mount for domestic reasons

Same here @Ian2001 hence why I added small music sub over replacing my old movie sub, which has a very low level hum, not audible when watching movies.

BTW, REL such as T/5i is just 10"x12"x12" (27cmx30cmx30cm). It is tiny!

When I had my Uniti Star I partnered it with a pair of PMC db1 (not gold)speakers on Atacama stands.
The speakers were highly regarded by John Darko and What HiFi.
Fanthorpes in Hull have them on offer.
It was only my desire to jump on the ‘going up ‘Naim elevator That caused me to change.
Music played Jazz and Chamber.
N

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ProAc Tablette 10 Signatures amazing little speakers. Maybe a little over your budget but worth it. Best I heard out of all the speakers in that price range by a country mile when I recently auditioned a lot, mine are paired with an Atom so would pair nicely with the Star.

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I second @CrystalGipsy. :+1:

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+1. If you are actually placing them on shelves close to wall then you really should try Proac Tabs 10’s.

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Have a look listen to the Neat Iotas can be placed on a shelf close to a wall. Big soundfora small box.

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Should have said stand mount rather than bookshelf. Placement in my room is not ideal, the Attacama stands are about 20cm from the back wall, but one speaker has a wall about 10cm to one side and a solid bookcase 10cm to the other.

I use PMC twenty5.21 with my Nova and they are not fussy about placement due to front port. Should give you enough bass for organ music as well!

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I second @crispyduck! Love PMC! :heart_eyes:

Now that’s not entirely true. All speakers are fussy due to SBIR and how that affects them and that changes with positioning. It does however make them easier to place with out bass going completely nuts. Even my ProAcs being sealed are still effected by positioning more than I thought the would to. Been moving them around of late to experiment.

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Compared to The Guru Juniors these do not rate at all. Auditioned them back to back at TomTom 4 years ago. Paid for the Juniors and still have them. Fantastic speaker!

PMC’s look good but a bit above my target price range.

Kef LS50 Meta … might be a match in heaven…

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