muwarrior04

Just noticed the CF-70s are on sale for $229 at Newegg right now- might have my answer... http://slickdeals.net/f/4045886-Energy-CF-70-3-way-Floorstanding-Speaker-Eac-229-99-Klipsch-WB-14-Icon-W-Series-Espresso-Bookshelf-Surround-Speaker-Pair-179-99h

I got some Energy CF-30s about a year ago, an initial upgrade from an Onkyo HTIB, which whetted my appetite. In the subsequent months I got an Energy S10.3 sub, and CC-10 center to go with it, along with a Denon 1712 for a receiver. Using some old Klipsch promedia satellites as the rears. The weak point now, I'm noticing, is the CF-30s. With a decent sub like the S10.3, I'm thinking I can ditch the floorstanders and go with bookshelves. Or should I stick with floorstanders and maybe go for the CF-70s in a medium sized room? Assume I need to timbermatch with my Energy center- so looks like the RC-10s are a good choice if I go the bookshelf route. Any other suggestions for bookshelves, or anything else for this setup?

Thanks again all for the advice. Auditioned the FoxL and the Bose Soundlink. For my particular situation- hotel rooms for 1-2 weeks at a time- portability was not the overriding concern, in which case the FoxL has excellent SQ that is very impressive for the size. I actually liked the form factor of the Bose, which at the size of a hardback book is the perfect combination of size and sound quality. It can get plenty loud also. The sound on the Bose, as you would expect, a bit muddy on the low end, but hands down the best in the category. Additionally, in the event I ever want to unload the Bose, it would be easy to sell on CL and would hold its value fairly well. Another thing I ran across during my research was that this whole class of devices- mobile bluetooth speakers- is in its infancy. Hopefully in the next couple of years we will see further innovation and can put even better quality in a similar form factor.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will audition both the Soundmatters Fox and Bose system. Given the size disparity, if the Fox is remotely close to the Bose in SQ, I will probably go with the Fox. When doing some other research, it sounds like these speakers are in their infancy, so many improvements to look forward to. This might argue slightly for the Bose, considering the ease of reselling a Bose system on CL or elsewhere. I'll report back.

Long time lurker, posting here for the first time. Have greatly enjoyed hanging out at CA over the last six months or so, though my wallet and wife are less thrilled... So over the next year my job will have me on the road 90% of the time, and I'm looking at portable audio solutions. I probably will look at a USB DAC and quality headphones to go with my Macbook Pro, but would also like to explore speaker solutions to achieve (in order of importance) a) portability and b) the best audio quality possible. In doing a lot of research, specifically on bluetooth speakers, I don't see a lot of competitors to the (gasp) Bose Soundlink. I personally don't enjoy the Bose sound, and believe Bose is overpriced. However, as portability is at a premium in my situation, having examined all the other possibilities, it doesn't appear that any of the other portable solutions (i.e. jambox, various logitech solutions) can come close to achieving the balance quality and portability of the Soundlink. Willing to spend up to a grand. Welcome any suggestions you might have. Cheers...MUW