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Questions about room size and speaker choice

I have two unrelated questions regarding speaker choice:

1) I am moving to a new, bigger apartment, which is great as I will have a dedicated listening room, but at the same time somewhat of a problem as the dedicated room is rather small measuring 9 x 11 feet. (It's the master bedroom and the shorter wall behind the listening chair has an opening into the bathroom so it's open in a sense.)

I am in the process of upgrading my speakers from the Totem Acoustic Hawk and the smaller room now has thrown another twist into the selection process. Some of the floorstanders I have been considering, such as the Acoustic Zen Adagio or the Silverline Sonatina, might now just overpower the room, or it might simply be not possible to set them up optimally given the distance of 9 feet between the side walls.

I wanted to ask whether anyone has tackled a similar problem and what the results were. Should I forgo full range floorstanders for a pair of monitors, perhaps? Harbeth comes to mind and I have been wanting to audition a pair of the 7es-3.

2) I have seen some incredible deals here on Audiogon on used speakers, and was curious what the opinions were on the age of the used speakers. Assuming a speaker is in a great condition and there are no flaws beyond cosmetic blemishes and simple age, at which point would you say a speaker has been used for simply too long to bother with it? Since it's a mechanical transducer with moving parts, years of use might exert more wear-and-tear on it than might be visible with a naked eye. The rubber surround might not be as pliable as it was and slowly start to crack; the voice coil might be pretty stressed and more prone to breaking; screws loosening; you get the idea.

I'd appreciate any input and opinions. Thank you.
actusreus

Showing 3 responses by br3098

br3098
1,004 posts
 
What electronics? What type mof music do you play. How is the room furnished? (bed, crammed full of furniture or bare).

No doubt about it, 9 x 11 is pretty small - floor standers notwithstanding. Good monitors and subs would certainly be the easy way to go. If you can be flexible about the associated gear a small tube or SET amp and efficient speakers could be wonderful.

Personally, I have no problem with used speakers, especially if you deal with someone here on A'gon. You can find good deals, and if what you buy doesn't ring your bell you can usuaqlly sell it for minimal or no loss. I have bought and sold many pairs of speakers here, from eBay and craigslist and I have never been burned but maybe I have just been lucky. But as with any "used car" transaction remember - caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).
br3098
1,004 posts
 
What gear - SS or tube?
br3098
1,004 posts
 
You will find it a real challenge to wring the best sound out of a square room. It probably won't matter much if you can limit bass to about 50 Hz and above and not try for anything lower, or if you are playing music at low listening levels only.

From my own experience, treating a square room will only get you so far. What are you willing to accept in terms of a compromise?

A couple of ideas: if the room design permits you might try locating the speakers in the diagonal position; that is, with a corner in between the speakers aimed at the opposite corner. Makes the room effectively larger and supposedly reduces some of the nasty nodes. Personally I have not had success with this method but others have reporthed that it has worked well. A near field listening position might also be helpful.

Also, you might try placing your speakers in the corners. There are speakers specifically designed for this - Audio Note Ks might work well but they are a little pricy. I suggest that you find a pair of good condition used Snell Ks or K IIs (NOT IIIs) and try them first. They are the speaker that the AN Ks are based on, and they will get you to about 80% of what the AN speakers will do for under $200 or so. There are other speakers that might work well in this scenario but I have not perspnally tried them: Linn Kans or Dynaudio 42W or 52W. I would advise that you stay away from horns in a room of your size. I'm sure that others can recommend more.
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