Small speaker advice

Perlisten make a great range of speakers, all are surprisingly great.  

Joseph Audio Pulsar2 Graphene fit in your budget and what you describe as your listening tastes.

Have you ever tried to set up a high end system in a room that small? Getting great results warranting that $ expenditure could be tough. Personally I'd just dick around seeing if I could overcome the room problems before I invested that kind of money. 

That said a speaker I could live with in a small room with a pretty decent fullish range which uses a SOTA Dynaudio tweeter is a Silverline 17.5. I have this tweeter in mine (the larger Boleros) and it's smoothness and clarity is just outstanding. They are hard to find used though so you'd have to buy full price (or with a discount from the distributor). It's the speaker I would own for a small room.

I don't know what you can buy from 10K, a pair of speakers and then cover them in 100 dollar bills? Regardless:

https://speakerchoices.com/

If you like the sound of Wilson, then that sounds perfect for your venue. Some of the very best sound I have ever heard was in a tiny room. The trick is to have speakers of appropriate size and really warm natural sounding electronics. There is little margin for fatiguing or hard sounding electronics in small spaces.

Where I have heard small venues the best have been tubed equipment. But you have a Krell amp and the PS… sounds like add the dots and you are in business.

If you didn’t have a preference for Wilson I would recommend looking for a stand mounted speaker with AMTs.

Thank you all for your time.

@ghdprentice I am on the same line of thought which is why I was leaning toward the TuneTot's.  The PS amp has a really nice warm sound given the tube input stage.  I also gave thought to Wilson's older Duette Series.  Just don't know how they compare to the recent advancements in Wilson's driver tech.  

@rpeluso Thanks.  I'm not familiar with Perlisten but I will be soon enough!

@big_greg Thanks.  I've heard great things about Joseph Audio and I will familiarize myself with the Pulsar2 Graphene's.

@newbee Thanks for the advice.  The SOTA is what I'm considering putting in my VA Beethovens.  I've heard they're stellar tweeters and worth the money.  I've heard a pair of floor standing DynAudio speakers at a friend's house recently and even though they weren't fully broken in they sounded fantastic.  I'm not familiar with their product line just their drivers.  I will look up the Silverline.

Thanks for the link @grislybutter. Nice way to efficiently compare mfg specs.  Definitely will be a handy tool!

look at a pair of alta audio Allyssa is  a bargain at 6k, easily competes with 10k monitors 

they feature:

an incredibly inert composite cabinet,

they feature state of the art drivers a custom modified pure ribbon tweeter coupled with a log throw, titanium former equipped, high speed midrange driver

and a unique hybrid bass loading concept which combines a transmission line design with a conventional infinite baffle design for very deep tight bass.

Dave and Troy

Audio Intellect NJ

Alta Audio dealers 

Given what you’re looking for I’d also highly recommend the Joseph Audio Pulsars.  I’ve heard them at shows in a small hotel room and they still worked very well.  Best of luck. 

Thanks @audiotroy. Will definitely put them on the list!

Thank you @soix! I’ll look them up as well

Go for some headphones. This will be better than anything you put in that small room (I have the same space). Unless you spend some time with DSP or physical acoustic treatment. These headphones are what I should have bought and not wasted time with the 2-channel for my small office.

RAAL 1995 headphones, Magna and Immanis | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

With your amp and preamp, the 1/2 the price RAAL SR1a phone would also be better than most things in that space.

If you insist on a 2-channel speaker I recommend the Magnepan LRS+. It was the best sounding speaker in my room. I am not saying it is the best quality speaker I have used in this room (far from it). However, I got the best sound from the LRS+. I even removed the acoustic panels that caught the first reflection when using the LRS+. Those panels were essential for all the other speakers I tried,

Now if you do not want to use phones and do not want to use acoustic treatment. Then another option, with any of the speakers mentioned in this thread is to talk with Mitch Barnett at this company. 

Digital Room Calibration Services, Convolver, Headphone Filtersets (accuratesound.ca)

The dude will remotely setup your too big speakers in a small room and make it sound great (cost was $750). I think he only supports systems that have Convolution filters, such as ROON and JRIver. The guy is a digital genius.

When I got divorced I boxed everything up and bought a desktop DAC , Grado RS2e headphones and a Quicksilver HP Amp.  Got me through some dark times.   

When the dust settled I set everything back up once I had space.  

Take a look at  Von Gaylord and the “Return of the Legend” speakers. They are small stand mount monitors, reasonable efficiency and the freq. response is 28hZ -20 kHz Fit and finish is top notch, can be bi-wired or bi-amped. Made in America. Price $5k

https://vongaylordaudio.com/

Have a look at this comparison of 11 small speakers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV_Fm_TUro4

Dave and Troy as a frequent reader I am impressed with you regular advise and opinon your love of audio shows, just saying.

Your in a smaller room so having something that will work nearer the wall, etc... could be nice.  I am biased (as a dealer for them) but the P1.0 monitor is quite nice from Wilson-Benesch.  It is bottom ported near the stand rather than rear ported so it performs well within two feet of the wall.  The Audiovector R1 Arrete is also a nice monitor.  The AMT and rear firing driver are designed to give you a more immersive listening experience.  Both are very easy to place and will work with your other gear quite well.  

If your room was bigger I would say look at Borreson or Raidho but you will struggle with placement in that space.  Wilson can also requires a lot of effort to get right.  After I got divorced I bought a pair of X-1s for an apartment and NYC and ultimately traded them for a DAC as they never worked in my space.  

Full disclosure, I am a dealer for Audiovector, Wilson Benesch and Raidho.  I have no relationship with Borreson.  

I moved to a smaller space and had to overcome bass nulls and side wall reflections. GIK had a lot of floorstanding options with diffusion/ absorption and after several weekly shipments I’m enjoying the music again. Good luck!

The EPOS ES-7N has a physical switch on the back to allow for near-wall or free field placement.  have a look at this video when you get a moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV_Fm_TUro4

We are also working with Canor.

Hello rob606!  

Why spend a fortune? The Golden Ear BRXs are getting rave reviews.  I have a pair and they are reall quite good, and reasonably efficient. Happy Listening. My sympathies on you situation. I've been there too.

I just bought a pair of KLH Model 3's.......OMG, These are FUN Speakers. Their detail is off the charts...I'm dancing around my listening room with a Big smile on my face.....Some feel it's a better speaker than the model 5....These guys are a KICK !

@OP A pair of Wilson Sabrinas will work in a room that size.

LS3/5a - if you've never owned a set you should seriously consider these little wonders. Maybe go new with Graham Chartwell or vintage Rogers 16ohm. Shockingly great & one of the only speakers I've owned that totally live up to the hype. Just my experience 

Wow!  So much advice I don’t even know how to thank you all individually!  Thank you for such personal advice. @yyzsantabarbara appreciate the recommendations on headphones. I’ve been considering the Focal Stelia (probably misspelled). I know very little about the high end headphone market.  

@yoyoyaya thanks. I’ve been interested in the Sabrina’s. What do you like about them if I may ask?

Thanks for your kind words @boomerbillone. I will definitely heed your advice!

I will echo what @bgross recommended. The Ls3/5a is a magical speaker. I heard a pair of the limited edition Falcon Acoustics gold badge about a month ago and was smitten. So much so that I couldn’t get them out of my head. I ended up buying the Falcon Acoustic Q7s which have the same drivers and gold badge crossovers but dig a little deeper, down to around 60Hz. They are fantastic for near field listening. I plan on writing up a review on them here at some point after I’ve lived with them for a while. And the bonus is the Q7 is half the price of the Ls3/5a. Depending on what you like in a speaker you might want subs but they sound so good even without them.  They are also a sealed box so placement is easier.

@rob606 - the Sabrinas - and the Sabrina X's, in particular, sound like a scaled down version of the larger, more expensive Wilsons - very transparent, super imaging, and with excellent bass control. They can sound a bit lost in a very large room but work great in small to medium rooms. Like all Wilsons, they are sensitive to positioning - both distance from walls and toe in so they benefit from time taken to set them up. I think that coming from your ML Summit they would potentially work well for you - at least they are worth an audition.

Some of the small Totems I have listened too did a very good job - try and audition some Dreamcatchers if you can.

I am by far anything from being an audiophile, but know what I like. I am in the process of moving and will have a dedicated listening room. My prior listen room was rather small (10x12). I had my Wilson Watt Puppy 8's as close to equilateral as possible with a slight toe in. I was more than pleased with the sound as I listen at moderate sound levels.

 I have a room that measures 11' X 12'

Audio Note ANK would work great in that room.

Also as said above a version of LS 3/5 would be good.

A sleeper brand is NSMT 15SE, really nice speaker.

Basically a sealed box design would work best

Plenty of good suggestions so far.

These might be a bit of a squeeze in a small room due to the necessary offset from the front wall, but the LRS+ are incredible speakers when paired with great electronics like you have. They are not as imposing as you might think.

Another, if they are still being made, are Anthony Gallo's Strada. It is a 2 way, dual mid drivers, and his amazing tweeter. They make a bookshelf/desktop type stand and floor stands for them. 

Both of these benefit from a subwoofer.

my secondary system room is similar in size. Rock and Roll only, mid to high 80's do 90 listening level. Add a sub (mine SVS SB3000) to a pair (save a lot of money) of FRITZ carbon 7SE. Wonderful sound!! 30 day return policy I believe? Fritz a great guy too.

Many may disagree, but I feel that the most single important thing with a small speaker is that it have a sealed enclosure. Put up with a bit less efficiency for what I feel will be much better bass. This or course assuming all else is close to equal.

@rob606 I have Wilson Sabrina in a 15x13 room and they sound huge. They replaced ML Montis. No regrets there.
Note - I had to add corner tri-trap bass traps by GIK to get the bass right. They’re awesome speakers - detailed, engaging and all but I honestly think they’re probably slightly too big for your room.
If you consider Tune Tots, that’s probably a good choice in that room. I would definitely add Focal Sopra 1 to the list of contenders. PS Audio is smooth sounding and will most likely compliment the Sopras well. Also leave some budget for room treatments no matter what speakers you end up with.

I will second the Joseph Audio Pulsars. I have heard them perform well in a room similar is size to yours.  A friend also has the Sabrina X speakers in a 12 x 14 room with McIntosh electronics that sounds wonderful.