Fritz monitors.
Need speaker recommendations.
I need recommendations for speaker brand/models that can be placed relatively close to the front wall without degradation in sound quality. Say, within 1-2 feet. My front wall is ’h’ shaped (side view). There is a 1-ft deep ledge at the height of 2-ft 4-inch from the floor (imagine right half of the letter ’h’) and the overall height of the wall is 9-ft. Front to back wall is 18-ft.
Budget under US$8,000. Don’t care between stand-mounted or floor-standing. If a specific partnering amp/preamp are highly desirable (for any reason) please tell me why.
Thanks,
Amit
66 responses Add your response
+1 on Larsen. Either the 8.2 or 6.2. They can be put against the front wall. WALL OF SOUND! |
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I should clarify what my front wall looks like. If you are staring at the front wall, 2-ft 4-inch from the floor the wall turns horizontally into a ledge, after 1-ft of ledge it again goes straight up, to the ceiling. In other words, there isn't open space underneath the ledge.
Also, yes I do have an interest in the ATC speakers. I may even extend the budget a bit, to find used ones that work for me.
Amit |
For moderate to moderate-low volume, Focal Aria 906 speakers serve me well, placed 1.5 feet from wall to rear of the enclosure. Incidentally, because of the necessary height of placement, I tilted them with rubber doorstops under them. That helps direct the sound to the listening seat, and perhaps it helps with the rear wall - but mainly, these are front-ported speakers. I drive them with a tube preamp from Van Alstine going into a First Watt F8. The setup is great for music similar to your taste.
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Bought a pair of Larsen's years ago, thankfully second hand, I refurbished them and made money on the resale. They sounded good but only with amps I could afford. I was using a 50 watt Creek at the time and it never drove them at all. I tried a friends very expensive Naim and what a difference. For what it's worth having tried dozens of speakers for my small music room, 3.2 x 4.5, I find Harbeth, many Wharfedales, all Monitor Audio, and most Dynaudio just plain boring. On the other hand I find all horn based speakers painful to listen to and just plain awful for voice, especially Klipsch. One exception, Fyne Audio I listened with both tubes and SS and liked the F1 - 5 very nice, and the F7 -00 very good too, albeit both with 2 subwoofers, as per my home set up. Yes 2 subs in a small room. It works extremely well for me with my Audio Physic Sitara 25's. |
Well I am quite different than the above poster but I think the difference is that I like harbeth speakers but I have a high power solid state amp.on them. A mark Levinson 33h. Harbeth s like lots of power. So I also have a pair of slh5 speakers. Not one of the monitor s. They are far more more musical than the monitor speakers. You will need an amp that can swing current. Now if you want tube amplifier s I would recommend a canary amp. I had a stroke of luck the other day and bought some new old stock ca160 monoblocks for a great price. Between that and the canary ca801/802 preamplifier and a Krell KPS 20i I had they are really making an older pair on equation 25 s I have sing. Wonderful combination with second generation transparent reference wire. Those speakers are rare but when you find a pair cheap. Here is a link to the harbeth speakers.
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+1 on the ATC SCM40 I have owned the ATC SCM35 floorstanders for 18 years. The great thing about sealed cabinets is that they are very easy to set up n any room. The lack of the port interacting with the room really simplifies setup. I have mine about two feet from the wall, with a very neutral sound presentation with soundstage and depth about as good and holographic as any system I have heard, incl |
Without a picture or drawing, your description is still vague. You haven't told us the width of the wall...only height and depth of the room. There's no description of the room materials so that we might suggest a speaker design that might fit the space. My advice: take a straight-on picture of your room with something in the scene to approximate scale. Then in Photoshop or another graphics program, add various speaker images to the scene that look the best to you. Preferably speakers that play well with your electronics and room dynamics. Otherwise it really doesn't matter what you pick...
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@singere I have a Michi X5, being fed by an Aurender ACS-10 for streaming and ripped disc playback. Synergistic Research cables and power conditioner, 2 SVS 3000 subs adding low end extension. |
If I was going to spend that kind of money on new speakers, I'd spend just a little more (say $9,450/pair right now which includes shipping in the continental U.S.) and go for the Tekton Ulfberhts. Yes, some people say they need to at least 3 feet out from a wall and they are beasts, but others say they work just fine 2 feet away from a wall and I have yet to read a negative review about them. Virtually every review says they're also tremendous values even at that price point. They also have a seriously high sensitivity, so they can be driven by just about any amp. You'll need some muscle to help you get them inside, but I think it would be worth it. |
With spl requirement and open to new electronics, the world is your Oyster. Wildcard as others stated is the room / furnishings / potential treatments. Maybe create a virtual system w some photos….so we get sense of the room. Worth a few road trip investments to get a sense of sonic palettes open to you. Visit a variety of dealers. What geo area are you in ? best to you in music and on your journey Jim |
@retiredfarmer from everything I have read it appears that Harbeths need a fair bit of breathing room around them. So I'm not sure whether I want to take the trouble to audition them. I have never heard of Equation speakers, so lets see if I can find a dealer nearby. @wdguru I am worried the ATCs might get costly on me quickly... but agree I should audition them.
@sandthemall OK, ok. Room is 14' wide, 18.5 deep (front to back wall), 9' ceiling height, hardwood floors but covered with a very large, plush, antique Persia rug 12'x16'. Lot of canvas art and framed photographic art on the walls. One fireplace with granite slab around it (floor to ceiling). Furniture can mostly be rearranged around what I need. I must also add that I have quality sound insulation in my walls and electrical connection and outlets separately wired for audio equipment. Two windows, both with acoustic shades. See 1 photo, with visible ledge 2.4' from floor, on left and right of fireplace... can post more later.
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You might also want to listen to a pair of neat speakers I have a couple sets of. A home theater they are much better than my home theater system. I have the motive line the big ones out front and the small ones in the rear. The big ones are about six inches wide and three feet tall and eight inches deep. Down firing port. They were five thousand Canadian list. They are the deepest playing speaker I have ever had. They basically play flat to 27. They better series are supposed to be in the very best made I have never heard there really high end ones. The neat speakers are so small they will not impress small boys'! Lol. |
Heard the Volti Audio Razz speakers at the Capital Audio Fest 2021 show, they were singing all the praises an audiophile enjoys! The room was consistently full of listeners that were not talking, just enjoying the music. In my opinion, they are worth a consideration. On a personal note, I’m purchasing the mid range model, the “Rivals”. “Enjoy the Music” |
I was very impressed with the Joseph Audio Pulsars in my music room, about 2 ft off the wall. My room is not as deep as yours, only 11 ft. But I think that a pair of Pulsars is one of the great audio bargains because they hit way above their price point and sound great. But speakers are like anything else in audio . . . Dependent upon room acoustics and your other equipment. |
