Speakers least affected by room acoustics

I have a really bad room acoustically speaking.  17 × 15  x 9 with a tin ceiling , speakers must be on the long wall because the sofa has to be on the opposite long wall.  This is because there is a door in the middle of the wall the speakers are on. 

There is also a door and window on each short wall,  2 more large 6' tall x 3' windows on the back wall...  its a tough room

I have owned about 10 pairs of speakers in this house, some sounded pretty good, some not so good.  Large speakers that go deep do worse in this room as opposed to small monitors with a sub.   The room has a nasty room mode that is centered around 40 Hz ...  This was easy to tame with monitors and sub along witha Velodyne SMS 1 to eq the peak.    

Although I never buy on impulse,  I did when I went to listen to a pair of Klipsch Heresy.   I sat down , listened to a bunch of material with the same amp i own and ordered a pair on the spot.  They checked off all the boxes for me, easy to drive with my EL34 amp, compact, 3 way,  sealed and can go close to the wall, dynamic and can rock out when necessary. 

Most importantly they drop off well above the room mode.  I run them full range with the subs x over set low .  My last speaker was the Revel m106 so its quite a departure , and as great as they were for a little speaker, they always sounded like a little speaker.   They just could not pull off a realistic bass guitar or lower piano registers like the Heresy can with the help of a sub of course.  

I think the Heresy's short stature and risers that angle them up slightly really help them work so well in a bad room.

This thread is really on the right track. Dipole speakers are the natural solution to your space and acoustics problems.

I was going to recommend Magnepan (I have a pair and love them), but the Spatials are much more compact and probably have a higher WAF.

Emerald Physics and Spatial both come from the same heritage, but it's my understanding that the originator of both now owns and runs Spatial. I notice, however, that Walter also strives to improve the Emeralds and they get good notices at audio shows.

Still, I personally like the looks of the Spatials better, I like that they're passive and don't inject digital signal processing into the signal path, and have a 60-day return period and generous 20-year warranty.

If you decide on Emerald and Underwood Wally, find out their current return policy. When I was in contact with them a few years ago, there was none: once you bought it, you kept it or sold it yourself.

Generally, horn, ESL and line sources. All of them control dispersion vertically. 

But still, room acoustics matter. A combination of tight dispersion control plus good room acoustic choices where you can control it is the best choice.

Reach out to GIK acoustics for attractive affordable solutions and good advice. 

Best,


Erik 

Gradient

Headphones are not vulnerable to acoustic waves but they are vulnerable to RF interference. The headphones per se and the cables and the electronics.

If the main concern is sound reflecting off the ceiling, then either dampen it with some form of acoustic treatment, or get a loudspeaker that is specially designed to reduce vertical dispersion.   Consider something like this:

http://www.daytonaudio.com/index.php/epique-cbt24-line-array-speaker-system-pair.html

There are plenty of alternatives.  Do some research on line array loudspeakers.

Another for " headphones ". Also, I agree with willemj, although I believe it is with all frequencies.

@recordchanger2018 The guy who designed the Emerald speakers moved on and founded Spatial Audio, which is his current company.  Check them out over on Audio Circle.

There are frameless paintable acoustic panels out there that can be adhered flat to the wall surface. They blend in pretty good. And in your case, put high up above normal sightline / above normal decor and wall art, high up in the corners will help with echo... I’m searching for these again myself. I know there out there... 

Sounds like a problem at higher frequencies. Apart from listening in near field, there is only one solution and that is to dampen the reflections.

I don't think there is a speaker on this planet that is not affected by room acoustics in some fashion.

A heavy rug on the floor would work wonders

Don’t compromise.  Look up Vicoustic Flat Panel and Cinema Round absorption products.  Gorgeous looking and very effective.  Oh, and relatively inexpensive for the performance benefit you get not only for sound, but as a living space as well.  If your room is that bad, I guarantee the panels will maks the room more relaxing and less stressful to be in, even if on subconscious level

Using the Cinema Round 2x2 panels in an arrangement like they show on the web site looks like high end wall art in person.  Keep in mind, the images they show on the site have dorky lights behind them.  Having them flush with the wall looks much better.

Something very directional like Magnepans would decrease the echo but they have a smaller sweet spot.  Any conventional box speaker will have the echo.  Something with a small midrange will have more even dispersion so the echo should be less objectionable.

Headphones?

Our family room is a 20'x20'x20' cube that opens to the kitchen area with some windows near the corners. I have my Martin Logan Aerius i speakers along one of the 20' walls about 13' apart and the listening couch is about 12' away and the floor is covered with a large area rug on hardwood. Contrary to my expectation, I have no echo and the overall sound is very good. Interestingly, the large distance between the speakers to some extent makes up for the inherently narrow sweet spot of these speakers. You need carpet on the floor and the furniture typically does the rest.

The Spatial speakers look interesting. I talked to Walter Lieberman and he recommended his Emerald Physic’s as they are open baffle too

12 x 20 with speakers on the long wall

Google Spatial Audio. Check out the M3 and M4 Turbo S. These are open baffle speakers, not enclosed floorstanders.
They would not need acoustic treatments on the wall behind them or any bass traps. But you should still listen in the near-field.

How large is your room?

not really except listening in the near field to minimize the effect.....