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Good Used Speakers ($8K-10K) For A Little Listening Room

I know that this is a tough one, because speakers are so subjective.  My dedicated 2 channel listening room is only 10ft x 10ft.  I listen to mostly jazz and rock.  I currently use a Plinius SA100 Mk III (recapped and upgraded) driving Joseph Audio RM25XL's.  I'm thinking of upgrading and was wondering what speakers would be a good upgrade for a small listening room.  I like the Joseph Audio sound, but want more.  I was thinking of Pulsars or maybe Perspectives.  First, is my room too small for floor standing speakers? Second, what other speakers in the $8-10K range used would be a good fit in a small room?
moto_man

Showing 10 responses by willemj

willemj
1,036 posts
 
1 yes. The more low freqencies you pump into such a tiny room, the more you will suffer from room modes, and all the more so if the room is square.
2 irrespective of price, the best speakers that I know for such a small room would be the Harbeth P3ESR. They are perfectly neutral, with a mid range to die for. All they lack is low frequency extension, but in your case that is an advantage. Since it is a sealed system, they can be placed relatively close to the rear wall.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
The Schroeder frequency if this room will be about 280 Hz. Below that you will suffer pretty bad room modes, and more so if your speaker goes lower.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
I am a great fan of active room correction. However, the problem is that it does not really work well in small rooms: the correction frequencies are just too high, and as a result the perfect listening position becomes very small. Room eq is great in a large room, but in a small one there is only one realistic option: avoid low frequencies. There is no way you can avoid physics.
If you ever decide room eq is your thing, have a look athe DPSpeaker Antimode X4. It is probably the most sophisticated room eq pre amp on the market today.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
No you changed your post to cover that you had misquoted me. And what I said is true: the smaller the room the higher the Schroeder frequency and the frequencies of the room modes. Try equalizing those, and the listening spot gets smaller the higher the frequency.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
I love equalization, but in a small room it is not that effective. The reason is that room modes in small rooms occur at higher frequencies. Since such sound waves are shorter, the listening spot where equalization is effective also becomes smaller. Good deep bass in a small room is quite simply impossible.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
Your comment is irrelevant. I did not say you cannot pump deep bass into a room. What I said was that it will not sound right, and for two connected reasons. The first is that the smaller the room, the higher the Schroeder frequency (about 280 Hz in this room) and hence the frequencies of the room modes (not to mention their upper harmonics). The second is that the higher the frequency that you try to equalize, the narrower the listening spot. If you want good deep bass you need a large room with a low Schroeder frequency. And avoid square rooms.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
This is what I wrote (and for everybody to see): "Good deep bass in a small room is quite simply impossible." That is simply true for the reasons I gave.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
Ah, now you changed your post: you added the 'good' that you did not include before. That is dishonest and misleading. But now you reinstated the word 'good' your comment is no longer relevant because it does not address the quality of the bass. And that precisely was my point.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
And for those of you want to read up on room modes in smallish rooms: https://www.audioholics.com/room-acoustics/listening-room-acoustics-1
https://www.audioholics.com/room-acoustics/history-of-multi-sub-sfm
willemj
1,036 posts
 
13x15 is already quite a bit larger, of course, although still not very large. Did you measure the response?
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