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speakers for a large room

Although the room is 45' x 15' , it is separated into an eating area, a sitting area, and a listening area(15'x15'). However, the ceiling is slanted and high and the separations between the areas is achieved with partitions only. The listening area is well damped with curtains and thick carpet.

Currently I moved a pair of magnepan 3.7i driven by a pair of sanders magtech mono block amplifiers into this room. These amps are rated to 2000w into 4 ohms and I have to be careful not to blow the fuses on the maggies . Preamp is a Schitt Freya +. The sound is superb. Until I set this system up, I really didn't know what people were talking about when they said they could 'see the instruments'. Positioning the maggies 5' away from the back wall is no problem but they cannot fill the room. I added a pair of rhythmic subs and the lower end is better. The imaging does require proper positioning and seating. You cannot really have a good listening experience unless you are in the sweet spot. That limits the experience to two people sitting really close. In addition, they are big and now with the subs, I am getting dirty looks from the boss of the house.

So I am looking for a pair floor standing speakers that can stand up to this room but that might be less imposing. Budget <12k. The walls have heavy curtains, thick rug on the floor so echo is well controlled. The weird asymmetric shape of the room also prevents any boominess. I listened to the B&W 802D but found them harsh (I don't remember the amp that was driving them). I remember a pair of salon2 and they had quite a large sweet spot along with beautiful clarity. Used the salon2 are around 11k. I have looked at (but not listened to) the Golden Ear Triton reference as well as the Triangle Magellan reference and the Gershan avant garde. Revel f228be are also on my list. I would like to keep my amps and preamp. 

I mostly listen to vocals, jazz standards, and folk acoustic although I also put on some ambient when I am reading, cooking, etc. I am getting on in years and have noticed fall off in my ability to perceive the upper frequencies but still enjoy listening. No video/movies.

Which speakers would work well with my amps and this big room? I am looking for a bigger sweet spot (soundstage?) , more presence to fill the room a little better without losing the clarity, the realism and the quick response (articulate?) of the maggies.


topjetboy
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woots
292 posts
 
I have a similar set up as preslisa64.  My room is 25x45.  I have a pair of Martin Logan Renaissance 15A and a pair of Martin Logan Balanced Force 212's as subs.  I use McIntosh 1.2 kwh mono's and each one delivers 1200 watts.  I have no problem filling every crevice in the room.  I listen to just about everything but particularly enjoy jazz (Myles Davis), acoustic and classical.  They deliver a great soundstage even at the lower volume levels.  

Ironically, my wife loves the aesthetics and the fact that you can see through them despite being large.  Depending on how far you place these from the wall you get sound from the front and rear of the panels.

Good Luck topjetboy!!
richopp
760 posts
 
Listen to Duke; you have the best brand, you just need a bit of an upgrade and some room tweaking.

Trust us!

Cheers!
topjetboy OP
10 posts
 
@Duke I never had the maggies 2 feet away. I tried it today but really did not like it. As it is now, they are back to 5 feet away from the back and 2 ft away from the side. When I cross them to 45 degrees, the 'sweet spot' is broader but the image is blurred. I prefer the proper positioning for now, about 15 degrees toe in so that each panel faces my head. I do not understand how to measure the effects of reflections except for trial and error. So when you talk about reflections from the back wall, this is what I perceive as essential to the imaging. As a quick test, the image stays coherent even as I walk close to the imaginary  line connecting the speakers and even walk past it towards the back wall. This tells me that I am hearing the reflections because the speakers are actually behind my head in this position. This 'walk close' test is how I 'measure' the reflection strength and direction. In terms of getting rid of the wall coverings, I never really tried that. I could just gather up the curtains with a tie to expose the wall and windows. Are you using dipoles (electrostatic, maggie, etc)?
audiokinesis
2,737 posts
 
@topjetboy wrote: " @Duke I never had the maggies 2 feet away. I tried it today but really did not like it. As it is now, they are back to 5 feet away from the back and 2 ft away from the side."

Well I admire your quest for knowledge in trying 2 feet! Yup, it sucks. Those additional 3 feet (to bring them out to 5 feet) make a huge improvement, because of the additional time delay they impose on the arrival of the backwave.

" When I cross them to 45 degrees, the ’sweet spot’ is broader but the image is blurred."

Maggies are NOT good candidates for the extreme toe-in that I suggested. Their radiation pattern is generally too wide, and the tonal balance changes at different horizontal angles due to the side-by-side driver configuration.

" Are you using dipoles (electrostatic, maggie, etc)? "

No, I’m using what might be called an "asymmetric bi-directional" configuration. The first-arrival sound comes from a fairly directional front-firing array, then the reverberant field is augmented by an up-and-back firing array, whose output bounces off at least one wall and then off the ceiling before arriving at the listening area. This long two-bounce path mimics the path length of a dipole speaker pulled at least 5 feet out into the room, but without requiring that much distance. The SPL and spectral balance of the up-and-back firing array is user-adjustable, for adaptation to different room acoustic situations.

The Part-Time Audiophile took some good photos at a show last summer. Note the aggressive toe-in, and the up-and-back firing coaxial speaker installed in the speaker stand:

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/06/17/new-gear-from-audiokinesis-and-resonessence-labs-t-h-e-sho...

Duke
topjetboy OP
10 posts
 
nice setup. I was looking for the mentioned 'space generator'. Is that something from another dimension?
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