I have my Revel Salon 2 speakers in a smaller room, and they sound absolutely incredible there!!! The Salon 2 speakers work so well in smaller rooms because they're so adjustable. The Salon 2s tremble and bass settings can be adjusted and toned down to suit smaller rooms. For example, because my room is smaller, I had to decrease the Salon 2s bass output by simply switching the bass setting from "Normal" to "Contour." The "Contour" setting is designed to help prevent the Salon 2s bass from overpowering smaller rooms. But, you still get deep, true full-range bass while in "Contour" mode, and it's just incredible!!! The Revel Salon 2 speakers finally ended my long journey to find my ideal speaker for the foreseeable future, for which, my ears and my wallet are extremely grateful.
speakers for small room
I have a small living room. My amp is an Accuphase powering some Harbeth P3ESRs and a KEF KC62 subwoofer. Sounds great for acoustic and jazz. However, I also like big symphonic works and the Harbeths don't cut it for that. I'm looking for something more dynamic and something that can push more air to give me that grand experience of listening to big works. Any recommendations? Assume a budget of $10000.
TIA
I never answer any question for suggestion about speakers... I dont have experience save with a few speakers brand ... Many here know more... (But i know a bit about acoustic ...Few people ever tuned their room ... ) Because i did not want also to add another suggestion to a string of suggestions all different from all users... 😊 The other reason is for a small room any relatively good speakers will be tremendously upgraded in a small dedicated room by acoustic embeddings... But acoustic embeddings is not buying few panels and calling that purchase job done... People underestimate completely acoustics power... They think their room is already good even if the room is not designed around specfic speakers... Another reason is my own cheap but good modified speakers ( the brand name does not matter for my purpose here ) became so good, i will be labelled a "liar" and a "tin foil hat" if i advocate them, with specific volume and diameter bundle of straws in the porthole and cardboard roll on the tweeter to increase the focus on the near listening position.. Add to that "my golden plates" homemade (shungite and copper tape on one side) as EMI blocker among other thinks all along with quartz around my speakers and connectors ... I decrease crosstalk mechanically with separating wood panel because my speakers are on my desk , it is not perfect but it gives me a soundstage out of the speakers, depth and imaging... My speakers are damped and all connectors under "golden plate"... I use a NOS battery dac TDA 1543 to balance these active speakers analytic side ...The result is a natural timbre with details but no fatigue at all ... It is useless i recommend my speakers here which i never used for music for 12 years because i hated them, even if they were well reviewed everywhere ; i hated them BEFORE creating all these modifications and a dedicated acoustic room around them, i did it all that for them in the last 6 months because i had no more other speakers after selling my house ...Now i loved them and i am afraid to replace them even with 1000 thousand bucks to do it... If someone had bought my well reviewed low cost speakers WITHOUT all these opmization and modifications he would like me 12 years ago call them "crap" or low-fi with lack of bass at 80 hertz and a muddled one ...I go now 50 hertz with total clarity and punch... No need for a sub at all ... Therefore what would be the reason for me to recommend any speakers because i dont believe too much in any reviews here anyway , when people are often unable to adress acoustic and optimization but always bought something to merely plug them and play ? And the costlier always must be the better... I smile and pity because we pay for acoustics ignorance and embeddings control lacks ... It is more fun to learn and create our heaven than to think we can buy it without investing TIME in learning experiments ... Someone for example who sell IMPROVED speakers posted music from his improved speakers on youtube; listening to it i prefer my files on my small optimized speakers because it seems on par ....This does not prove that my speakers modified are on par with his costlier product, no, i dont claim that , but this prove that my acoustic room/speakers is not far behind with active speakers modified which cost me 100 bucks 12 years ago ...😊 i will recommend to the OP acoustic experiments and not any costly speakers BEFORE studying... it seems for some i am deluded😁 because i am one of the few people happy passed this minimal acoustic threshold satisfaction where going further we pay a lot for a bit improvement on all acoustic factors ... What matter is the BALANCE between all acoustic factors, which balance can be reach at low cost modulo modifications, optimizations and acoustic ... I wrote this post for people with very low budget here to say that studying help to go a long way with low cost good products... Hope for the best and study, experiment, and be creative... It pay a lot...
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I missed the fact your room is open on one side. So it appears you listen in an area that is smaller than the overall room side. Seems like more information is needed. Duke brings up several things to be taken into consideration. To start, I think we need to know the overall room size and which wall is open in relation to the speakers and your listening position. |
I recommended Pulsars earlier, but if your room can handle floorstanders I’d recommend the Perspective 2 as it’ll give you a bit more scale. Another possibility would be Spatial Audio speakers that are a dipole design and are very good at scaling up depending on the music. https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650006747-spatial-audio-x3/ Just a couple more options for you to chew on. |
I would definitely consider using dsp room correction. My results are night and day and I’ve tried to do room treatments in the past. Floor standers, room correction and at least one sub would be my suggestion. IMO Lyngdorf RP is the cats meow. I haven’t heard many others besides the cheapy home theater receivers room correction and it was not good for music. |
Magico A3s work great in my 15’ sq listening room pushing them with Hegel H590. Anything bigger would probably be overkill. Retail for about 16k but available used for under 10. Picked mine up for 9 on the US Audio Mart site. I find that people will justify selling them at a loss when they find “end game” speakers at 50-60% of retail and decide to move up. All genres sound good to me on the A3. It’s the quality of the recordings that make the difference in listening pleasure. |
Monitor Audio Gold 200. Specifically designyfor smaller rooms where room dictates placement closer to rear walls. Incredible build & finish, but most notably clean, transparent, and excellent dynamics. The dual rear ports can be individually plugged to tune the bass, both for extension and eliminating thickness on voices. |
An update on how to use RAAL phones. I sold my amazing RAAL VM-1a tube headphone amp because I needed money for an amp for the Magnepan LRS+. I had the new RAAL TI-1b 2-channel amp interface box ($800). I use that with the following:
The above setup gets me to about 90-95% of the VM-1a tube amp ($7k). So one can get almost the best sound out the RAALs for a rather low price. I got this Schitt gear not because of the price, it was because of the sound.
BTW - The Mjolnir (sp?) is a headphone amp / preamp but I use it as a preamp only. It is not powerful enough for the RAAL CA-1a as a headphone amp. I also cannot use SR1a with them due to the need to do baffle compensation. I use the above Schitt setup as a 2-channel system.
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"The room is 13’ x 11’ with 3 walls, the other side opening up to the rest of the house." If I understand correctly, one side of your room is effectively a large opening into the rest of your house. If this is the case, then in the bass region your airspace is effectively your 13’ x 11" room PLUS "the rest of the house". This is good from the standpoint of modal effects in the bass region, but challenging from the standpoint of moving enough air to generate good bass impact. Is the missing wall on an 11 foot side, or on a 13 foot side? "Would a floorstander be too much?" It depends on the specifics of course, but imo a floorstander is more likely to do what you want than a stand-mount speaker is, if I’m understanding correctly about your room essentially "missing" one wall. Imo some way of adjusting the bass characteristics of the speaker would be desirable. "I’m looking for something more dynamic and something that can push more air to give me that grand experience of listening to big works." What are your constraints as far as loudspeaker enclosure size goes? And, what are the constraints on placement of those speakers? Is this primarily for just one listener, or often for multiple listeners? In other words, does the width of the "sweet spot" matter? Ime "that grand experience of listening to big works" is enabled when the spatial characteristics of the recording are perceptually dominant, as opposed to the "small room signature" of the playback room being perceptually dominant. To put it another way, envelopment/immersion is already on the recording (assuming it’s decent), and we want to keep the room from masking that. Briefly, this can be facilitated by minimizing the early reflections while encouraging the later-arriving reflections (and I can explain why if you’d like). Which leads to my next question: Can you orient your system such that the opening into the rest of the house is behind your listening position? Duke |
I recently set up another system in a similar size room (10x14). I use the QLN Prestige One. They are easy to drive and your Accuphase and other gear will be a great match. As a matter of fact the dealer who sold them to me recommended Accuphase electronics. They do very well with large scale orchestral. I listen to classical with my morning coffee almost every day. They are also within your budget. Part Time Audiophile has some online reviews you could check out. Based on what you describe you’re looking for I think they’re right up your alley. |
…or if you can stretch it.
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650009173-borresen-01-speakers-w-darkz-t2s-and-stands/ |
For $10000 I would go for the TAD ME-1 on sale in audiogon.
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisb6f60-tad-me-1-micro-evolution-one-monitors |
@ullogu1 Wrote:
The JBL 4349's will give you a larger and very dynamic sound and your Accuphase amp has all the power they need. 😎 Mike |
How big do you want to go - stand mount or floor standing? I prefer stand mount speakers in your application. As previously mentioned, Heritage Specials are definitely worth consideration. I just scored a pair of B&W 805 D3 speakers. They meet/exceed my expectations. With my CJ tube amp and pre, they don’t sound bright and have plenty of base. They continue to amaze me, such neutral clarity and incredible soundstage. Your ears matter the most. Audition as many speakers as possible. Buying used can be a viable option. Especially if you can find a pair locally or within a reasonable driving distance. |
I was thinking of a KEF Reference 1 Meta for A 12 X 11 X 9 (+ 4-foot closet where I put a desk and monitors). I was also thinking of Magico A1, Vivid S12, Yamaha NS2000, and some other monitors also close to $10k. My room is treated with $700 of GIK acoustic panels, this is a must. I also have a KEF KC62 subwoofer. It was paired with the KEF LS50 Meta. This was a beautiful pairing, but I wanted to see if going up in price would make it even better. Before I was able to buy a more expensive monitor, I wanted to try the new Magnepan LRS+ ($995) that people are raving about. It is a power hog, and my brute of an amp, the 100-watt Class A CODA #16, worked great with it. The sound is way bigger than the LS50 Meta. Tons of depth and bass was shocking even without the KC62. I use the KC62, but I had to dial it down a lot compared with pairing it with the LS50 Meta. I do not listen to much classical music, but I would imagine the wall of sound effect of the LRS+ would work great with that genre. I spent a lot of time and money making my office system sound good, Interestingly, I spent less to make it sound great. I use my CODA #16 amp in my Livingroom with my Yamaha NS5000 speaker. So, I needed another amp for the LRS+. I tried a few others but was not mesmerized as with the CODA #16. I eventually learned that the Sanders Sound Systems Magtech is what I should try with Magnepans. Roger Sanders sent me a used Magtech ($4k) on a 30-day trial. He normally does not give home trials on used gear, but he told me that I would love the pairing. After, 2 days of listening, I emailed Roger back and told him the amp is staying. What a combo.
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I recommend the Vivid Kaya 25. They are a small floor standing speaker listed at $11K where you may be able to negotiate to your $10k cap. They have excellent design technology and performance as well as an elegant but unique shape. Clarity, detail, timber, image density, staging, dynamics and micro dynamics are excellent (what you are lookin for). Pro reviews say they project sound well into the room for their small stature but admit they are bettered but larger and more expensive speakers that will dominate a small room. You should be fine supporting them with your sub. I love my G3s. Give a listen to the K25s. Note dealers hard to find. I did not look up where you are located. |
If you want a natural sound speakers, check out the sound of Wavetouch speakers in videos. Alex/wavetouch |
I think Joseph Audio Pulsars could be a great fit for what you’re looking for given the relatively small size of your room. Here’s a nice pair in SoCal so maybe you could even go give them a listen. IMO they’re wildly overpriced and should be more like $5k max including stands — he ain’t never gonna sell these for near the $6250 he’s asking for. I’d suggest going for a listen if possible and see if you can strike a deal if they give you what you’re looking for,plus if they’re in SoCal you save shipping. Best of luck. |
I heard the KEF Reference 1 Meta at Axpona with 2 subwoofers and it lacked engagement. I asked to hear them with subwoofers off and the sound was lethargic. Yes, tough to completely judge a speaker within 15 minutes at a show but it does raise the "Red Flag". IMO they could be very sensitive with electronics/room acoustics/cables/placement and even recordings. I did like the YG Acoustics Peak Talus($14k) very well balanced and liquid even when the subwoofer was off. On the budget side the Atohm GT2 HD($7500) was the best under $10k speaker at the show. When set up correctly these 2 compact floor standers will compete with any comparably priced standmount/subwoofer combo. |
How about Vaughn Cabernett II that I have?
It has small footprint with 93 db/w. It can play sympony with scale in small room.
it was driven by 48 watt SET amp called Line Magnetic 508.
I have Scaena 3.2, Altec A7 and Lansche 4.1 in addition to Vaughn speaker.
if you live Pacific Northwest, I may let you test it at your room.
Thomas
Thomas |
They were limited production, but I have Dynaudio Heritage Specials and they are incredible. Perhaps a used pair. For a stand mounted speaker, the bass is wonderful. Imaging, dynamics, timbral accuracy, are spectacular. And with any really terrific speaker, the better that you can put in front of it, from source to amplifier, the better the sound. |
