15k USD Speakers for Classical and Pop Extended Listening, Near setup, Low volume

I am from Toronto (yyz) but now live in Santa Barbara, CA. There is a great CODA dealer out of Winnipeg I forgot the guy’s name. Doug at Coda can give you the dealer info for Canada.

Your room is much better than mine for audio. Whatever, you put in there can be made to sound great. Even a floor stander would work in that space. If you are in Toronto, go to Kennedy HiFi and listen to the Yamaha NS3000 monitor. I have the NS5000 speaker in the Livingroom and it is much better than the LRS+. I love the LRS+ in the office but the NS5000 in the bigger space is something else. My friend Danny was raving about the NS5000. My intention was to get the Yamaha NS3000 monitor from Canada (not sold in USA) and use with the KEF KC62 sub. However, the LRS+ made that moot. Do not let the Yamaha name fool you, this is Magico, Vivid, et al level audio genius.

The Sanders amp was built by CODA long ago on Sanders specs. I like it more that the CODA #8 amp (splitting hairs). The #8 would work great with any speaker. The new CODA S5.5 I do not think would be ideal for the LRS+. Would be amazing with the NS3000.

A better approach would be to put the speaker behind you so that the desk is not a big reflective surface. If you do not want to do that then some small monitors on the desktop (preferably with some DSP) would be choice #2 for me.

Office System | Virtual Listening Room (audiogon.com)

Take a look at my office Virtual System and see how I eliminated my desk as a reflective surface and also my computer (100% silent) connected to 6 monitors. The sound is excellent though I needed to treat the room OR use DSP via Convolution filters running on ROON (or JRiver). I do not use the DSP anymore with my current speakers, the Magnepan LRS+ ($1000).

Professional DSP for $750

I have not heard the following French speaker brand, but reviews are stating that it is a bit better than the Maggie. The cost is a lot more $8k - $50k.

LRS+ Competitor (click PRODUCTS).

The LRS+ is amazing on low volume, with a soundstage that is hard to match. I use the $1k speaker with a $16k amp that is very powerful. It is actually not overkill since the speaker needs a powerful amp. A $1000 used PeachTree GAN400 also worked well with this speaker, though not as good as my CODA #16 amp.

I listen for a min of 8 hours a day, M - F.

My friend Danny who knows more about audio that I ever will recently came over to listen to my other system. He listened to my office system too. He was blown away by the LRS+ and said why would you need anything else in a small room such as mine.

Listening skills (my friend who critiqued the LRS+)

Given the space the LRS+ is a great choice. Listening to the speaker behind me has never been an issue. The room is so small and filled with music. Imaging, soundstage, details, are all as expected if facing the speaker.

The LRS+ is the best sounding speaker I have had in this room. Not saying it is the best speaker I have had in the room, but the best sounding when the room interactions are taken into account. I think the LRS+ is easier to place and that soundstage is huge and deep.

Here are the amps that I used with the LRS+ and were good to phenominal.

• PeachTree GAN400 (400 watts Class D GAN, $1000 used) GOOD
• Sanders MagTech (Magnepan + Tech, Class AB 500 | 9000 watts @ 8 |4) GREAT
• CODA #16 (mostly Class A (100 watts). 150 | 300 | 600) Phenominal

I also use ROON. Mitch Barnett at Accurate Sound will make almost ANY speaker sound good in your space. So that can be a safety net for you. His solution is configured remotely (with measurements by you) and works great on ROON. I do not use this anymore, but it can make a bad audio situation great.

I use a Schitt Yggi+ Less Is More DAC at around $2400). I love this DAC and it replaced my Lumin X1. Though I neeed a streamer for the Yggi+. The Lumin X1 streamer is amazing. I also use fibre optic with the Ygg+ and previously with the Lumin X1 (easier with this one).

If you are interested in a MagTech amp. I would be interested in selling it since I plan on using my CODA #16 permanently with the LRS+ and I am almost sure to be getting the latest CODA SYSTEM 150 for my Livingroon system, where the Sanders now resides. I want Class A over AB for the NS5000 speaker.

BTW - prior speaker that are also very good in my office was the KEF LS50 Meta with the KC62 sub. Do not put a floorstander in a small room. It can work well but you can get great with a speaker with less volume. The LRS+ sounds much bigger.

A floor stander like the Paradigm Personal 3F with a super warm amp. Something along those line. I may have misspoken when I said a floor stander could work great. I was assuming the clear listening space was 13 x 21. I now think that is your overall room size. Your fellow Canadian Mitch Barnett can make almost any floor stander work in your room. I speak from experience.

If you like classical music, then the LRS+ is what I would try first. It will have a bigger sound stage and depth than any bookshelf. The French brand I mentioned may have a better driver, but for a small space the LRS+ is amazing.

The KEF LS50 Meta + KEF KC62 sub were great but the soundstage is smaller than the LRS+. The Yamaha NS3000 will have the very best driver from anything I mentioned. Maybe the best in the world for a cone.

I use the KEF KC62 sub with a crossover setting at 50Hz for the LRS+. It is hard to beat this in a small space at any price.

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Here is another option that will sound better than anything else in a small space (no room to deal with). I use this for late night listening while I work.

RAAL 1995 Immanis (I use the older phones, until I can afford the Immanis)

BTW - I have photos of my office in the link provided that show LRS+ | Thiel CS3.7 | KEF LS50 Meta.

@grislybutter So you were underwhelmed when you heard a speaker behind you? Total opposite of how I hear my office system.

The KEF Reference 1 was a speaker I was considering. However, I upgraded my KEF LS50 to the KEF LS50 Meta and heard a big improvement. Contrary to what I read online about it being a minor improvement. I have really good gear and could hear the difference. 

The KEF LS50 Meta and the KEF KC62 sub will have more bass than the Refence 1. The Ref 1 will have better concentric driver. Now what is more flexible when you have room issues. I think the LS50 Meta + KC62. The room is the most important piece in your situation. Only way to eliminate the room is headphones or call Mitch (DSP done professionally). 

The Yamaha NS3000 monitor will be much better than the KEF Reference 1, Magico A1, Vivid S12, Focal top end monitor. Just have a listen to the NS3000 and use that as a baseline to see if you can get better. The LRS+ is still what I would take in my office over the easier to drive NS3000. My room is smaller than yours and I am at the edge of making it sound bad. 

The 3-way Reference 1 will work in your space, but I think it leave a little less margin for error than the other 2-way montors I mentioned. Though in my space the LRS+ would be best for soundstage, depth, and even bass (shocking) since it does not overwhelm.

@akg_ca Are you speaking from experience? of doing this in a small room. If not then you need to understand the issues of a desk, monitors, and others reflecting in front of you. That will be worse than elevator music.

@ilikeclassical I gave you a link to my buddy who is in the audio business with some background info on his audio skills. I got an enthusiastic stamp of approval from him on the LRS+ setup. My prior setup with the Thiel CS3.7 was not really that good and he told me so. I ended up doing a lot of changes in furniture positioning, dsp, reflections etc (no gear changes) to improve the CS3.7.

My rear facing setup is so good that my 2-channel setup rivals my RAAL earphone setup. People I know have dumped their Magicos to go with the RAALs.

If you plan to place your speakers in front of you then look at something that you can place on your desk or even the Vandersteen mini thing that goes on the ceiling. It will all be a pale imitation to what I am suggesting with the rear facing setup.

I have not tried the Vandersteen (not a fan of the sound) but I have tried Audience 1+1 | KEF LS50 | Audioengine A2 on my desk and they were universally mediocre. I did not try it on front of me since I intuitively knew it would be worse than on the desk with the issue of reflections.

If you are close by, go have a listen to this and compare with Magico, Vivid, KEF, Focal, Paradigm in the same price range or much higher. I have with the bigger NS5000.

NS-3000 – Custom Home Automation Solution, Entertainment Systems (kennedy-hifi.com)

@ilikeclassical You have a great room for your office. I think you can get a floor stander in there easy. Not too big though.

Just for giggles why not try moving your desk back a bit more and them move your chair closer to the speaker side and listen with your back to the speakers. You will have 0 obstruction between the speakers and your ears. The only way I do it with my office and Livingroom (facing the speaker).

Anything between the speaker and me is a sonic irritant.

Some of the photos I have seen of office systems makes me think people do not spend too much time in those spaces. Last year, I had 2 full-time jobs and spent a min of 18 hours a day in the office. Great thing I had incredible sound to help me make money.

@ilikeclassical look at my office. It was a PIA to make sound great. I have 6 monitors and 1 silent computer. I sit at the desk and have NOTHING between the speakers and my ears. I say do the same thing for yourself or at least try it out.

Office System | Virtual Listening Room (audiogon.com)

I am not a huge classical music listener, but I would think you want something with depth and a big soundstage. The Maggies are great at this type of sonic presentation. They also have less issues with side wall reflection. All of these points on how the sound gets to your ears are important in a small space. Especially, if you have ears that get irritated by bad sound and spend a lot of hours working.

As I said before the LRS+ is killer in my smaller space. In your space it would also be great, maybe even a bigger Maggie. However, if I were you I would also consider the 

Diptyque audio - Hauts-parleurs plans Haute-Fidélité - dp107 at $8k

Diptyque audio - Hauts-parleurs plans Haute-Fidélité - dp-140MKII at $18k

for your space. The reason being that the above 2 speakers are supposed to sound like a cleaner Maggie. The LRS+ is not the cleanest sounding speaker to me, but with my CODA #16 amp it is just beautiful. The above 2 speakers are supposed to have even better ribbons than the LRS+. 

I am not going to try the Diptyque speakers because I think my room is too small and I do not want to mess with a good thing. I have less margin for error, unless I use the DSP I mentioned earlier.

For a monitor the Yamaha NS3000 at $15k CAD would be great. Definitely, better drivers than the KEF Reference 1 and many others. I have the bigger NS5000 and the drivers on that are unsurpassed. Nobody has a tweeter, mid, and 12-inch woofer made from the same material, with the material having the same performance characteristics of Beryllium.

Lucky for you both suggestions I make are available in Canada for demo. Not so in the USA.

No recommendations about speakers from me on this one, but just a remark about the poster advocating for placing the speakers BEHIND the listener. I could not disagree more. As far as I know the human ear is designed with the full opening in FRONT of the ear and a flap in the back to better direct the sound into the ear. Just saying, why fight mother nature on this one.

Consider which is the lesser of 2 evils. Sitting backwards or having an obstruction in front of your face. Test it out before coming to a conclusion.

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Here is a 2-channel experience without 2-channel speakers. You do look funny with these on,

SR-1b • RAAL-requisite (raalrequisite.com)

I sold mine to raise money for the new RAAL 1995 Immais. The Immanis is not as 2-channel like as the SR1b. The Immanis are vying for the title of the world's best. Going against the $50k+ headphones.

@audiotroy I think you mean that you DISAGREE with me about the speakers being behind. Coming from you I take that comment with some interest since you are rather knowledgeable about audio.

From my perspective my brain is not messed up with the unobstructed sound from behind me. I am totally messed up with sound on my desk or obstructed by monitors. It sounds awful that way.

Maybe I am a freak. Rick James style.

. 

@ilikeclassical You should also consider the following. I do not like headphones, but these are. different (especially the (SR1a/SR1b). They do not replace 2-channel for me in my office, but they do serve the purpose of late-night listening. I used to look for gear that sounded great at low volume, which I have, but I now always use the phones late at night.

(52) RAAL 1995 headphones, Magna and Immanis | Page 47 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

I have spoken with people who have replaced entire 2-channel systems, such as Magico based to go with the older SR1a. The new stuff is supposed to be even better.

Send me a DM if you are curious about what the heck I am talking about.

@ilikeclassical I mentioned that I had the Magnepan LRS+ in my small office. It sounds amazing in there. However, if I had your room I would look into this speaker (I mentioned before) or maybe the one below it. I would use an amp like my CODA #16 (slightly warm with tons of power).

I just saw this review tonight.

Diptyque DP 140 MkII | HFA - The Independent Source for Audio Equipment Reviews (hifi-advice.com)

BTW - this review mentions the great and cheap headphone I use in my office in comparison to the reviewed speaker. Something that I had also done with my headphones and the LRS+.

Sometime this week I will (or supposed) to get the next version of this headphone. I will post a photo of the demo pair(s).