Passive (that is, non-amplified) bookshelf speakers need to be paired with a stereo amplifier or an AV receiver. They can serve as the backbone of a great stereo-audio setup or a surround-sound system. For the latter, you have to add a center speaker, two or more extra bookshelf speakers for the surround channels, and a subwoofer. You might also wish to add upward-firing Dolby Atmos–enabled speakers, which bounce sound off the ceiling to create an immersive sound effect; many manufacturers design these specifically to sit atop their bookshelf and tower speakers.

A good set of passive bookshelf speakers is perhaps the most sustainable component of an audio system because the speakers should last a couple of decades, are fully repairable, and will never become obsolete. If you decide to upgrade the rest of your system as new technologies arise, the passive speakers will still work fine.

The downside of passive speakers is the system’s greater complexity. You need at least one additional component to power the speakers and process the audio signals. You also have to make sure that your amplifier has enough power to drive your speakers to the listening level you want to achieve, and that the speakers don’t present a lower impedance than your amp can handle. However, all of our passive-speaker recommendations here are pretty easy for any decent amp to drive.

Top pick: Polk Signature Elite ES15

Top pick

Polk Signature Elite ES15

Best passive bookshelf speakers under $600

This bookshelf speaker sounds great, looks cool, and can combine with a matching center speaker for surround sound.

Buying Options

$299 from Amazon
(pair)

Polk’s Signature Elite ES15 bookshelf speaker has been a favorite of ours for years. It has a neutral sound character that works great for any type of music, it’s especially affordable, it looks nice, and Polk offers a choice of center and surround speakers, so you can easily build a surround-sound system around it.

It’s a great music speaker. Through several rounds of brand-concealed listening tests, our panelists have picked the ES15 as a favorite, often over much pricier speakers. In particular, they have complimented it for its neutral sound. Other than a touch of extra oomph in the treble and bass, which makes the speaker sound a little more lively, the ES15 doesn’t seem to emphasize any particular instruments, voices, or ranges of the audio spectrum at the expense of others. It also has enough bass to work well on its own, without a subwoofer, for most music genres.

My technical tests (described below) confirmed our listeners’ impressions. Within the ES15’s operating range, the measured frequency response stayed within ±2.0 decibels, which would be an impressive result even with a speaker 10 times as costly. The ES15’s sensitivity measured at 87.2 dB, which means it can get over 100 dB (an uncomfortably loud sound level) with just a 30-watt amp.

For the price, it looks nice. Most speakers in this price range look depressingly drab, but the ES15’s curved front baffle and rounded corners give it a sophisticated enough look that it probably wouldn’t garner complaints if you were to place it in a decor-critical environment. Standing just 12 inches high, it’s available in simulated black oak and walnut finishes, as well as in white. The fabric grille is magnetically attached, so if you use the speaker without the grille, it has a cleaner look.

The ES15 has a rear-firing bass port, but Polk provides a plastic baffle in the back that lets you push the speaker up against a wall without worrying about blocking the port. The baffle also has a keyhole for hanging the speaker from a wall.

If you want surround sound, you have multiple options. If you want to incorporate the ES15 speakers into a surround-sound system, you can add two more of them as surround speakers or use the smaller, lower-priced ES10 mini bookshelf speakers for the surround channels.

Polk offers two center-speaker options. We prefer the ES30 because it sounds fuller and costs less. However, the ES30 stands 7.5 inches high, so it may block part of your TV screen if you set both your TV and the speaker atop a TV stand. If you need a center speaker with a lower profile, consider the ES35 instead; it’s only 4.25 inches high, but its smaller woofers give it a thinner sound, so male voices in particular may not sound as full as they should.

Incidentally, Polk also offers the larger, more expensive ES20 bookshelf speaker, which produces a lot more bass than the ES15, but it’s more than twice as large by volume as the ES15 and doesn’t otherwise sound any better. It’s a viable option if you want more bass but don’t want to add a subwoofer.

All of the Signature Elite speakers have similarly nice aesthetics, with magnetically attached grilles, rounded edges, and attractive finishes.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Polk doesn’t offer a perfectly matched Atmos-enabled speaker. The only Atmos-enabled speaker in the Signature Elite line is the ES90, which is sized to fit atop the larger ES20. The ES90 can fit on the ES15 but hangs off the back by about 2 inches. It’s also about 50% more expensive than the ES15.

The ES15 may not have enough bass for some music genres. The 5.25-inch woofer gives this speaker a full sound, but it may not prove satisfying for fans of music with lots of deep bass, such as hip-hop and heavy rock. For this reason, some listeners may prefer the ES20 or our upgrade pick, the Triangle Borea BR03, which has a larger woofer and cabinet and offers superior maximum deep-bass output. If you plan to use the ES15 with a subwoofer, this won’t be an issue.

Upgrade pick: Triangle Borea BR03

Upgrade pick

Triangle Borea BR03

Deeper bass and more refined looks

This passive speaker offers extraordinary clarity and spaciousness plus plenty of bass, and you can add matching center and immersive speakers.

Buying Options

$399 from Amazon
(pair)

The Triangle Borea BR03 speakers are a great choice for serious listeners who want the enveloping sound of real audiophile-grade speakers but don’t want to spend thousands of dollars. This pair provides the most natural, balanced sound we’ve heard from bookshelf speakers priced under $600 per pair—and there’s no real need to add a subwoofer unless you’re a deep-bass fan.

Its sound is nearly flawless. Even after hours of listening to the BR03, I can’t think of a significant complaint. When we played Lil Baby’s ultra-bass-intensive “Woah” at a loud volume, the BR03 didn’t distort, and it produced only a barely perceptible amount of chuffing from its front ports. Every part of the audio spectrum—from deep bass to midrange to treble—sounded natural, and we noticed no sonic flaws that distracted from the music. Voices, in particular, sounded smooth.

In my technical measurements, the BR03 produced an admirably flat frequency response, with a variation of about ±2.5 dB through most of the audio range and an even balance of bass to midrange to treble. Sensitivity measured at 87.3 dB, about the same as the Polk ES15, which means even a 30-watt amplifier can drive this speaker to loud levels.

The styling is elegant. The BR03 is available in a variety of finish options and color combinations to suit different room decors, though the price varies based on the finish. Measuring 15 inches high, 8.125 inches wide, and 12.5 inches deep, it’s the tallest of our picks, but its just-right proportions make it seem less visually intrusive. It comes with a magnetically attached, fabric grille.

The cabinet features a front-facing port, so there’s no concern about blocking the port if you push your pair of speakers back close to a wall. Front ports can make chuffing noises more audible, but the noises are so low with the BR03 that this wasn’t a concern for us.

Matching center and Atmos-enabled speakers are available. Triangle Audio offers an excellent center speaker, the BRC1, which matches the sound of the BR03 nicely. There’s also the BRA1-3D Atmos-enabled speaker, which fits neatly atop the BR03.

For surround speakers, you can use more BR03 units, the smaller BR02, or the BRA1-3D, which has a switch that allows it to work as a wall-mounted surround speaker instead of an Atmos-enabled speaker.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The BR03 may be too large for some rooms; measuring 15 inches high and 63% larger by volume than the
Polk ES15, it is larger than all of our other picks by a wide margin. And at 6.9 inches high, the BRC1 center speaker may conceal part of your TV screen if you place it on a stand in front of the TV.

Budget pick: Micca MB42X G2

Budget pick

Micca MB42X G2

Good speakers at a bargain price

This passive speaker set has a full, satisfying sound, and an accompanying center speaker is available. But it can’t match the clarity of our other passive picks.

Buying Options

$100 from Amazon
(pair)

Music lovers seeking a decent pair of speakers at a low cost will appreciate the Micca MB42X G2 set. These speakers don’t sound quite as smooth and natural as our other picks, but when mated with a good small amplifier, they can easily outperform most portable speakers.

This model sounds shockingly good for an under-$100 pair. In our most recent round of brand-concealed testing, which focused on budget speakers, the MB42X G2 emerged as the favorite, even though the other speakers cost at least $150 per pair.

This set has a natural-sounding balance of bass, midrange, and treble: In our tests, voices sounded smooth, and no instruments were unnaturally emphasized. The bass was strong for a speaker with a 4-inch woofer, which gave the MB42X G2 a fuller sound than what we heard from its competitors. The frequency response measured impressively flat at ±2.3 dB.

It’s small enough to use almost anywhere. At just 9.375 inches high, the MB42X G2 is the smallest passive speaker we recommend. The grilles attach with concealed magnets rather than pins and grommets, which is unusual for models in this price range, so the speaker looks good without its grille.

The design is rear-ported, though, so as tempting as it might be to push these tiny speakers up against a wall, don’t—that could block the port and thin out the sound.

The matching center speaker sounds surprisingly good. We didn’t expect much of the MB42X-C center speaker, considering its low cost and size, but we were impressed by how clear it made movie dialogue sound. The MB42X-C lacked the sonic oomph to reproduce the deepest tones of male voices, but the speaker’s clarity made it easy for us to overlook this flaw.

The MB42X-C measures 5.3 inches high, so it stands a better chance of staying out of the way of your TV’s picture than do the center speakers accompanying our other picks.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Be careful about cranking up the volume. When played loud, these speakers may distort. With Audrey Nuna’s bass-intensive “damn Right” played at an average level of about 91 dB (measured at 1 meter), we heard distortion, and the sound became harsh. If you use the MB42X G2 in a home theater system with a subwoofer, these problems will be much less troublesome.

We also found that playing this tune at full volume through the Micca pair could trigger the protection circuits in small amps like the Fosi Audio BT20A Pro, causing intermittent glitches in the sound. In our measurements, the impedance, while averaging 7 ohms, dropped to 3.9 ohms around the 240 Hz range, which might explain that result. Also, the sensitivity measured at just 82.9 dB at 1 meter with a 2.83-volt (1-watt) signal, which means it requires 2.7 times as much amplifier power as the Polk ES15 to reach a given volume.

The MB line includes only the MB42X G2 and the MB42X-C. Micca offers neither larger models in the same line nor an Atmos-enabled speaker, and none of the company’s other speakers we’ve tried have impressed us.

Compared with passive speakers, powered speakers with built-in amplification allow for a simpler, cleaner setup. They eliminate at least one component (the receiver or amplifier) and at least one cable. All of them have one or more analog audio inputs for you to directly connect your audio source. Most add some sort of digital audio input, and a few even have a phono input for a turntable.

There are some technical merits to building amps into speakers—for example, speaker designers can use digital signal processing to fine-tune the speakers’ sound, and they can limit the amplifiers’ output so that it’s impossible to overdrive the speakers. So-called “active” powered speakers have individual amplifiers for each speaker driver, which lets the designers tune the sound specifically for each driver. But in the price ranges we’re covering here, powered speakers can’t claim a clear sonic advantage over passive speakers.

However, it’s complicated to build a home theater system around powered speakers. You’re usually better off using passive speakers and a multichannel AV receiver.

Top pick: Andover Audio SpeakEasy 4

Top pick

Andover Audio SpeakEasy 4

Best powered bookshelf speakers under $600

These affordable, compact speakers sound very good (though a bit trebly) and include a phono input for use with a turntable, plus an HDMI input for TV use.

Buying Options

$299 from Amazon
(pair)

$299 from B&H

The Andover Audio SpeakEasy 4 is a thoroughly modern powered-speaker system with satisfying sound at a surprisingly reasonable price. With Bluetooth support plus connections for a TV and a turntable, this audio system is all that many people will need.

The sound quality is very good for the price. The SpeakEasy 4 delivers a satisfying, lively sound. In our tests, its lower treble range seemed slightly elevated, which subtly emphasized high-frequency instruments like acoustic guitars and cymbals and also lent an extra touch of clarity to voices without making the sound thin or unnatural. Although it’s no bass powerhouse, it has enough bass to sound full with most musical genres.

The frequency response measurements were decent for an inexpensive model, at ±4.2 dB. We found a dip of about -5 dB in the midrange, which was what made the treble seem elevated. We thought this might give the speaker a “boom and sizzle” sound, with boosted bass and treble, but it sounded more natural to us than the measurements suggested.

Incidentally, the SpeakEasy 4 is an active design, with individual amplifiers for each woofer and tweeter, but it doesn’t match the performance of the ELAC Debut ConneX DCB41, which is powered but not active.

It connects to almost any audio source. In addition to supporting Bluetooth, the SpeakEasy 4 system offers numerous connection options. It has two RCA stereo analog inputs: one for a turntable with a moving-magnet cartridge and the other for line-level sources such as a Wi-Fi music streamer.

An HDMI ARC port lets you connect the SpeakEasy 4 directly to a TV set, so it works much like a soundbar; in this setup, the TV’s remote controls the speaker’s volume. The system also has an optical digital input and a USB jack that lets you play MP3 files stored on a USB stick.

Through the RCA stereo output, you can connect a subwoofer or a second set of speakers, although you have no way to filter the bass out of the SpeakEasy 4 speakers for seamless pairing with a subwoofer.

It’s compact and convenient. The SpeakEasy 4 system measures just 10.5 inches high, 5.9 inches wide, and 8 inches deep, so it fits easily on stands, desktops, and many shelves. Note, though, that the SpeakEasy 4 has a bass port in the rear, so you shouldn’t shove the speakers back against a wall.

The SpeakEasy 4 comes with a small remote control with buttons for power, volume, source selection, and mute, plus play/pause and track-skip buttons to control playback on Bluetooth devices. The system also has a front-mounted knob that adjusts volume, turns the system on and off, and switches among the different inputs, so you don’t have to reach around the back of the speaker if you misplace the remote.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: This speaker pair can’t match the bass power of more expensive systems. In our tests, while the bass sounded fairly full, it couldn’t produce the visceral sense of kick we heard from more expensive pairs, such as our upgrade pick, the ELAC Debut ConneX DCB41. Music with deep, heavy bass, such as EDM or hip-hop, may cause the SpeakEasy 4’s woofers to sound somewhat strained and distorted.

This system isn’t for audio purists. The SpeakEasy 4 doesn’t measure as well, or sound as neutral, as any of our other picks. If you are pickier about sound, step up to our upgrade pick.

Upgrade pick: ELAC Debut ConneX DCB41

Upgrade pick

ELAC Debut ConneX DCB41

An excellent powered speaker with a sleeker style and smoother sound

These powered speakers are costlier than our top pick, but they sound more natural, look nicer, and have a similar feature set.

Buying Options

$600 from Amazon
(pair)

$600 from Walmart
(pair)

If you are serious about sound quality, the ELAC Debut ConneX DCB41 powered speakers are a great choice. The DCB41 is similar to the Andover Audio SpeakEasy 4 in its feature set, with HDMI and phono inputs in addition to Bluetooth, but this system offers better sound and better measured performance. These powered speakers also look much nicer than most speakers in their price range.

This system has an especially clear sound, especially for its size. The DCB41 is considerably more expensive than the SpeakEasy 4, but the performance improvement it offers is obvious. Our panelists praised this system’s clarity, its surprisingly full sound, and its focused, realistic stereo imaging. In our tests it had the natural, uncolored sound we expect from a well-engineered, high-quality speaker. “It’s hard to complain about this one—it’s pretty close to ‘just right,’” one listener said.

The DCB41 system is no bass monster, but the bottom end is pretty impressive for a speaker of this size. On bass-heavy tunes where the SpeakEasy 4’s bass sounded strained and distorted, the DCB41’s bass sounded clean, punchy, and powerful—even though the DCB41 is slightly smaller than the SpeakEasy 4. It offers an XBass Enhancer button on its remote control, but in our opinion the DBC41 doesn’t need bass enhancement, and the function boosts the maximum bass output by only about 1 dB, anyway.

Our measurements showed that the DCB41’s frequency response is essentially flat, at ±2.3 dB through most of the audio band, which means that no instruments or voices stand out unless they’re supposed to.

It connects to almost any audio source. The DCB41 has a stereo RCA input with a switchable phono preamp so that it can connect directly to any turntable, plus USB and optical digital audio inputs, a subwoofer output, and aptX Bluetooth support.

It also has an HDMI ARC port, which lets it connect to a TV and allows the TV’s remote to control the speakers’ volume, so you can use the DCB41 much the way you would a soundbar.

It looks sleek. Thanks to the DCB41 set’s minimalist, modern design, it’s one of the best-looking powered speaker systems we’ve seen. It’s available in black, orange, blue, and walnut finishes. At just 9.6 by 5.5 by 7 inches, it’s compact enough to fit on small shelves, although the rear bass ports make it impractical to shove up against a wall.

The DCB41 comes with a slim remote that controls power, volume, mute, source selection, and play/pause and track skip for Bluetooth sources.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The only control knob is on the rear. If you can’t find the remote, you’ll have to reach around the back of the right-channel speaker to adjust the volume or change sources.

Bass devotees are likely to want more oomph. The DCB41 produces excellent bass for its size, but it can’t match the bass power of speakers with larger woofers. Connecting a subwoofer via the mono RCA output helps, but you have no way to filter the bass out of the DCB41 speakers, so you still hear some bass distortion if you crank up the system.

Other powered bookshelf speakers worth considering

If you want smaller powered speakers and don’t need loud volume or deep bass: The 7-inch-high Audioengine HD3 powered speakers put out a surprisingly full sound that our listeners liked in previous panel tests. The HD3 set offers a rich array of features, including aptX HD Bluetooth support, a USB digital input, a front headphone output, and a variable-level analog audio output that you can use for connecting a subwoofer.

If you want more bass from powered speakers and don’t need lots of features: The Edifier S1000MkII system, a former top pick, offers sound quality comparable to that of the ELAC Debut ConneX DCB41 speakers but with considerably better bass performance (roughly 6 dB more bass output in our testing). However, the S1000MkII system lacks the HDMI and phono inputs found on both of our picks, and it’s comparatively bulky.

I’m a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, currently handling 12 guides on audio gear and providing technical measurements for our headphone guides. I’ve worked as an editor or writer in audio publishing for more than 30 years, and I’ve previously served as a consultant on speaker tuning and measurement for some of the world’s biggest tech companies.

For this guide:

• I tested six new models for the most recent update, and I’ve tested about 36 models over the life of this guide.
• I brought in another listener, drummer and audio production student Kage Shissler, to provide a second opinion. For listeners other than myself, I concealed the identities of the models to avoid bias.
• I ran frequency-response and sensitivity measurements on the contenders to find flaws that our listening sessions might have missed.
• Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.

Here are the criteria we regularly consider when deciding which models to test:

• Size and styling: These speakers are sized and styled to suit a living room or den. If you need something to use with a computer—for gaming or audio production—check out our best computer speakers guide. Note that you can get better sound from these speakers by placing them on stands (such as the Sanus BF24B) rather than on a shelf, because placing them near a wall can make bass sound boomy, and whatever else is on the shelf may rattle.
• Cost: Our price limit for both the passive and powered categories is $600 per pair. Above that price, you’re getting into models for serious audio enthusiasts, who probably already have strong ideas about speakers.
• Wireless connectivity: Among powered speakers, we look only at models that include Bluetooth support. Some of the models we’ve tested offer support for more advanced Bluetooth codecs, such as aptX or aptX HD, but we don’t require that.
• Extra features: All powered speakers include at least one analog audio input, but we try to find models that also have other useful features, such as a phono input, digital audio inputs, and a remote control.

Before conducting listening tests, I try out each system for a couple of days, looking for any difficulties that a listener at home might experience during setup and everyday use. With passive speakers, I also check out the matching center speaker, if one is available.

Next, I conceal the speakers behind a sheet of thin, black fabric and play them for various experts and audio enthusiasts. You can read more about our testing methods in this blog post.

In these tests, we listen mostly for the following:

• Voice clarity: Because humans hear other people’s voices so much, people are especially sensitive to the naturalness of voice reproduction.
• Imaging and spaciousness: Imaging is the ability of stereo speakers to produce focused sonic “images” of the various singers and instruments. Spaciousness, or soundstaging, is the feeling of envelopment that stereo speakers can produce. We prefer speakers that do a good job on both.
• Bass: Research shows that listeners prefer speakers that can play deep bass notes cleanly and loudly. The bass must also be reproduced at a level consistent with the midrange and treble; otherwise the sound becomes boomy or thin.

To get a scientific perspective on these speakers, we run frequency-response measurements on all the contenders. Research shows that listeners consistently prefer speakers that have a “flat” frequency response—which means they produce all frequencies of sound at approximately even levels—and speakers that maintain a similar frequency response whether the listener is sitting directly in front of them or slightly off to the side.

We also measure the sensitivity of the passive speakers, to see how much volume they can deliver with a 2.83-volt (1 watt at 8 ohms) signal at a distance of 1 meter, in a range between 300 Hz and 3,000 Hz. This measurement tells us how much amplifier power a speaker needs to reach high volumes.

A couple of new bookshelf speakers were introduced at the CES 2025 trade show. Two that we’re curious about are the Kanto Audio UKI, a sleek powered-speaker system for $200 slated for availability in the second half of 2025, and the Victrola Tempo, a $200 system with Bluetooth Auracast support and a variety of digital and analog inputs that’s scheduled to ship in spring 2025.

Over the years, we’ve reviewed about 130 bookshelf speaker systems, plus many center and surround speakers. Below are capsule descriptions of some of the systems that we believe are of most interest to Wirecutter readers. If you don’t see a certain model you’re interested in, check out our running list of bookshelf speakers we’ve tested.

Passive speakers

The Dali Oberon 1 set was competitive with the Triangle Borea BR03 pair except in deep-bass performance.

Although the Dayton Audio DB65 is quite handsome for such an inexpensive speaker, in our tests the Micca MB42X G2 sounded clearer and more natural.

The ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 offered sound quality that was about as good as that of the Triangle Borea BR03, but as of our most recent update, it’s about $100 more expensive.

The JBL Stage 250B sounded unnatural to us, with an apparent unevenness in the midrange.

While the KEF Q1 Meta sounded good overall, its treble seemed a little too soft to us.

The Micca RB42 sounded a bit less clear to us than the less-expensive MB42X G2 did.

The NHT SuperZero 2.1 had exceptionally clear treble and natural voice reproduction in our tests, but it has so little bass capability that we can’t recommend using it without a subwoofer and a subwoofer crossover that filters the bass out of the main speakers. The larger SuperOne 2.1 also sounded good, but the Triangle Borea BR03 sounded more spacious and had much stronger bass.

The Q Acoustics 3020i, a former top pick, is a speaker worth considering if you want something that looks less boxy than our current picks. It’s a nice-sounding speaker, but it fell short of our top picks in bass response, and its availability is questionable.

The Sony SS-CS5 pair sounded very good, with slightly soft treble. It’s a good in-between choice if you want a budget speaker that has stronger bass than what you can get from the Micca MB42X G2.

The SVS Ultra Bookshelf speakers produced room-filling bass, but our top pick offered superior midrange and treble performance.

Though the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 and Diamond 12.2 pairs sounded good, they were somewhat soft and mellow in comparison with our picks.

Powered speakers

The Electrohome McKinley system had lots of bass for its size and price, but in our listening tests it produced an unnatural sound that made singers sound as if they were singing into a box.

The House of Marley Get Together Duo is a neat idea—the right speaker has a rechargeable battery, so it can work on its own as a portable speaker. But the speakers’ sound was rather thin and crude in our tests.

The Kanto YU4 set offers a cool design, a phono input, and a reasonable price, but only one of our panelists really liked its sound. A larger version, the Kanto YU6, won over two of our listeners, but the others weren’t impressed.

All of our panelists said that the Q Acoustics M20 speakers had an emphasized midrange that produced a notably thin sound and somewhat dull quality in the treble.

The Triangle Audio Borea BR02 Connect speakers sounded clear in the midrange but very soft in the treble.

This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.