The Best Bookshelf Speakers for Most Stereos

Our pick

Q Acoustics 3020i

The best bookshelf speakers

The 3020i speakers deliver great detail and a wide soundstage, and their design and build quality are better than that of most speakers in their price range.

Buying Options

$315 from Amazon
(pair)

The Q Acoustics 3020i speakers sound and look fantastic. This pair reproduces music of all genres with great detail and clarity on a wide soundstage, and despite the compact design, the system delivers both strong bass and accurate vocals. The 3020i is a well-built speaker, with high-quality binding posts for securing the wires, nicely rounded corners that resist chipping, and a magnetically attached grille. Q Acoustics offers four finish options as well as a matching center channel to create a home theater system.

Runner-up

ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2

Great performance, dull design

The ELAC B6.2 set offers comparable sound quality to the Q Acoustics 3020i, but these speakers are much larger, and the finish is not nearly as attractive.

Buying Options

$350 from Amazon
(pair)

$300 from Best Buy
(pair)

If the Q Acoustics 3020i set is unavailable, the ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 pair is a close runner-up. The B6.2 speakers sound very similar to the 3020i pair; they deliver a bit more bass, but they have a slightly smaller soundstage and reveal less background detail. Also, the larger ELAC speakers take up more space and don’t look as nice. ELAC does offer matching add-on Atmos speakers, on-wall surround speakers, and center channels, so someone who is looking to build a home theater setup might prefer the flexibility that this pair offers.

Upgrade pick

KEF Q150

A step up in sound quality

The KEF Q150 is our favorite-sounding bookshelf speaker, but it has a higher price tag than most of the competition.

Buying Options

$500 $300 from Amazon

You save $200 (40%)

$550 from Best Buy

If you want to go for an upgrade, the KEF Q150 bookshelf speakers were the overwhelming favorite in our tests because they delivered more detail and clearer sound than the other speakers we reviewed, but they cost a good bit more than the Q Acoustics 3020i. The Q150 comes in two different finishes, and the KEF Q Series includes a matching center channel and add-on Atmos speaker for home theater use.