Monitors for a small room - please help

What is your amp?

If you have a tube amp then Reference 3A De Capos could work.

Or Reynaud Twin sigs

I personally believe that you would really, really enjoy these speakers: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1291325518&/Star-Sound-Technology-Caravell

I have a pair that I'm using in my 10' x 12.5' room.

Chuck

Monitor speaker suggestions or monitors and amp combination suggestions? Budget?

hello, I'm using a pair of JohnBlue Audio Art JB4s in a 10 x 16' . These are a full range speaker using a 4" driver designed by Tommy Wu. The sound from these speakers is absolutely phenominal. I have added a Visonik of Germany sub to give that little extra in the bottom end. I also own a pair of Focal 705s which don't even come close to the JB4s. The sound is totally natural. If you have a JB dealer in your area, it may be worth your while to give a listen. They certainly caught me off guard.

DeVore Fidelity 3XL's get my vote for your situation!

Sounds like you might be interested in one of the descendants in the BBC monitor lineage. Both Spendor and Harbeth make speakers you'd probably enjoy.

Spendor,Harbeth,and Dynaudio all deserve an audition.

I should have put the budget in my original post. I'm trying to stay around $2000 for integrated amp *and* monitors. I already have a turntable, phono stage, and DAC, so I'm not rebuilding entirely from scratch. I know $2000 is a somewhat constrained budget within this hobby, but I'm going to try and make it work for me. This should be the perfect opportunity for me to find a good match between speakers and amp. My room is about 10 x 11, so it's pretty small. I've been interested in the LSA 1 monitors, but I recently read that they can sound forward, which is not what I want in a small room. Either way, I think because I have to sit so close to the speakers, that really limits my choices on full range speakers, hence my decision to try for some monitors.

Thanks

There is a pair of Sonus Farber Toys currently advertised for $600. I have not heard them, bur they are very highly rated.

I am using a YBA YA-201 Integrated and Vienna Haydn Grands in a small room, and I very happy with the combination. I am also very pleased with the Vienna Bach Grands, a small floor stander, in a small room.

I will ask you one more time to please consider the Caravelles from Star Sound Technology.

Here's a pre-review: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/starsound/caravelle.html

The reason I'm suggesting these speakers is that they're $5000.00 new and now selling in the Audiogon ad for only $1900.00.

I use them myself in a small room like yours, so I know that they'll work extremely well for you. I've compared these to the Harbeth SHL5, Dynaudio C1 and Focal Utopia BE and chose these.

I've used these with a Musical Fidelity A308cr amp, Herron M1 amp, Karan KA I-180 integrated amp, Burmester 036 amp and now my Spectron Musiciam III amp. These speakers work well with all of these.

If you buy a speaker of this quality right now at the steal of a price, chances are it will work very well with your current set up. Later down the line you can upgrade and add an integrated, and have yourself a really great sounding system.

Chuck

Drdennis: The toys are tempting, but I have a feeling they would be very shy in the bass area. I'm not expecting to get a thunderous amount of bass from any monitors, but I think those might be a little too bass-shy for me. Other than that, I'm sure they sound great. From what I've read about Sonus Faber, they are outstanding speakers.

Jl35: I will check out the Haydns. I've heard good things about them.

Krell_man: I appreciate your suggestion and have no doubt that they are fantastic speakers for a fantastic price, but I have to keep my budget around $2000 for amp and speakers. I know that will limit me quite a bit, but I have obligations coming up next year that I will need money for, so I have to keep sane here and stick to my budget. I really would like to hear those Caravelles though...

I have Dynaudio Excite X12s (driven by a Naim Nait 5i) in a larger room and like them very much. Definitely smooth and detailed, on the warm side of neutral, with excellent, well-defined bass. They're also pretty easy to drive. On proper stands (mine are on a console), in a smaller room, 18-24 inches out from the wall, I think they'd be even better. Good reviews in Stereophile and Good Sound.

Lots of great recommendations here.

Drawing from direct experience and available listings within your budget...

The Naim NAIT 5 (with [better] or without Flatcap) and Totem Arro in a small room (mine was 10x13) is sublime.

Good luck!

I'll fourth or fifth the Dynaudios. I have the Focus 110 and an NAD C372 integrated in a 13x18 room and have been very happy with them, including the very tuneful bass. They do have a warm but very natural sound--and you could do the above combo for well under your budget buying used. If you could swing the Naim it would probably be even better.

When I downsized the Dynaudios replaced the Vandersteen 2CE Sig II in my system, and they're cut from the same sonic cloth. I owned the Spendor S3/5 in between and found it forward in the midrange and coarse in the treble in comparison.

The Opera Callas Monitors are great small-room, low-volume speakers. There's a pair up for sale now. No connection with the seller.

Agree w/the Dynaudio & Spendor recs. Big sound from a small enclosure.

For an integrated, check out the Primare line. This is a company that flies under the radar & has an authorized US repair facility that is top notch.

I'd definitely listen to the Silverline Audio Minuet. They get nothing short of phenomenol writeups.

sonus faber toys, dynaudio x12s, or for the best bang check out the Fritz mini monitors

I recommend considering the Era D5s. They produce very good bass for a monitor this size, are warm and smooth and image superbly. I did audition the Dynaudio Excite as well, and preferred the Eras - just a little more natural sounding to me. There is a glowing review at 6moons, which was what first turned me on the the Eras. They called them the poor-man's Totem Mani 2 FWIW.

I have a room that is almost the exact same size as yours and have just recently bought a pair of GMA Callisto speakers that are working out great. They are easy to drive and are very musical and non fatiguing to listen to. I would highly recommend that you check them out. There are a few in the for sale section that I feel are great bargains.

I'm not sure what type of music you prefer but there has not been any genre that I have thrown at my new speakers that didn't sound awesome! Rock, Electronic, and Reggae (which is rarely recorded in audiophile quality). My Jazz, and world music albums sound terrific too!

The Callistos offer a great balance of warmth and detail that really make my toes tap and puts a smile on my face. For me that's what speakers should do.

Good luck on your hunt!

I would go with either the PSB Image B6 ($500/pr) plus a $1500 integrated amp, or the PSB Imagine B ($1K/pr) plus a $1000 integrated amp.

Or if you also need cables and stands in that $2K budget, get the Image B6's and an $800-1K amp to leave $500 for stands and cables.

PSBs punch way above their price range. Several of their speakers regularly show up in the Stereophile Recommended Components and the Abso!ute Sound Editors Choice issues, usually more than any other single speaker manufacturer.

Most important, they have the kind of sound you're looking for--natural tonal balance, nicely balanced between detail and the body of the sound, very transparent lifelike midrange, but not forward or tipped up at all. Also, good bass extension and fullness for their cabinet sizes without hyping the bass excessively at 100 Hz.

Comprehensive review of the Image B6 here and of the Imagine B here. Especially check out how linear the response is (and how well controlled the bass is) on the Imagine B.

The seller o the SF Toy's also has a REL T2 sub for sale for $400. I own a T2. This is a very fast and musical sub that would make the Toy's very competitive with larger systems. You have many options but I think this is worth considering.

I know you specified monitors, but I'll add Totem Arros to the list. They are meant to be placed in corners. I was amazed by their performance given their small size. They come up regularly for $700.00.

i would 3rd 4th,and 5th the Totem Arro's,dont rule out a small flooorstander,my other choices are:
monitors:
Usher S-520
Era D5
Swan M1b
Hsu hb1MkII
Gini Ls1/ls2
Definitive Tech Studio 350/450
Wharedale Diamond 10.2
Epos ESL 8
Kef IQ 300
SVS SBS-02
Arx 1

Small floorstander

Ohm Walsh Micro Tall
Mirage OS Stats
Definitive BP-8400
Wharfedale Diamond 10.4
Kef IQ500
Gini LS1 with bass stands
Arx 3
Swan Diva 4.2
Zu Audio Omen
SVS STS-02

and my Utimate choice the: Usher S-520 with the SW-520 bassstands it rivals much higher priced speakers $1170 plus fee shipping directly from Usher USA.

I say buy used to make your money go farther. Plenty of choices here. I concur that the Dynaudio house sound matches your sound preferences very well. My picks from the listings (no affinity to any of the sellers): amps - Yamaha AS2000, Rotel RA-1520 (I really like this little amp), NAD 375BEE, speakers - Revel F12, Dynaudio 52SE (need a high power amp).

Oops, sorry I read again you have a small room and need monitors, so please discount the F12s. I used to own the Dynaudio 52s and think they're really good, but need a kick up the backside to shine. Might be a great choices with the Yamaha or NAD amps I mentioned.

Second the era speakers - I have the peachtree speakers in my office (same company) and I like them so much that I just bought a pair of D4 for the bedroom. Real nice and smooth sound, not finicky at all, I'd be really surprised if you didn't find them to be just the ticket and you'd save some money too

At the risk of falling into the trap of advocating that you "buy what I have" -- advice that many A'gon posters seem to give with many different words -- I will say that my home office is a fairly small room and my system in there makes awfully good music: a Naim Nait 5i and Totem Model One signatures. They'll get your toes a-tappin', and I'm pretty sure you can get those speakers and integrated amp for about $2k on The Gon with careful shopping. Whatever you choose, happy listening.

Thanks for all the input. Just an update, I bought a used Rotel RA-1520 last week and am still awaiting its arrival. I read many reviews on it that say it sounds pretty good, so I'm looking forward to hearing it. Last Saturday I had the chance to listen to a few speakers at a local dealer. I heard the Usher S-520, the Monitor Audio GS-10, and Totem Staff. I honestly think the Usher's were my favorite among those 3. The Totems had significantly better midrange, but sounded a bit bright to me. So I'm probably going to stay away from Totems. The Monitor Audio's were a bit smoother, but still a tad "aggressive"; they were, however, very lively and dynamic. But they definitely struck me as speakers that can get fatiguing. The Ushers did not have quite the refinement as the other two, but were the least fatiguing. They also had very good midrange "snap", and seemed very listenable overall. I have an appointment this Saturday to go hear the speakers that I really have my heart set on, the LSA1 monitors.