7 Best Bookshelf Speakers for Rock Music Under $2000 Review

The 7 best sounding bookshelf speakers for rock music under 2000 review in 2022 (Updated)

We just updated this article, looking at the 7 best sounding bookshelf speakers for rock music under $2000. I love all kinds of rock music so that I mainly am testing out the five sets of speakers I got the chance to look at with. So if you want an epic set of speakers to help you rock out, you have come to the right place.

Why Do I Need Bookshelf Speakers?

You may think that the floor standing speakers along with the center one are more than enough for you. However, if you love to have your music really surround you then you need some bookshelf speakers to put at the rear of your room. Actually, if you are tight on space, you could even use a great set of bookshelf speakers as your main speakers if you wanted. I though, think they are best when used to give you a more surround sound kind of vibe.

The 7 Best Bookshelf Speakers For Rock Music Under $2000

Here are five of the best bookshelf speakers you can get for under 2 grand right now. I have also handpicked another couple that I feel are worth you taking a closer look at.

  1. KEF LS50 Mini Monitor – High Gloss Piano Black
  2. Focal Aria 906 2-Way Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers
  3. Kanto YU3 4″ 2-Way Powered Bookshelf Speakers with aptX Bluetooth 4.0
  4. Monitor Audio Silver 100 Bookshelf Speaker Black Oak Pair
  5. Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) 2way Book Shelf Type Speaker
  6. Monitor Audio Studio Premium Bookshelf Loudspeaker Pair Black
  7. FOCAL 2 Way Bookshelf Speaker Aria 906 PW

1. KEF LS50 Mini Monitor – High Gloss Piano Black

1. KEF LS50 Mini Monitor - High Gloss Piano Black

Pros:

  • The look cool
  • Sound is amazing
  • Great if you are a rocker like me
  • Price is incredibly reasonable

Cons:

  • Gloss black may not be to your taste
  • No other negatives I can think of!

At right around the 1000 bucks mark these KEF LS50 Mini Monitor speakers are well worthy of a spot on our best bookshelf speakers for rock music under $2000. The pair that I checked out had a black gloss finish to them and I really like this. The gloss though does of course attract dust and fingerprints, but they also have standard black and white for you to choose from. These are the perfect size for bookshelf speakers and they fitted on my rear shelves perfectly. They have a really cool design to them and while I like to have my bookshelf speakers kind of hidden away. If you were to have these as your main speakers or even on the actual wall in plain sight, I think you would be happy with how they look as they do look really cool, sleek and modern.

As far as the sound goes these are powered by the trademark Uni-Q driver. The aim of this driver which is right in the heart of the speaker is to give as a realistic a sound as possible. The sound is truly mind blowing, I was not prepared for the power that these had. So much so that I first used them as rear speakers, but then tested them as main speakers. The song that got the pleasure, first of all, was Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue a true 80’s rock classic and that piano section at the start and then Vince Neil’s vocals blew me away. I think you would easily get away with having these as your main speakers and of course, they work.

What Other People Are Saying

While there are many reviews for these online, the best place to look is Amazon where these have a 90 percent rating! The best description I found was what this Amazon review had to say. “I was stunned, ABSOLUTELY STUNNED, at the sound that came out of the these speakers”. There are many others who say the same thing, but I can relate to this as I too was stunned at the powerful and clear sound. these produced

The KEF LS50 Mini Monitor speakers impressed me as soon as I took them out of the box. The high black gloss may not be to your taste, but you do have options. The sound though is truly amazing. No matter if it is for your rock music or even if it is for movies. These speakers work as rear speakers or as your main speakers for your setups.

2. Focal Aria 906 2-Way Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers

2. Focal Aria 906 2-Way Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers

Pros:

  • They have a really cool style
  • Sound is very powerful
  • Nice strong and solid build
  • Great if you love to listen to your music loud

Cons:

  • Might be a little larger than you would like
  • A little break in time

I have been a fan of the folks at Focal Aria for quite some time and I have tested a few of their floor standing speakers. So getting the chance to have a look at these Focal Aria 906 2-Way Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers was something I was very excited about. I love the style of these. The all black style is something that I have always liked in a set of speakers and what I think Focal Aria have done very well here is create a set of bookshelf speakers that look both badass and elegant. I really think that the style of these would allow them to fit into pretty much any setup. At around $1,500 the asking price is not bad at all and well under our 2 grand limit.

As these are from Focal Aria, I knew the sound would be great. I was in a bit of a grungy mood so I settled on some Nevermind from Nirvana to test these out. These are powered by the Flax cone which I have seen Focal Aria use before. The idea of these speakers is that they provide as rich a sound as possible. They are designed for audiophiles and while I feel that there is a little breaking in required on these, I was very happy with the sound quality that they produced. Listening to Nevermind put me onto a bit of a path that ended up with me rocking out to the Foo Fighters greatest hits. While I am talking about the best bookshelf speakers for rock music under $2000. I have to say that these would be great for any kind of music, especially live music. Even for movies, they have some real kick no matter if you are using them as your main or rear speakers.

What Other People Are Saying

The people at What Hi-Fi gave these speakers a glowing review and what really related to me was when they said this. “It’s a big sound for starters. There’s a sense of scale here that we rarely, if ever, hear at this price. It’s tall, wide, and effortlessly encompassing. It’s also muscular, with enough authority to hold you to your seat, but not so much that you feel bullied.” I really could not agree with this anymore and for rock music, it is exactly what you want.

https://youtu.be/66lge9ufQlQ

Here’s a video from Sound Sommelier.

Man these speakers are awesome! I love to listen to my music loud (when my wife is not home of course), but sometimes this can result in a lack of clarity. That is not the case with the Focal Aria 906 2-Way Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers. I ended up playing around with these for the better part of a whole day, that is how much fun I was having listening to my favorite album and checking out some movies on Netflix as well.

3. Kanto YU3 4″ 2-Way Powered Bookshelf Speakers with aptX Bluetooth 4.0

3. Kanto YU3 4" 2-Way Powered Bookshelf Speakers with aptX Bluetooth 4.0

Pros:

  • Fantastic price
  • They have a really smart design
  • Body feels very strong
  • They have Bluetooth connectivity

Cons:

  • You will have to break them in
  • Not the loudest speakers I have ever tested

These Kanto YU3 4″ 2-Way Powered Bookshelf Speakers are really cool looking. I am not the biggest “silver” fan on the planet when it comes to my entertainment devices, but these do have a sharp look to them. These do have Bluetooth connectivity which is great if your receiver is set up for that. It means you can have them as rear speakers and not have to have speaker cable running over the room. You can also still connect them with speaker cable which is what I did as I am old and set in my ways, but the Bluetooth connectivity is great for those that would make use of it.

I will admit that Kanto is not a company I have used, I think I tested a full setoff theirs a few years back. Anyway, the sound of these is actually quite good. These are powered by a silk dome tweeter and Kevlar drivers that are 4 inches. This provides more power than you would think and as I gradually cranked up the volume while listening to Use Your Illusion 2 (which is the better of the two albums) the sound was actually really good. I think these worked better as rear speakers than they did main speakers, but at slightly over a thousand bucks the sound is actually better than I thought it would be. You are going to have to give these some breaking in to get them to their best, but that is not a bad thing.

What Other People Are Saying

A YouTube channel called Techmoan has a pretty good review of these speakers. What I liked about this review was how he talks about how good the Bluetooth quality of the speakers is which is something I am sure many of you will find interesting.

When it comes to the best bookshelf speakers for rock music under $2000 I feel that as the  Kanto YU3 4″ 2-Way Powered Bookshelf Speakers are closer to a thousand than two, they are great if you want to try and get as much bang for your buck as possible. They look cool, are well made and the sound is actually better than I thought it would be.

4. Monitor Audio Silver 100 Bookshelf Speaker Black Oak Pair

4. Monitor Audio Silver 100 Bookshelf Speaker Black Oak Pair

Pros:

  • Very cool and elegant style
  • I love how solid they feel
  • Sound was great out of the box
  • Different colors are available

Cons:

  • Some say there is some break in time
  • Black ash might not be your thing

Now, these are really neat. I love the kind of old school vibe that these Monitor Audio Silver 100 Bookshelf Speakers have. They are made with very strong wood and I was actually very impressed with how solid and well made they were. They have gone for a black ash kind of effect and it makes them look great at a distance, but when you look at them up close, you notice all the little details that give these small, but awesome bookshelf speakers their personality. Also, the asking price of right around a thousand bucks is more than fair for speakers of this build quality.

Driving these bad boys are a 8 inch RST Bass/Mid driver and a gold dome C-Cam tweeter. Monitor Audio have done a great job here and they are far more powerful than they first look. I started off by using these as main speakers. The album that went first was none other than Born In The USA by the Boss himself. I love using this album to test new speakers as the title track has a real kick as soon as it starts and I was very impressed with how these sounded out of the box. I am really not sure if there is much in the way of breaking in required with these as they rocked my socks off right from the start and I ended up listening to these for the better part of a day and was happy with the sound quality. I even used them as rear speakers to see how they would be for some surround sound action and they were great.

What Other People Are Saying

While this is not an album I would listen to the sentiment is exactly how I feel about these speakers. “Playing Bicep’s eponymous album of last year, for example, the Silver 100s don’t just time well, they’re consummately adept at delivering the energy harnessed within each snapping rhythm. At the same time they leave enough headroom for intensity to build in each track.” Is what the guys at What Hi-Fi had to say. They did say that they feel these take a few days to break in, but I never noticed that.

Another review from Audioreviewchannel.

These Monitor Audio Silver 100 Bookshelf Speaker are rather unassuming speakers. When you hold them though, you will be very impressed with how solid they feel and how well made they are. They also look really cool. while I love the black ash, other colors are available. If you want awesome sound for your rock music I really think you will be impressed with these. Especially considering you will still have close to a grand to spend after you buy these which you can use to get some more records!

5. Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) 2way Book Shelf Type Speakers

5. Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) 2way Book Shelf Type Speakers

Pros:

  • They have a kind of old school vibe to them
  • Great as main speakers
  • Also great as rear speakers
  • Very impressively made

Cons:

  • Bass is a little on the weak side
  • Price is a little closer to 2 grand than I would like

I know that the slightly boxy look and the 80’s design is going to make these Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) 2way Book Shelf Type Speakers something of an acquired taste. These are pretty pricey and depending on where you shop can come in close to our price limit here. Still I do think that these are worthy of a space on our best bookshelf speakers for rock music under $2000 as they have a style that I think is really cool and kind of like the speakers I had back in my room when I was a kid and my folks would yell at me to turn down Poison, Bon Jovi or whatever I was rocking out to.

As far as the sound quality of these goes, out of the box, I knew that there was certainly some breaking in required. Luckily I had a weekend to do this and the more I listened to them the more impressed I was. For some reason, I was on a bit of a live music kick and decided to listen to my bootleg, Bon Jovi Unplugged album and was blown away at how good it sounded. I am not just talking about using them as main speakers either, you can put these on your shelves or on the wall behind you and be truly immersed in the music. The one thing I will say is that the bass is a little weak. At this price range, I really would have expected a little more kick at higher volumes.

What Other People Are Saying

There is not actually a whole lot about these online. On Amazon though there is a pretty glowing review. The review said this about them, “these 707’s were very noticeably more clear in the sound than the 600’s”. which is great as the 600’s are also a great set of speakers so hearing that someone feels these are better is a pretty big endorsement.

Here’s another review from Abt Electronics.

The Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) 2way Book Shelf Type Speakers are a set of speakers that I had a lot of fun with and spoiler alert some of my favorite speakers at this price range. They have a really cool style that I dig and even though the bass is a little weak compared to some of the other speakers I really did have a great few days putting these through their paces.

6. Monitor Audio Studio Premium Bookshelf Loudspeaker Pair Black

6. Monitor Audio Studio Premium Bookshelf Loudspeaker Pair Black

Pros:

  • Love the style
  • Tweeter on display in the middle is really cool
  • Solid build quality
  • Reviews appear to be pretty good

Cons:

  • Tweeter in the middle may not float your boat
  • Price could be an issue

I think Monitor Audio make some great speakers so I wanted to pick another set of their speakers for you guys to consider. Now granted I have not personally tested, but they do fit on our best bookshelf speakers for rock music under $2000 as they are available for around the 1200 to 1400 mark. I really like the style of these, they are made in a nice, dark black style and I like how this is broken up a little bit by having the tweeter on full display in the middle. They are kind of unassuming, but if you want these hidden and kind of out of the way that is one thing that you will like about these.

Powering these bookshelf speakers are the same internals that are powering Monitor Audio’s Platinum II range of speakers. This means that they are going to have some serious power and also some great clarity. Now of course, I have not actually used these so I cannot say for myself how they sound. However, as a rock fan who has used Monitor Audio speakers before I am sure these will have some serious kick to them.

What Other People Are Saying

A music lover and YouTuber called AudioReviewChannel had some nice things to say about these speakers. He seems impressed with not just the overall build quality of the speakers, but also the sound that they produce. He seems very impressed with them and you can actually see him using them in the video so these do seem quite good.

These Monitor Audio Studio Premium Bookshelf Loudspeakers are a set of speakers that I do hope to get the chance to try out at some point. I love the style of them and having that tweeter exposed in the middle of them really does give them some personality. The sound appears to be good as well so these could be something that are worth you taking a closer look at.

7. FOCAL 2 Way Bookshelf Speaker Aria 906 PW

7. FOCAL 2 Way Bookshelf Speaker Aria 906 PW

Pros:

  • They have that cool Focal style
  • Strong build quality
  • They look fantastic
  • Will give you many years of use

Cons:

  • Price is a little high
  • There will be some breaking in required

I found these awesome looking FOCAL 2 Way Bookshelf Speakers on Amazon and while they are a little over 2 grand and appear to be a Japanese import they really caught my attention. These are very elegant looking speakers, I love the walnut sides along with the black speaker grill they really do mesh well together and the slight curvy design really does give these a lot of personality. For me, these look so cool that I would not want to have them hidden on a bookshelf somewhere. I would much rather have them out on display as they look so cool.

I have tested a ton of Focal Aria speakers over the last couple of years and I have never been disappointed. So while I have not personally tested these speakers I am very confident that they will sound great. I am sure they will have a bit of breaking in required and also you will have to play around with their positioning a little bit, but I am fully confident these will rock your socks off no matter if you are listening to some Iron Maiden, Guns n Roses, Foo Fighters or whatever you are into. These are actually a variant of the other Focal Aria speakers I reviewed further up the list, but if solid black is not your thing, I think you will really like the walnut style these ones have.

What Other People Are Saying

I did a little digging around and found that a review on the AV Forums site was impressed with these speakers. “The Aria 906 breaks new ground for me in terms of Focal’s offerings. The elements that have always been Focal strong points are still here. It offers superb tonality, a wonderful soundstage and it is built like a Swiss watch.” His review actually makes me want to give these a try.

https://youtu.be/66lge9ufQlQ?list=TLPQMjExMjIwMTmERuGRAPTJ3g

Here’s what sound sommelier has to say about this.

What Are The Best Bookshelf Speakers For Rock Music Under $2000?

I had a rocking good time checking all these out and I have three clear favorites that I am actually having a hard time choosing between. For the price, the KEF LS50 Mini Monitor speakers really did impress me from their sound quality to their awesome sleek black design. Plus they are great if you want high quality, but want to be closer to one grand than two.

I was also very impressed with the Focal Aria 906 2-Way Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers. These are a little on the large side, but I do think that adds to their awesomeness I think as far as sound quality goes these are my favorite on the list and really hard to beat. My other choice are the Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) 2way Book Shelf Type Speakers which if the bass was just a little more powerful could have been my top pick.

I think if I had to pick a personal favorite and say for sure what the best bookshelf speakers for rock music under $2000 are. I would give the price to the Focal Aria 906 2-Way Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers. I love the style, the sound and the look of these. Also, remember at the very bottom of my list are those same kind of speakers, but in a different style.

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