Is My Room Large Enough?


Need advice.My room is only 11'x13' and would like to make a dedicated listening area there.Want to use a tube amp and thought about smaller speakers such as B&W 805/804/803's perhaps.Trying to get a bit of distance from the walls for the speakers with decent chair position will be a problem and am willing to only use one chair. I listen to mostly jazz,classical and vocals not needing a lot of bass.I don't really listen to rock and I don't want to use a sub. I like the thought of a cozy room using a tube amp,as I have only used larger solid state amps in the past,but maybe this room is too tight for this.What do you think,can I make this work?
amwarwick
I have a friend that uses a similarly small room and listens to B&W 801s in the nearfield. The speakers are only a couple of feet out from the front wall (to the back of his speakers, and he sits into the room making a slightly elongated equilateral triangle with his speakers. He sits about six feet away and I have got to admit the listening experience is great - a bit like headphones but much more enjoyable. Good luck.
I have a friend with a small room/ hey that's me! I guess you can never be to rich/skinny/ or have to large a room. I go to friends houses or condos and drool at their rooms.They're always polite and offer me a napkin.I second Mr. Kiwi's suggestion for nearfield. I go back and forth,because there is something to putting them speakers exactly half way into the room.Then I go back where the bass is best / 57in.from the back wall.
These are all good posted suggestions. I heard a small room about this size with acoustic treatment at a dealer and it was amazing - probably one of the best overall systems that I've heard - including the room treatment and the equpiment together. It was a great room for jazz/classical/vocal. He had the small triangle echo busters in the ceiling/wall corners of the room, with a few panels on the walls and ceiling. The equpiment was a Audio Research tube amp, a passive preamp, and ProAc 1.5's, set up in a near-field configuration. It was an amazing space. The bass was deep and so perfectly defined. That listening session sticks in my mind more than any other. I think my tastes in music/movies overall makes me a bit more of a banger - where I like the large room, B&W N802's and a big solid state amp, but after hearing that system, it makes me want to start over in a small room and see what I could do with the right acoustic treatment and a pair of those ProAc's to listen to my jazz stuff.
There are a lot of good suggestions above and I am going to try some of them. I have used a small room for a while and have tried a few things that have made improvements. I have tried to assemble less-forward sounding equipment and apply room treatments that assist in presenting soundstage images slightly behind the speakers, which seems to make the room “deeper”. Controlling early reflections is more important in my small room verses larger rooms I have used. Relocating the equipment rack from between the speakers to the side- wall makes quite an improvement in “depth”. Applying diffusion to the back and sidewalls seems to work better than absorption alone. I know this seems crazy, but I started hanging artificial ivy (the type with small leaves sold in craft stores works well) in these locations: walls beside the speakers, behind my listening chair, and on the center-wall & corners…the more I hung, the better the clarity and soundstage. After I started using the artificial ivy as "diffusors", the speakers seem to “disappear” on most recordings, an effect similar to a friend's system which uses RPG diffusors. Also, I like to experiment with different absorption devices. Currently, I am using Michael Green’s Roomtune treatments in all ceiling corners,40mm Marigo wall treatment dots,and tube-traps in the corners behind the speakers. Good luck with your new room and equipment!