Battle Of The Best: 11 Small Bookshelf Speakers Sound Showdown!

[@VirtualHiFi]

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[@bentleygt3716]

it must be exhausting to put this demo together. wow 11 Pairs to compare !!. THANK YOU for your hard work and everything you do . personally i like UNITRA . TBH. i'm more interested in the QUALIO-IQ . and since you have access to many other Speaker manufacturers. i really wish you would do a video comparing the QUALIO with other Speakers of similar Caliber/ Specs /and Value. that would be AWESOME !!. .thanks again.

[@davidsmith9407]

Thank you so much for this shoot-out!! I was shocked by how quickly the drum solo test track (Hara Node - Wood & Skin) separated the men from the boys!! EPOS ES7N FTW!!

[@Ken-cp9qf]

I have Dali Oberon 3's these speakers are underrated in my opinion and in this demo they sound just like mine open and the vokal is soul touching

[@JAFO.]

@Ken-cp9qf - Not the best here but very nice, musical & warm. Easily the BEST for the Buck$!

[@GrayWolfe-34]

I'm Definitely not a Audiofile. I prefer the EPOS ES7N Bookshelf Speakers. I close my eyes and every time these Speakers came around my ears knew that SOUND! I find myself moving to the music. Perfection!

[@JoaoSilva-nm3us]

Great video, thanks! For me the EPOS is the winner. Very balanced and natural, never harsh. The majority of the other sound sibilant in comparison.

[@gli7utubeo]

I liked the Dynaudio Emit 20 the best for the most liquid, organic vocals and also the imaging, and 2nd best was the Falcon LS3/5a for the same reasons and maybe even better imaging. What a great video! Thanks for all the hard work you have done for this.

[@hifirec5337]

Beautiful... EPOS ES7N rich holographic sound and excellent bass and musical treble. Audiovector R1 and Sonus Faber Sonetto II excellent in VOCAL. Falcon LS 3/5a Beautiful in bass and soundstage and musical treble and sweets. I loved the sound of the drums...

[@shereewhite1710]

I listened to this comparison so many times. I literally wowed by the Epos ES7N. They were clear, balanced and lush especially for their size. The Dynaudio Evoke 20 made me smile every time. I really liked their timber, balance, and smoothness.

[@dom_audio]

What a great comparison! A thousand thanks! My preference is 1st EPOS, 2nd Unitra, 3rd the Dynaudios (both models). Also nice on some examples are the falcons. The Focals and the Missions are the last on my list.

[@danielbrrio]

Why did I go to watch this video? Now, I'm obsessed with the Focal Aria X N1! 2 - Audiovector R1, 3 - Monitor Audio Bronze 100.

[@cmalc8]

(Through a great DAC and headphones) these tracks sound IDENTICAL.

[@juststuff5216]

Focal Aria were a clear 'Last' place for me, with the Sonus Faber running a close second to last!

[@VitalYFZ]

For me it is the Sonus Faber Sonetto ll. I didn't expect it to be, but it is. Going from it to others you can really hear the difference. The Focal fell flat on it's face on the second track with the drums!

[@MarcelNL]

Listening to this test on vintage speakers, the Sonettos sound amazing compared to the others, but of course I should listen to them in real life.

[@gg0297]

The Audiovector pleased my ears the most. But the Epos are amazing, too. The ES14N, the bigger brother, are impressive.

[@raphaelmeillat8527]

Wow, quite a video to put together! Thanks for the hard work!

[@SvenfromKiel]

Absolutely for me the EPOS ES7N because of its "roundness"!! ..followed by 2nd Unitra (details), 3rd Audiovector R1 (transparency). To be true now I am on low fi and listen to it with a Dali Zensor 1 AX :) and want to upgrade after I downgraded some years before....this helped me a lot to look now for a store with an Epos. Thanks for your work!!!

[@tubesticker]

Came for the Epos, stayed for the Falcon LS 3/5a - they sound so damn smooth!

[@mambu5391]

Emit 20:)

[@timu-san]

@@mambu5391 never heard of those, strange tweeter! Will check them out though.

[@timu-san]

@@mambu5391 thanks!

[@redtank6730]

Love the vocal staging and roll off from the Falcon which is just second to the EPOS. But the imagery staging is much wider than the EPOS with good keynote and instrument separation which make it top of my list too.

[@JAFO.]

@tubesticker- Nice but I thought they compressed the midbass and sounded somewhat "small" to me.

[@dirkbusche54]

Great Comparison, technically successfull, clear sound via Headphones. My Favorites: Audiovector and EPOS ES 7N.

[@Pierre-Leloup]

Unitra ZGB-401 are very balanced with very good mids.

[@Audioloon]

Thank you for taking the time and effort to produce and post this video. My speaker/listening preference in the following order: Usher SD-500, Dynaudio Emit 20, and Unitra ZGB-401. The rest can following any order after the three I listed above. Thank you again for this video.

[@VirtualHiFi]

Thanks for sharing ☺️🙏

[@Foxictoxic-wy6ru]

Wow! Epos ES7N small size very good😊

[@bruceandt]

I sat with my headphones on and really listened to each speaker in each offering of music. I don’t know the name of the first speaker in the listening line up. That speaker got all but one check mark. Many of the others didn’t even rank. That first speaker put them all to shame. For my listening? That speaker sparkled and gave a wide presence without leaning on the mid range. The mid range!! Airy with no bloom. It was in perfect synchronicity with the bass and treble. Balanced to a very pleasing level without resonating. The first speaker was my favourite. Thanks for making an offering like this. I sat through the entire GD thing.

[@biznatch1791]

I am coming back from a shop where I could listen to some of them, and ended up with the Epos. My initial budget was not as big, but listening to them especially on electronic music, they are a total blast. Don't be fooled by their size, they pack a punch, not only in clarity but also in power and depth. The Dali were the best value, even compared to Triangle Comete and Canton. But Epos was a league on its own.

[@Rocker6969]

Thank you for posting this. That would take some time to do.

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

This is a fantastic demo, well done, the audio world needs more of this type of comparison. I Liked the Epos, tight, punchy, open, dynamic, rich, nice tone and timbre, real live sounding Ushers - Pleasant warm rich 3d vocals, believable vocal that you could feel the emotion being conveyed it connected better with me. Spacious, nice separation and detail but not etched or enhanced Maybe they have slightly enhanced bottom end that isnt always well controlled that's their only downfall. Unitra, very similar to the Epos, open, spacious, live, balanced, clear. Monitor audio bronze was nice and i don't usually like that speaker but for some reason this demo didn't bother me. Felt the Audiovectors were a bit too detail focused for my taste Dalis were similar to the ushers in regards to low end, and mids weren't quite as nice. Falcon track 5 had a rattle sound going on in the left very obvious and surprised nobody has mentioned it, don't know what was going on there. not well balanced, bottom end is awful, very mid focused, one trick ponys Dynaudios bloated lower mid bass, can tell im listening to a speaker and a recording, doesn't sound natural, doesn't get out of the way of the music. Didn't like the Sonus faber, bright, sibilant at times, grainy. Focal - coloured, unnatural, yuck. I'd probably lean towards the Epos as my favourite overall, followed by the Unitra but the vocal and mid presentation of the Ushers was heartfelt and very emotionally engaging, by far the best. Really enjoyed this.

[@flashmobms]

On point description! Thats exactly what I heard.

[@34332]

Very much my 'conclusion' too. Yes, noticeable distortion in the Falcon part, but I'm sure it was somewhere else also.

[@adrienjf3854]

In my Headphones A neutral FOCAL CLEAR : 1 EPOS 2 UNITRA 3 FALCON 4 DALI listening only the first song , going to listen all the test Songs and Speakers in my system ! With the Legendary SPENDOR SP100 😀! Thank you i discover alot of speakers and music here , it's a GREAT TEST !

[@funkychicken2119]

Wow, wasn’t expecting the falcon to do so well. They surprised me.

[@darufusflage]

is all the same for me 😂, thank you for sharing virtualHIFI 👍.

[@PauloWang]

Thank you so much for this comparison! Looking forward for more comparisons between systems, differents DACS, amps (tube + transistors), etc.

[@andrewhaines3259]

Usher SD500 and Sonus Faber Sonetto II, stand out for me. They seem to have more detail and the vocal tracks seemed like the singer was more in front of me. I got more detail out of them through my headphones. I'd have to try these in my own set up to see if I would still enjoy listening to music through them, BUT it just shows that no one make of speaker is right for everyone, looking at the comments.

[@jacobmulder3960]

When I'm listening to speakers, what i'm looking for is Balance. So not too smooth (that can get boring over time) and not too up front/in your face (that can get fatiguing in the long run). What is important for me in a speaker is: a large sound stage, transparent sound, a good midrange (for voices), and the right amount of bass, to name the most important. The speaker that balances those characteristics the best, I will choose. In this line-up The Dali Oberon 3 and The EPOS ES7N stand out in that regard. :)

[@mikes9176]

Fantastic effort and very enlightening to this audiophile. It’s been 55 yrs since I caught the bug and what a journey. What your presentation reinforced to me is the importance of matching speakers not only to the source and amplification but very much to the type of music one listens to…. and the music selection played here was excellent…. I have 3 sets of speakers which I switch to the genre of music I am in the mood to listen to…. a very pleasant afternoon listening indeed… thank you

[@kristofferrrstad5905]

Great demo. I liked the Epos, Sonus Faber and Usher.

[@D1N02]

My Preference after the first track, Usher SD-500 and Both Dynaudio's. Better balanced than the rest with a midrange focus, giving me a more relaxing and immersive experience. Out of the Three I prefer the Evoke 20.

[@kineahora8736]

This was my pick as well- it seems confirmed that I tend to like a warm sound. Which Greg had already surmised since I told him I liked Jeff Rowland # 1 amp I used to own😂

[@apmihai82]

I really liked EPOS, Usher, Oberon3 . Thanks.

[@JRadian]

And there will be two camps, one who likes detail and transparency of Epos, Usher and other camp that likes "smooth" sound..

[@nc3419]

Felt this way too. Liked some of the others but not the Focal and Dyns. I have Focal 807Ws and the direction the Company went with the Poron tweeter and other woofer materials just took something away. The Epos and Usher are nice.

[@roa5359]

The issue with many modern speakers, especially but not exclusively small ones, are the super bright tweeters. These elevated highs, in absence of proper bass, become fatiguing even if in a brief audition, they may appear to bring ‘clarity’ and extra detail. I wouldn’t choose any of these, certainly not without subwoofers but generally prefer floor-standers because of the above. They usually have better dynamic range too. Thank you for the work put in the video.

[@HornWorm8]

The very reason I learned to design and build my own. I can now create speakers that sound exactly the way I want them to sound.

[@bryantaylor2946]

One comment from me - I've looked at most of the speaker model prices here and not only is the EPOS ES-7N one of least expensive, it consistently gets high praise from many comments submitted here. Not too bad at all for a new brand but remember, it is a Karl-Heinz Fink design. He knows what he is doing!

[@Ken-cp9qf]

The effort is appreciated. Amazing content😊

[@drx7599]

Epos in my (virtual) listening room.. great job anyway!

[@shawnpwatsons1]

It's the Falcons for me. They had the most realistic timber. I'd take these over any of the others and be thrilled. Perhaps I'd augment with a sub but that's not really necessary. The EPOS was the front runner but then the Falcons made the EPOS #2 on my list. Both excellent. Listen to both these side by side by skipping to their respective place in the video. You'll see. The Falcons take it for timber although the bass is a bit better on the EPOS. I heard cabinet resonnances on most of the other but not the Falcons.

[@robinkleinsteuber5217]

Wow! The chosen #1 responses vary all over the map. I chose the Sonus Faber as my first choice, followed by the Dali, and then the Falcon. This order may shift if a good sub comes into play though, as I think the Falcon could most seriously benefit having one. Neat video setup! Kudos for your hard work. Thanks! 👍🍺

[@BillyKueekSG]

Thanks for this video comparison! This is so hard to choose, and I have the Budchardt A10 in mind but now I see this

[@ipman8646]

Thaks so much for all the hard work on this. Anyway, what I did is go through al the demos and quickly narrowed to what I thought were best for my ears. I narrowed it to the EPOS and Evoke and compared them extensively on the different samples. Sometimes I felt like the separation, clarity, and center image were a bit better on the EPOS, but then other times they seemed about the same. I preferred the EVOKE on track 3 with more holography and smoother guitar sound, I thought I heard more metallic sound on the EPOS which I did not prefer. In the end, the Evoke seemed to play the music with a more general relaxed and balanced presentation, making the songs sound more right. I am currently using KEF R3's, so it makes sense that I like a bit darker and relaxed speaker, I agree with the other posters that some just sound too bright. The Focal did sound good on track 3, though, the guitar seemed to have more dynamics and even a bit of tube like on some notes, but on other tracks the Focals were too forward and bright.

[@danmarjenka6361]

To my ears, the Dynaudio Emit were the most engaging. The guitar chords on the blues song are more out front, and that is the groove that pulls you in on that type of music.

[@thepabs911]

Sonus Faber for the easy win! Yeah, it doesn't go as low as the others, but the midrange was class leading, and what it lacked in low end, it made up for in articulation and ease. Very natural sounding speakers. The Epos were second for me and third, the Monitor Audio. The Dynaudio Emit and Falcon sounded slightly boxy to my ears, and the bass on many of them was a bit mushy, over full, and indistinct. Lastly, the treble on the Sonus Fabers was liquid, sparkly, yet totally controlled. Just right. Outstanding speakers all though. Would love to own any of them.

[@gheorgheconroy5102]

Sonus Faber lumina not sonetto 2

[@carlos-pratspratsonthebeat1145]

I feel the same , I Am music Producer and I mix and Master And for me Ears epson & Dunaudio Is Amazing Sound , Thanks for this Amazing Video , So Much Value in this Content

[@SirCosmin]

Greetings from Warsaw! Thanks for the samples, great quality!

[@npdtprocess]

I think I would choose Monitor Audio Bronze 100 6G

[@tubemenow2007]

Many of these speakers sounded nice butI am a big Sonus faber fan. I pick Sonus faber for the sound that I prefer. Really nice video.

[@Marcaudio]

These are the SF Lumina II, not Sonetto’s…

[@jfr1907]

Yep, I have the Amator edition and was like hey these are not the Sonetto II. They still sounded amazing, I could hear the texture of the strings just like on mine ...

[@georgetaylor3107]

I'm very careful not to take any online recording too seriously, and I don't have a ton of experience with most of the speakers in this shootout... but I do have the Epos ES14N in my store, and they are really engaging. Great sound and value from the Epos line.

[@CP-ly7ml]

Audiovector, no doubt!

[@alperkaraalp8094]

Thank you , you made my day .

[@silkhead44]

Dali for the win!!! especially on track 3

[@paullaughton6016]

Thanks for taking the time to put this together!

[@eddiebaby22]

Thanks for doing this. Can't wait to listen with a good set of headphones soon.

[@radoslaw787]

Piękna robota i super nagrane audio. Bardzo dobrze to słychać. Brawo❤

[@renatomorais8136]

I might be a simpleton, I would pick the Dynaudio Evokes. It's hard to tell through youtube but to me they were the VW Golf of the lot. Not the best in anything but a close second at everything.

[@harrisarp3841]

Thank you for this!!!Epos the best for me!!!!

[@IvicaMarusevic]

Unitra is my favorite!

[@Larwiz]

I honed in on track 2 and 4. For me, the Audiovector R1 signature, Sonus Faber are the best 2. They are consistently the cleanest when it comes to clean and clear percussion/drums. Also the least veiled among the group. The Dynaudio Emit is a close 3rd. The Dalis a close 4th. The Falcons could have been in contention for 2nd place, due to it's instrument presentation and clarity also. But undortunately, there was some rattling or resonance of some sort on track 2 that wasn't present on any of the other speakers. Otherwise, it sounds very good. If I were looking at this class of speakers, it would be between the Audiovector and the Sonus Faber. I'd be happy with either. It may just come down to price and aesthetics.

[@mcm934ify]

Very very good job! For me Dali then Sonnetto, third falcon or unitra

[@stevehollingbery9744]

Epos for me. Big task for you but many thanks.

[@VirtualHiFi]

So nice of you

[@polakmay5308]

All sound similar, hard to pick a clear winner. 😮😮😮

[@frankgarcia9834]

Get some decent IEMs 👌 it will blow your mind

[@JAFO.]

@frankgarcia9834 - which ones really floats your boat there Frank?

[@mateusznowak2976]

Great Video ! 1.Unitra 2.Dynaudio,Epos Usher interesant and Sonus Faber

[@phillipmorris9847]

epos 👍

[@darekd3363]

Sonus faber sonetto2 ❤ Falcon ls3/5a 👌

[@neps4th]

Brilliant sonic smorgasbord!

[@VirtualHiFi]

Thanks for your comment

[@burkhardhalfmann9539]

very good test! I am surprised about this Unitra

[@StasJhuravel]

Unitra & Dynaudio are the best systems in this test

[@Karl3377]

The smoothest treble and the upper midrange the Monitor Audio has, quite listenable overall, a bit missing the fullness of the bottom end. I liked the fullness and warmth of the vocal and bass of the Dynaudio Evoke 20. Thank you for your test🎉

[@frankluongo2330]

For my ears, there was one clear winner… EPOS ES7N ❤️🎶

[@Rockin_Kat]

1. Falсon (natural sound) 2. Sonus Faber (natural sound) 3. EPOS (very musical, I would choose these for myself) 4. Dali (with a little embellishment) I didn't like the rest.

[@ludwigjacobs385]

For me nr 1 falcon 2 unitra 3 monitor audio are the one's. Thanks virtual audio verry good job must have been a lot of work.

[@DeN-j9l]

Admirable upload of sound demo comparisons.

[@INeedsMoneys]

I think the left Falcon LS3 / 5a is about to fall apart. Big rattle situation 😢😂

[@Larwiz]

I heard it too!

[@gottrekk5798]

1. Focal 2. Falcon LS 3/5a, Personal preferences, like always. Great job !

[@gg.6967]

Unitra epos and falcon, as my 1st 2nd & 3rd. But all performances were good.

[@VirtualHiFi]

Thanks for sharing io

[@markgriffiths6540]

Best was the Epos by quite a way - also liked the Usher, Dynaudio Emit 20, Dali, Falcon

[@jurgenr.4261]

Thank you very, very much !! A very good sound quality demonstration. Of course it can't replace listening live, but it gives a wonderful insight into different qualities and characters. I learned that my personal requirements have nothing to do with the price tag. Quite the opposite. With one exception, something that is really important to me was reproduced better by a much more expensive speaker. Everything else, however, I can get elsewhere for a third of the price and with much more fun for me. VERY INSTRUCTIVE!

[@stefanandersson6750]

The Falcons are nr 1 for me. Second Sonus Faber.

[@jb2billion]

Thanks for the hard work man! I have lots of fun with these comparisons. I use a very flat pair of cans and you can absolutely tell the difference between each speaker. Now, in room they probably sound much different but fun nonetheless! The name VirtualHiFi is fitting.

[@stevenbusby9209]

The Epos is the winner for me, but would have liked to hear the new G2 Sonetto!

[@Romulus980]

Many thanks for your putting together the 11 speaker shoot out. I hope you will put out more comparisons, maybe integrated amplifiers...? Dzienkuje Bardzo...👍❤

[@cremersalex]

Great comparison video! The Unitra ZGB-401 sounded the most authentic to the source to me (yes, I compared it). Some of the speakers I've heard here had too much sharpness on the voice of the first track (Daniel Gunnarsson). ... And now that I listened to all the tracks, the Unitra is the clear winner.

[@Temmple]

Fully agree with the Emit 20 right behind it.

[@kineahora8736]

I like the Unitra a lot, and in the same category-may be number one for me-was the Dynaudio evoke.

[@cremersalex]

​@@Temmple Emit 20 or Evoke 20 ... need to compare these two dynaudio speakers separately.

[@Temmple]

@@cremersalexemit for me.

[@pesoso78]

Usher and Epos for my choice

[@timtain2350]

My choice too, if I have to pick one, usher

[@maxvan-o2j]

Best for me are epos and Falcon. Epos best in every aspect like neutralness, balanced sound, attack etc. But the Falcon near second there but has the most refined delicate and refined treble (output) of them all. Disappointed by the dyns, the sound comes quite coloured and smeared to me.

[@EliPili-q8g]

Шикарный обзор. Давай напольные!

[@a.c.3049]

Falcon, EPOS and Dynaudio Evoke.

[@FabianKellerZurich]

Are the subwoofers running in the demo?

[@terrycullen3262]

Overall, the Epos for me. The more interesting to listen to.

[@yourchildrensghost9736]

This was really Cool! Thank you.

[@williamjueschke9960]

Nice job, good work, for me the Epos, Falcon, Sonus faber, Dali for the price.

[@johncallaghan3097]

Usher, Dali and Audiovector for me based on what I heard. A lot of the speakers sounded rough on top to me. I'd recommend listening to Quad Revela 1's which are cheaper than some of these -- but just a bit bigger.

[@HornWorm8]

I liked the Ushers too.

[@palmito22]

Sonus Faber for me. Honor mention to MA and Dali for the price/erformance

[@VirtualHiFi]

Thank you 👍😊

[@robertmarshall7712]

Woah, easy there tiger! Please tell us what we're listening to in terms of the rest of the equipment. This is a pretty important element to consider when doing any sound comparision.

[@robertmarshall7712]

I can see though that you've got some pretty expensive gear there, McIntosh amp and all. I suppose this is a good test of what these speakers are capable of when pushed to their absolute potential but not perhaps a good real world test for most folk.

[@HugoGarcia-s6g]

Wow! Epos ES7N close to Dynaudio Emit 20 but according to my ears Epos wins no question :)

[@Foxictoxic-wy6ru]

Dynaudio evoke20 & Unitra best for me.Clear sound

[@TheEduardorossa]

Nice video. Just pointing out the sonus faber are te lumina II not the sonetto II.

[@Хорошийчеловек-ш5х1т]

Однозначно Sonus Faber! ❤