2. speakers
  3. 140726-1604

Big speakers in small room at moderate volume levels

My office is 11’W x 10’L x 9’H and is where I can listen to music for the next few years. I have a toddler and, for now, he has commanded the big spaces in the rest of the house. I have auditioned the Magico A3 and wanted to buy it but that was before I was relegated to the smallish office (I was expecting to move to a bigger room). I have removed the closet doors in this office room. The removal of the closet door gives me another 4 feet of depth to this room, though for only 1/2 width of the room. I can sit unobstructed 8 feet away from the speakers before I hit the area where the closet ends (so near field listening).

I currently I have KEF LS50 with Peachtree Nova 150. It is good and I can listen for the whole day without fatigue. I listen to FM, digital files on ROON, and my Sony SCD-1 SACD player. I want a bigger sound so I am looking at bigger speakers. I also do not want to use a sub since I am not a fan. I will also upgrade the NOVA 150 to the NOVA 500 in Spring 2019 and use with the LS50’s in a bedroom.

I came to the conclusion that my tastes would be best served by one of KEF Reference 1 or Magico A3. I was thinking that I would use the Lyngdorf 3400 in this room but I am having seconds thoughts on this now (some A’gon comments that it maybe a little dry). I am interested in solid state AB units like the Hegel H590 and Mark Levinson 585 to drive the speakers. I have heard the ML 585 and it is a fatigue free sounding unit that was a joy to listen to. I have not heard the Hegel H590 yet (but have heard other Hegels with KEF) and I am in the process of getting an audition of the H590. I have also discounted the class AB Micromega M-One 150 (with MARS room correction) because I do not want a cooling fan blowing in the room.

I must mention that I do not listen that loud when I am working and when I am working very late at night the volume is very low. The Mark Levinson and A3 combo was very good at low volumes during my demo but that was in the dealers perfect large room.

1) Am I making a mistake foregoing room correction with the 2 integrateds I am considering? Should I go with the Lyngdorf and A3 or KEF Ref 1, though I have never heard the Lyngdorf?

2) Will the Magico A3 work in this small room at moderate volumes WITHOUT room correction or will I subject myself to headaches and fatigue?

I am going to ask the dealer selling the A3’s this question when I am ready to buy but i wanted to ask on A’gon first to get some feedback. I doubt I could get the A3’s into my room for a trial but I have not asked the dealer yet.

I think (not 100% sure) the KEF Reference 1 with a non room correcting amp should work in my office space but I would prefer to buy the Magico A3 for the office. I have plans to buy another KEF model once my kid is a bit older and I can kick him out of the big room.
yyzsantabarbara

Showing 3 responses by james63

james63
534 posts
 
Good thread. 

I don’t have any speaker advice but most all of our rooms are not large enough to support bass waves without bending them. Even a 40hz wave is 28’ long and that makes even the 1/2 wave 14’. It is just the way it is… a speaker that goes down to 40hz will still have standing waves (a spike followed by a dip) in most rooms. You need to find the residence of the room and try to trap that frequency. 

With that in mind you need to “eliminate” the room and sit as near field as possible imo. The other key will be NOT to sit with your head near the rear wall where that wave is changing direction. 

If I were you I would be looking at what speaker works the best in extreme near field (thinking driver placement and integration) and think about sitting very close to the speakers. 

 I read the whole thread and see your are off the A3 now but I am curious  why you did not look at the S1?   

This guy says it better than me. 

https://youtu.be/xECtAruK0fM



james63
534 posts
 
yyzsantabarbara,

The vivids look nice but I always ignored them due to price. I have the opposite issue as you with a 27’x25’x7.5’ deticated room (real estate is cheap in Ohio). I have the setup off center and a carefully selected seating position to help with the square room issue.

Low bass seems fine in my room but I struggle to get good mid bass impact and really need big speakers and that gets pricy (good and big…). With my duel subs I have a good bit of flexibility on speaker choice but the A3 is probably the smallest speaker I would go with.

For what it is worth when I was remodeling I put a pair of B&W 803s (not D) in a 12’x11’x8’ room and was really surprised that it sounded fine. I am sure the bass was lumpy but I remember thinking it was pretty enjoyable honestly with great impact in the mid bass. However I did not know much back then and it was my first “real” set of speakers which I grew to hate lol (too harsh).
james63
534 posts
 
Looks like the TAD ME-1 got a price drop to $9,995 (was $14,995) including stands. I have not heard them but I know they were brought up earlier in the thread.

https://youtu.be/_DaUGkEloxs
More to discover