Amater, thanks. It seems every time I find a speaker I really want to try, I find lots of posts about why it won't work for me.
A few months ago there was a pair of Harbeth SHL-5's for sale locally and the "consensus" was they would not sound good with the Bryston gear. I thought about it too long and they were sold.
The C1's seem to have a pretty good resale value, so if I can buy them for a good price, I should be able to sell them if I don't like them. I have a feeling I won't won't be selling them.
On another note, I have read some great reviews on the Volent Paragon VL-2 speakers. Anyone have or heard these? |
I agree with Amater -- you don't need a big room for these speakers. The C1s will sound best when placed away from side and back walls, but so will every other ported speaker. And yet most people seem to put their speakers right against the wall behind them, in the corners and with a big audio rack in between.
My room is 22' x 14' x 8', so I can bring my C1s out into the room where they sound best (about 3' from side walls, 4' from rear wall and 9' from listener). But I had them in a smaller room before and they sounded great there too. |
Ben77059, do not count me to the "consensus". I wrote (see above) that my room measures 12 x 16,7 and I'm quite pleased with the sound of C1s. |
Drubin, I did a search on Pwfletcher and found his closet. I didn't read thru all the posts, but I wonder if anyone told him the speakers were too close to the back wall or the room was too small? lol |
You should talk to member Pwfletcher. He has his C1s in a closet -- literally. |
I have been looking at the C1's for a 13.5 x 15.5 room but the consensus here seems to be the room is too small for the C1s.
What are recommended speakers for this size room? I am interested in either monitors on stands or small floor standers. I figure small floor standers dont take up any more room than a monitor on a stand and may go a little lower than a monitor (Id like to avoid using a sub).
There are so many quality speakers out there it is impossible to listen to all of them. Even if I could, it seems they all sound different depending on the room and the equipment driving them. I will try to make a decision based on recommendations and reviews, try to buy used at a decent price, and if they dont work out, try to sell and hope I dont lose much (about what shipping would cost for an in-home audition of those that allow it) in the process.
My amp is a Bryston 4bSST2 and my current speakers are Vandersteen 2ce Sigs. I listen to some jazz (Diana Krall) and a lot of classic\soft rock. My budget for the Vandersteen upgrade is $4k or less. |
Bad, bad idea. The C1s need a lot of room to breathe and for the drivers to integrate. Even a 14 x 16 or so room is too small for them. They are a bold sounding speaker and need power (important) and lots of room (more important).
The suggestion to find a smaller front ported speaker is a good one. |
Chuck, from your description of your room you are probably hearing a lot of music reflected from your walls, front to back then to you. If this works great, phase would be difficult to get right but perhaps with a room small enough such a trick might really be the ticket. I know most small room set ups I have seen have placed the speakers as close to the back wall as possible, and they usually sounded muffled and bloated. Your set up is really unique but I can see where it could work. Thanks for sharing the ideas. |
Cmalak,
No, I have no treatments at all except that I removed my old and only Echo Busters Corner Busters when I put up the crown molding.
I had bought absorbers and diffusors to try, but all the absorbers did was suck the life out of the music and the diffusors didn't even make a difference.
It's funny, but great because the absorbers and diffusors cost a pretty penny, made the small room look smaller and didn't do anything to a good effect.
My room looks like a normal room with a stereo in it and sounds fantastic!
Chuck |
Chuck...I like your near-field set-up as a solution for a small square room set-up. Pulling the speakers 8' into the room from the front wall makes sense in terms of taking out that wall from the equation. The question I have is did you put any absorption or diffusion panels right behind your listening position on the back wall to treat rear wall reflections since you are sitting right up against that back wall. Secondly any treatments for side-wall reflections? Interesting solution for sure... |
I'm going to buck just about everyone here, but hear me out.
I'm also in a 10'x12' room with a pair of monitors very similiar to the C1's. I auditioned both extensively when I went to replace my B&W Silver Signature's.
I also tried a Pass XA30.5 amp, thinking that it would be enough power in the small room. It wasn't! You need power for the C1's, just like I do.
Now here's the kicker. My chair is centered and up against the back wall. My speakers are 8' from the front wall, 4' from my head. I have no room treatments other than crown molding because of where the speakers are located.
A good friend and super audiophile set my room up this way for me, and I freaked out when I saw it. Then I sat down and the soundstage was not in my face, but back behind the speakers. The real blessing was that my soundstage was much deeper than it had ever been before.
It may break every standard audio setup, but it is insanely good. Everyone who walks into my room thinks that they're going to be blasted out, but after they sit down and listen, it's nothing but smiles at what they're hearing.
Chuck |
You will be just fine in a room of that size. Even though they are rear ported, you can put a c1 within 6-10" or so of the wall and still get great sound. If you get too much bass, but a foam plug in the port. You will likely need to do this.
Amps: I would go for something more along the lines of a nice high quality 50-100 watt ss amplifier or better yet a tube amplifier. In general low powered quality ss amps tend to be a little sweeter than high powered. The lower power in your room will result in less authoritative bass, which will help with the small room. A tube amp is great with C1's because tube amps have wonderful low level resolution and the C1's Esotar tweeter will show this off quite nicely.
Disclaimer: I have financial ties to av industry. |
there is no way you are going to need a sub............. |
I had the C1's in an 11 x 13 room with both the boulder 800 and 1000 series amps. The 1000 series was able to control the low frequencies much better than the lower powered 865. Your problem is going to be in the low/mid bass overloading that room. I had tons of bass traps in there and it still was bloated and overloaded. IMO, the problem is the rear facing port in a small room. I now have a sealed speaker and my mid-bass problems have been solved while actually getting "deeper" extension. I used an RTA and if I remember correctly the hump was at about 65 htz. That being said, the C1's are still awesome and some days I regret selling them. I had mine about 3ft from the front wall, approx 6ft. apart with moderate toe in. |
IMO,your room size is tough for the C1s to shine(small and almost square)Been there done that in a similar room.Room treatment will be a must.If you dont already own Parasound walk away from the table..I would suggest Pass labs X150.5,with the extra cash buy a nice sub and treat that room |
In your case - C1s in a small room - there would be a problem, because they require placement away from the walls, especially from the back wall, because they have a rear bass-reflex port (I can afford this in my room, which measures 12 x 16,7). Therefore, I would recommend some fine monitors with front bass-reflex port. And do not exaggerate with the amplifier's power, 250 W/8 Ohms from A 21 is far enough (I run my C1s with 2 x 200 W/8 Ohms amplifier). |
What are you asking? Are you asking are the speakers are too small for the room and are either one of the Parasound amplifiers too much power for the speakers?
Do you own the Parasounds or are thinking of them?
The reason is simple how do you know that the combination will sound good?
|
