I'm looking to add speakers to my audiophile setup which currently consists of (very high end) headphones. I want speakers for everything the headphones cannot do - simple enough. Problem is, I'm having difficulty deciding which gear I want to buy. I demoed a pair of B&W 705 S2's today and was very impressed. Unfortunately, my budget isn't that high. It's $1500 total, for the speakers and amp combined. Source is a computer. I listened to a cheaper pair of B&W bookshelf speakers (can't remember which, but were around $1200) and was not impressed. I am leaning toward bookshelf speakers but don't know if getting floorstanding at this price point would be a large increase in quality. The room they will be placed in is only 100 square feet. I am willing to buy used.
So, my questions, summed up are:
Is bookshelf a better option than floorstanding?
Is it worth looking at cheaper B&W models, or should I look at other companies altogether?
At least with headphones, I like a pretty neutral sound, if not a tad warm. Are there any companies that predominantly have this sound signature?
How should the room size inform my choice of speakers?
I have two questions: 1 Do you already have a headphone amplifier? 2 Would you mind using e.g. a Chromecast Audio streamer instead of a computer? I ask because computers usually have usb output, but amplifiers with usb input tend to be less common/more expensive.
In a situation like yours you want the cheapest decent amplifier you can find (e.g. a Yamaha AS 501), to have as much budget as possible for the speakers. In a small room like yours I would avoid floorstanders.
Small active speakers would be a good alternative, but the choice is more limited.
@muffinhead, Yes, synergy is very important. Specs need to checked, but the amp and speakers need to compliment each other. ie, you may not want a detailed amp with highly resolving speakers.
When I first read your post, I thought "oh my, he is going to get soooo many ideas that it'll be very difficult to sort through to come up with a good solution".... with that, even though I have a few different ideas than posted, the solution that tutetibiimperes laid out is a very satisfying system. It'll have balanced sound, image well and fit every room except very large rooms. I'd run with his suggestions.
@glennewdick So suppose I go the powered speakers route: are there any major concessions being made over bookshelf speakers? I'm seeing the LS50's for $800 used right now, so that means I could spend a bit more.
@tutetibiimperes the room will be used as a living room space among my flatmates and I. That means that the room will have some furniture in it. It will be carpeted. The speakers will be set up with a TV, but I personally intend to use them for mainly music.
@lowrider57 So suppose I match the power and impedance, current, etc, between speakers and an amp. That's surely not the whole story. Does component "synergy" play a big role with speakers?
The nice thing about headphones is that they take the room out of the equation. For speakers the room, furnishings, treatments (if any), and positioning can make a big difference.
Is this a dedicated listening space or are going to be practical concessions in terms of placement?
As far as amps go, you’ll want something with enough power to drive the speakers you choose and that can handle whatever the impedance of your speakers is.
Most integrated or standalone amps are fine with 4 ohm loads, and the vast majority of speakers don’t present a load appreciably less than that.
Since you have a small space you aren’t likely to need tons of power.
Amp and speakers have to work together. Consideration needs to be given to an amp that will be powerful enough to drive the speakers to their full potential. So matching is much more important than with headphones.
@david_ten OK, thank you for that. SR007 is using a modded T1 amp and LCD2 is using a Schiit Lyr2. Source is a computer fed through a Modi Multibit (not impressed, looking for DAC recommends as well).
As for the budget: I was thoroughly impressed with $2500 speakers. Granted they were hooked up to McIntosh components. but let’s ignore that for now.
Say I up my budget to $2500. Will this better approximate the SQ of my headphones? I realize it will take $10,000+ speakers to match the level of detail that the Stax present, so I don’t expect to attain that aspect of quality. What I do expect, however, is getting some speakers that image very well and present soundstage in a realistic way. Clearly, I won’t be satisfied with muddier sound, but I’m willing to accept it as a tradeoff for the inherently more expensive nature of speakers.
As for amplification, how much does it matter with speakers? With most headphones, it accounts for about 10-20% of the sound, in my experience. Is it the same with speakers?
@ OP You did make yourself clear. I was pointing it out since one of the recommendations was for 1500 into the speakers.
Given where you are coming from with your headphones (which amps and sources are you using?) I think you may (will?) be disappointed with the performance, given your budget.
@david_ten sorry if I didn’t make myself clear. I have $1500 to spend on the speakers and an amp. I don’t really care how that money is distributed between the two purchases as long as it gives me some of the best quality at this price point. @david_ten I have Stax SR007’s and Audeze LCD2’s. Maybe my expectations are completely out of proportion, considering I will probably only be able to afford decent dynamic driver speakers with my budget.
I my opinion, given a 100 sq ft room and a budget of $1500 for a pair of used speakers, I would purchase a pair of stand mount 2-ways. Given the subjectivity, I find it difficult to recommend speakers. I love my Esoteric MG 10s and will not part with them, though a used pair would likely be at or slightly under your budget.
I'm looking to add speakers to my audiophile setup which currently consists of (very high end) headphones. I want speakers for everything the headphones cannot do - simple enough.... At least with headphones, I like a pretty neutral sound, if not a tad warm.
Can you share your headphone setup?
If it is 'high end' and you value 'neutral' sound, you may have a mis-match between your expectations and what you can achieve given your budget.
Sharing more will help others offer better and more specific advice.
If you want imaging and clarity without brightness the Elac Uni-Fis could be right up your alley.
A subwoofer is about more than visceral bass, it also helps unload a lot of work from the amplifier and can ease positioning issues with the mains (especially if you have to place them near a wall or on a desk where having too much of the bass coming from the mains can cause the sound to be muddy). A pair of bookshelves and a subwoofer can oftentimes outperform towers, especially in a smaller room like yours.
Plus, you can always adjust the gain on the subwoofer to apply the amount of bass for your preference. I'm not a bass-head either, but I enjoy the fuller sound that a subwoofer provides. With the room correction and auto-blend functions of the Elac amp I don't have any boom, just nice full music from top to bottom.
Thank you. That amp sounds good with the autocalibration feature, so I'll look more into it. How would it be if I took out the sub and spent that money on a floorstanding speaker? I'm not a basshead and don't really need visceral bass. I just really like the open feeling and imaging speakers provide.
Speakers: Elac Uni-Fi UB5 (currently on sale for $350 @ Amazon, normally $500/pair, and they'll easily best speakers costing quite a bit more)
Amp: Elac Element EA101EQ (currently on sale for $620 @ Amazon)
Subwoofer: Either SVS SB12-NSD ($449) or Rythmik L12 ($539)
You didn't explicitly mention a subwoofer, but if you're going with bookshelves, and want to do things headphones can't do, one of the big things being tactile response from the music, you want a sub. The beauty of the Elac Element integrated is that it has built in subwoofer integration with automatic room EQ and subwoofer blend including phase adjustment, so you can get the speakers and sub working beautifully together. It also has a built-in USB DAC so it's easy to hook up to your computer.
I have the UB5, SB12-NSD, Elac Element comb. I use it for my computer audio setup and it's excellent. The Rythmik sub is certainly worth a look though. Either way you're within spitting distance of your budget.
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