To enjoy your favourite music in the best quality imaginable, whether that be tunes streamed from your TV or computer or a vinyl LP spun on a record player, you have to invest in a great set of speakers to boost your listening experience.
And while you may think your in-built PC speaker, smart speaker, Bluetooth speaker, or even soundbar is cutting the mustard, you'll soon realise what you're missing out on when you listen to your music through a bookshelf speaker.
Bookshelf speakers can effortlessly fill a room with wide and detailed sound, giving you the opportunity to enjoy the song's intricacies, tones, and impact in a new, special light. So named because of their small size, they're perfect to sit on a tabletop, desk, or bookshelf to maximise and elevate the sound in small or medium-sized spaces.
We've listed some of the best bookshelf speakers that are available at an affordable price. There are some bookshelf speakers on the market for over £1,000, but we want to make sure that the chance to unlock the potential of your music catalogue is accessible for everyone!
Perfect for avid music fans, tech-enthusiasts, and anyone just looking for the best quality music experience for their money.
The best bookshelf speakers
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If you're looking for quality, impactful, well-balanced sound and music with precision and control at your fingertips, this is a fantastic choice for you. The Edifier R1280Ts provides great value for money with tight, punchy audio, and ample volume and detail to fill a small-to-medium-sized room. With bass, treble, and volume dials on the side panel, you can play the audio at your desired levels, and this set comes with a remote control for easy volume and sound field adjustment.
We love the clean, classic wooden design that'll happily complement any home decor from traditional to modern or chic.
| Sensitivity: | 85dB |
| Frequency response: | 52Hz-20kHz |
| Impedance: | 6 Ohms |
| Recommended amplifier power: | N/A |
| Drivers: | 4-inch sub-woofer, 13mm silk dome tweeter |
| Dimensions: | 17 x 11.8 x 7.2 inches |
| Weight: | 5.4kg |
The multi-award-winning ultra-compact 3010 bookshelf speakers make for discreet yet powerful listening - great if you want amazing quality without having your tech too visibly on show or making a statement. The drive units deliver an unrivalled and more open soundstage, where you'll be able to hear the very best of your music; Powerful bass, wide-open mids, and beautiful highs. It's suitable for both HiFi and home cinema use with these speakers offer great flexibility in set-up and fit.
| Sensitivity: | 86dB |
| Frequency response: | 68Hz-22kHz |
| Impedance: | 6 Ohms |
| Recommended amplifier power: | 15-75 watts |
| Drivers: | 4-inch cone woofer, 0.9-inch dome tweeter |
| Dimensions: | 9.25 x 5.90 x 7.9 inches |
| Weight: | 3.6kg |
Yamaha, a brand renowned for its audio and visual equipment, has pulled it out the bag again with these beautiful bookshelf speakers. They're fitted with Vibration Control Cabinet Structure technology to prevent unwanted vibrations and to perfectly isolate and enhance the sound quality. The woofer and tweeter are exciting to hear, being capable of providing deep, kicking bass and powerful highs. Reviewers were really impressed, especially for the price, and found them to be capable of being remarkably loud, irrespective of them being a slightly larger, heavier unit.
| Sensitivity: | 83dB |
| Frequency response: | 60Hz-40kHz |
| Impedance: | 6 Ohms |
| Recommended amplifier power: | 40-110 watts |
| Drivers: | 4.75-inch cone woofer, 1.18-inch dome tweeter |
| Dimensions: | 10.68 x 6 x 9 inches |
| Weight: | 3.3kg |
The PSB Alpha P5 speakers present a natural and smooth soundscape that has been fine-tuned for a beautifully pure listening experience where you can hear real detail, clarity, and depth in your favourite music. The bass woofer and tweeters are highly efficient, constructed to consistently produce brilliant and distortion-free music, no matter the volume.
| Sensitivity: | 89dB |
| Frequency response: | 37Hz-21kHz |
| Impedance: | 8 Ohms |
| Recommended amplifier power: | 10-90 watts |
| Drivers: | 5.25-inch cone woofer, 0.75-inch dome tweeter |
| Dimensions: 11.4 x 6.75 x 9.5 inches | 11.4 x 6.75 x 9.5 inches |
| Weight: | 3.3kg |
In a curved design that you might only expect to see on much more expensive speakers, the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 Speakers provide strong, tight bass and huge amounts of top-end detail for the ultimate listening experience, with the curve helping to eliminate vibrations and optimise the speaker's performance. Many reviewers thought these speakers looked especially smart and found the musical performance to be phenomenal for a range of genres, from rock music to classic orchestral music.
| Sensitivity: | 86dB |
| Frequency response: | 50Hz-24kHz |
| Impedance: | 6 Ohms |
| Recommended amplifier power: | 20-100 watts |
| Drivers: | 130mm cone woofer, 25mm textile tweeter |
| Dimensions: | 194 x 296 x 278mm |
| Weight: | 5.5kg |
This pair of speakers provide great sound and bass for their size, crisp and clean sounding, with punchy, well-controlled bass and plenty of detail in the treble. These speakers have the highest sensitivity on our list, making them all the more impressive for quality sound that packs a punch. We also think they look great and will fit in nicely in a living room or office space.
| Sensitivity: | 90dB |
| Frequency response: | 68Hz-21kHz |
| Impedance: | 8 Ohms |
| Recommended amplifier power: | 200 watts |
| Drivers: | 4-inch woofer, 1-inch tweeter |
| Dimensions: | 19.99 x 14.61 x 28.7cm |
| Weight: | 3.18kg |
With tech, there's quite a lot of jargon and while seasoned tech-enthusiasts will know exactly what each means, some of us could use a helping hand to understand exactly how different levels and ratings will affect the quality of a product.
We've come to the rescue helping to jargon-bust any queries you may have about the terminology included around bookshelf speakers.
Bookshelf speakers FAQs
What is speaker sensitivity?
Speaker sensitivity measures how well a speaker will convert the power input into acoustic energy. As a rule, the higher the sensitivity rating, the louder your speaker will be.
Measured in decibels (dB), an average speaker has around 88dB, with a sensitivity rating over 90dB being considered excellent.
What does frequency response mean?
Frequency response describes how well a device is able to handle sound frequencies and tones, measuring how wide a selection of sounds the speaker can reproduce.
A measurement of 20 - 20,000Hz (or 20kHz) covers the full range of human hearing from low to high frequency. A bookshelf speaker frequency response will fit a breadth of frequencies within this.
What is impedance?
Impedance measures the electrical resistance in the flow of power to your speakers, so the lower the measurement of ohms, the better and more efficient. It won't affect sound quality, it just relates to the transfer of power into your music. 6-8 ohms is the norm for a quality speaker.
What is a driver?
A driver is a device inside your speaker that converts electrical signals into sound. Measured in diameter, larger drivers tend to be able to deliver a more powerful sound with greater accuracy, though this isn’t always the case as build material quality also plays an important role.
What are bass, midrange, and treble?
Bass, midrange, and treble are sometimes referred to as lows, mids, and highs. These terms refer to the different sound frequencies located in audio.
Bass, or low, is the boomier sections of sound, the frequencies that people can most often 'feel' such as the bass drums. If there was no bass, the audio sounds very empty and 'tinny'. However, if you go overboard with the bass, the music can sound rumbly and overwhelming.
Midrange, or mid, is all the stuff that happens in the middle, such as guitars, vocals, and speech. This is needed to balance the bass and really bring audio to life. If you struggle to hear vocals in music or conversation in media such as podcasts or films, boosting the midrange can bring these out for you without having to fiddle with volume settings.
Treble, or highs, are the high frequencies. These are essential for picking out details in audio, but if they are too high, they can irritate you or be unpleasant to listeners.
What is an amplifier and do I need one?
An amplifier is an electronic device that changes low voltage signals from your source equipment into a more powerful signal to power a pair of speakers. This is a must-have for vinyl turntables; Andrew Robinson shares his guide to getting your speakers to play your records.
Some speakers, like the Edifier R1280T listed above, are active speakers. They don’t require an external amplifier, but passive speakers do.
We'd recommend the Sony STRDH190.CEK 2 Channel Amplifier as an affordable option that's rated 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon from tried and tester buyers.