Rob wrote...

I'd like some speakers for a small room/office, and they'll be tucked
into a bookshelf. The room is about 10'x8'x7'(H). I'm not looking to
spend very much - up to £100 second hand. Amplifier 20WPC SS. Any
recommendations

Keep an eye out for a pair of Q Acoustics 1010 speakers or the mark II
version, the 1010i.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160721544461#ht_500wt_1206

Over the last couple of years I've tried several small bookshelf
speakers in an effort to replace my B&W floor standers which were just
to big for my 16x12x8 room, they only sounded balanced when 4ft from
the walls and on 2ft high stands and in that location took up too much
space and dominated the room but male and female voices still had too
much bass emphasis and had that annoying chesty boomph. (My favourite
test for voice is the shipping forecast).

Nearly all of the small speakers I tried, mostly cheap and cheerful
sounded rough in the treble, had lumpy bass or made people sound like
robots so th B&W's kept their domination.

I came across a pair of 1010's in a charity shop, grabbed them, and the
B&W's have now gone.
Over the years I've had several generations of Wharfedale Diamonds and
small Tannoy's and these Q's sound as good as any and better than many.

The tweeter is extended but smooth with no spit or fizzle and the
midrange is beautiful, people sound like people whether talking or
singing. They image very well indeed. Bass is not deep but in
proportion to the rest and being front ported they work well against
walls and on shelves and are amenable to experimenting with partial
blocking of the port to adjust the balance to suit.

I'm very pleased with them and think I got a real bargain, they came
with a nice Denon midi size amp for £55.
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/denon_upa_f10.html
The Denon is now doing sterling service amplifying the output of my
laptop sound card.

The later generations of these speakers 2010's etc seem to have moved
to a rear port position so may not be so suitable for near wall use.


--
Ken O'Meara
http://www.btinternet.com/~unsteadyken/