Best Speaker for audiophile-grade small room rig

MAGICO V2 wonderful.

Smaller OHM Microwalsh or 1000 floorstanders worth consideration in addition to all the good smaller monitors mentioned.

Totem Arro floorstanders or slightly larger models worth a look also.

Don't forget you need decent stands to go with monitors wheras you do not have to worry about that with the smaller and better floorstanders.

Way to bump up an 8 year old thread!

merlin vsm

The Reference 3a MM de Capo i would be worth looking into, as well as the Coincident Triumph Signature UHS. Face it, there are about a zillion excellent small two-ways out there that will fill the bill.

If you have sufficient amplifier power available , the little ATC SCM7's are very hard to beat. I've had Spendor S3/5's, SP1/5's,LS3/5a's, Harbeth P3 ES-2's, Monitor Audio Studio 2's, and find the ATC's to be the most satisfying so far. Don't try to drive these with 25-30 watts, though. They are tiny (11.8"x6"x8" lwh) but demand strong amplification and a high quality front end . They will reward you with sound and music out of all proportion to their size. I drive mine with Odyssey Stratos monoblocks, and occasionally with a 60wpc tube amp, about the bare minimum from which I would expect decent dynamics.

PMC LB-1 Signatures or a pair of PMC DB-1's with a James EMB=1000 Sub. Both are optimized for a smaller environment. Both will knock your socks off. The LB-1's are used to monitor in many DVD and CD mastering labs.

Kevin
The Sound Broker

Highly recommend you listen to the Piega C3 or C3 ltd. Stereophile has a review of the C-8 ltd in this issue . Same speaker only smaller.

Merlin TSM's or Focus Audio 688

I have a pair of Hales Sig 2's in a room about this size. They sound really good, probably due to the fact that they are a sealed design and use 7" drivers. I would agree with above posts that a sealed system will work best for you.

I concur with Cellorover on the Penaudio speakers. They are brand new to the US but the little suckers are an amazing speaker with a very dynamic and natural sound. Contact Joe Abrams he is a great guy.

Good luck

I have posted in the past on best small monitors. Look at Penaudio. They offer a progressive growth listening system concept that allows you to build your system based upon price and sound all within the same footprint. Their $1500 Rebel 2 are an excellent starting point. Joe Abrams of Portal Audio is their US importer. I have been using their Chrisma monitor for a year and will never change. Send me an e-mail off line if you want more info.

I suggest either the Dynaudio Special 25 or the Totem Mani-2
both are highly regarded. For my taste, I also like rock and
female vocalist (Enya & Patricia Barber)so I prefer the Mani-2. I got a pair after reading the Stereophile review, first time that I have purchase a pair of speakers without hearing them. The bass is incredible deep and tight, mid and hi are top class. Good luck.

My vote spendors...great 3-d imaging and transparency...I own Green Mountain Europas...which are awesome...but they do require a bigger room...at any rate...a number of Brit monitors come to mind...Harbeth,Castle,Rogers, and Linn...good luck...

I had a room of almost identical dimensions and had tremendous success with Aerial Acoustics Model 5s. They're perfect for nearfield listening. Most speakers need some distance between you and them to integrate properly and to tame the tweeter. The tweeter on the Model 5 is one of the best I've ever heard. Smooth, airy and...oh, so extended.

Stay away from ported speakers. They'll only frustrate you. If you need the bottom two octaves use a subwoofer (REL Strata?).

In my opinion, the Aerials are head and shoulders above the rest of the above recommendations with the exception perhaps of the ProAc 1SC or Harbeth Compact 7ES, but I believe the Aerial Model 5 is better suited to such a small room and would be an excellent match with your electronics.

Let us know what you end up with.

I also have a square, 14 x 14, listening room. I have the Harbeth M30's, and recently set them up to listen diagonally. The improvement in the bass ( and overall sound) was huge. The Harbeth is a great speaker,like many of the above recommendations, but the square room is tricky to work with.
Good luck,
Mike

I would be first be concerned with the room interaction. I had a friend that had a 10X10X10 foot room with terrible bass problems. It is very possible that you will have great speakers that will drive you crazy. I second anyone that recommends, listen IN YOUR ROOM first.

That said, many of the speakers above are excellent and there are many more. I wouldn't buy anything without trying the B&W805 signatures, the Krell LAT2 or their new less expensive bookshelf, the small Dynaudio, the Totem 1 signatures, a small Martin Logan, or the Red Rose.

Seeing my list above, you surely have your work (or fun) cut out for you.

Richard

Joseph RM-7's are an excellent speaker worthy of the other components in your system.

Green Mountain Europas. Phenomenal transparency and soundstaging.

Harbeth Compact 7's or M30's (The M40's listed above are WAY to big.)
JM Reynaud Trente

I love the Dyns.

http://pic4.videogon.com/i/he2003/f/1055027557.jpg

That'a a great list of monitors. Add the new Harmonic Precision Caravelle to that list. I just sold my M20s for these babies. Should get delivery in a few days. Will give you the tympanic low down when I've listened galore. Remember, monitor speakers require stands. And stands will add significant $$ to your system/a fundemental extension of the speaker. peace, warren

Be sure to try them in your room. I do not have a large room either. I found that rear ported speakers did not work well in my room. See my system if you like. I have some changes planned, but it sounds good now. Also, I recently upgraded to Osiris stands. The advice about good stands for monitors is correct.

Near field speakers is the way to go in a small room.

Remember, when using monitor speakers, a set of good stands is required or else you're not able to hear the lower frequencies clearly.

The Proac Response 1SC is among the finest small speakers out there and would be particularly good with your associated electronics and music preferences.

I would suggest you to listen to:
Dynaudio S 25 & Conf' 1 & Cont' 1.4
JMLab Micro Utopia Be
Totem Mani-2/1S
Revel M22
Kef R201
B&W 805S
Harbeth M40
Atc 20SL
Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage

I would also add Von Schweikert VR1's to the above list.

i would second muzikat's opinion: Joseph and totem. i have both the totem model 1's and the totem arros. very nice sounding speakers. i think these speakers would match well with your other components.

Some speakers that work well in a small room:

Neat Petite
AVI Neutron III
Joseph Audio RM7si
ATC SCM7
Totem Arros

Perhaps the Red Rose speakers and accompanying amplifier.

I've heard this system last summer at Acoustic Sounds in Salina, KS. I thought it was a pretty fantastic sounding system. At least in the room they had it setup in.

-IMO