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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
pokey77
1,266 posts
 
The great thing about the SHL5plus and the ME-1s is that the 5plus has a front port and the ME-1s have a diffused side port so neither should interact with the side walls in a meaningful way.

My own thoughts are the 509X should be an easy resell.

I've heard the Magico A3s several times and have never been impressed like you.

Can't wait to hear about your room treatments. GIK is supposed to be a very economical solution.
yyzsantabarbara OP
4,811 posts
 
@pokey77 The A3 is not the best speaker I heard with regards to sound but it does 2 things that are real important to me. It does not sound like the sound is coming from the speaker (it disappears) and the sound stage is large and realistic. Nothing as good as the KEF Blade in this or any regard but pretty good nevertheless.

l also like the sound of the Vivid speakers better but they are too expensive (including new smaller Kiva line) and the Giya are side firing. There were some Maggie like panels (a few different brands) I heard at shows that I liked more than the A3 but they were huge, So the A3 is a good compromise for something to listen to while I work.

I appreciate your suggestion of the Harbeth for listening while I work. I am excited to hear that because it is going to sound different from what I have heard in the past and it is also supposed to sound pleasing. Different from what I have considered my fav’s in the past but I like a lot of different things. The front and side port are something that I have been thinking about favorably for my space.

I actually was not initially impressed by the Magico’s that much. I heard a lot of different Magico models $50K+ (via LA Audio Society). I would never have spent that much on them because they did not do much for me relative to their price. However, at a LA Audio Show a few years ago there were 2 vendors playing Magico S3MKII and I really liked it. I spent a long time at those 2 rooms. That experience made me want to consider the cheaper A3 for an office setting. I am glad I did because the A3 reminded me of the S3MKII sessions. Though the S3MKII sounded a lot better to me.

I must say that my initial experience with GIK has been tremendous. The guy that remotely helped me (Mike Major) was a sound engineer/musician and we had an great talk about sound and rooms. I learned a ton in that short call. I was also very happy to see them come under my estimated budget of $1K. The shipping of panels to California was $230, so if you live close to Georgia, the cost of what I am trying is much cheaper.

@andy8400 Your post got me thinking and I realized I already have an equalizer. I use ROON for my digital playback (about 80% of my playback rest analog) and ROON has a DSP feature. I am using the upsampling feature but never tried the equalizer. I am going to figure out how that works over the Christmas holidays.

@mushka I will send an email to my buddy and post back here using your screen id tags for you get an notification.
crosstrek
2 posts
 
@yyzsantabarbara

I never considered GIK acoustic panels before. Maybe I should try them instead of jumping to Lyngdorf or DSP’s.
Can't wait for your room treatments pictures.
fleschler
2,008 posts
 
Or Vicoustic panels or Synergistic Research HFTs for room treatment.  I eliminated all my diffusing/absorbing 2X4 and other panels in a 25X20X9.5 room with 32 HFTs of various types, mostly placed as instructed.  Worked great on a big room.  Probably very effective on a small room.
yyzsantabarbara OP
4,811 posts
 
@mushka Here is a quote from my buddy about Spendor D7 | Room Size | GIK:Treatments

"They want you to stay as far away as possible from the back wall. Which I would love to do but with a small room 11x13 is simply not possible. I was too close to the speakers and could not enjoy the music at all. Too bright and loud.

I then consulted with my dealer in San Francisco who told me to cover the back wall with Gik 242 2” thick panels or even the 6 inch panels without diffuser plate. So I have 2 thick panels in the middle and 3 reg panels on the back wall almost covering the back wall. I got the largest size ones. Then I could move the couch closer to the back wall. This is a fake attempt to make the wall disappear in the back behind you. I would still want a larger room so I can be away from back wall and away from speakers and speakers are away from front wall. I also have the free stand bass panels on each side between the speaker and listening chair. And I have two very old bass traps in the corners behind the speakers.

I must say that the GIK stuff makes a huge difference. When I got the system and it was broken in for months it was still unlistenable. Lot of echo and brightness in the room But with room treatments everything changed. And it tamed down the room. I love GIK products. I added few at a time due to cost and to try to experiment and fine tune the room with placement of traps and speaker and seat positioning experiments.

I do feel that even though spender is the smallest floor stander I could find at the time. It’s still a little too powerful for the room I have. I think spendor will open up a lot more in a medium sized room. Not a small sized room. "

yyzSantaBarbara:
I my room, the wall behind me opens up to the closet space and I also have a door entrance that I can open. So my issues are slightly different my my buddies.
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