I have a fairly small listening room (13'x12'x8') with French doors behind my listening position that open into a kitchen (19'x9'). For a few years I was using floor standers, Raidho D2.1, and though they sounded great on most music I played there is a room mode at 43Hz that would rear its nasty head at times turning my room into a giant bass cabinet. I implemented the Bass Array system from James Romeyn along with placing a VH Audio capacitor between my preamp and mono blocs that created a roll off at 150Hz. With the help of JR from Wally Analog we used his room measuring software and strategically placed 4 passive subs in my room, dialing them in with external sub amps from Dayton Audio. This process afforded smooth, musical bass along with opening up more detail in the mid and high frequencies. JR was thinking that monitors would be a better fit given my room's size and since I really like the Raidho sound I went with their TD1.2's on Core Audio Design speaker stands. Lo and behold, he was right! They blend perfectly with the Bass Array delivering all the tonality and texture of the D2.1's but with more detail, better imaging and a deeper, wider soundstage. Couldn't be happier...for now!
Have you moved away from full range to standmount speakers + subs?
I want to know if you have been on a journey moving from a large full range speaker to a smaller one paired wit subs, maybe even four subs.
Maybe you moved away from the big speakers because you had too much bass or you got a better soundstage from the smaller speakers. Let me know what motivated you and if you think it’s better now.
My motivation for wanting to try smaller speakers.
I have the Tekton DI and until a month ago I was using a LM845P SET amp to drive them.
It only sounded good on simple jazz and vocals but on complex music everything was falling apart.
I am not playing loud but I think it was the low 2 ohm load in the midrange that made the LM break down.
I bought a used PS Audio BHK250 and pre and it was like getting new speakers. Never ever had it occurred to me that speaker and amp matching could have such a profound effect.
So I am enjoying my speakers now and listen to music I have avoided like the plague and enjoying it (:
But all of this got me thinking, what if I paired my LM845P with an easy to drive speaker and paired it with some subs?
Then the LM845 could do what it's best at, playing glorious midrange and the subs could play the bass.
So that's my motivation for trying smaller speakers.
I am also hoping that maybe I could get better and more even bass with 2 or 4 subs. Maybe a better soundstage because the small speakers have a very small baffle.