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Stand Mount Speakers for Classic Rock that sound alive at lower volumes ?

I would like some advise for used speakers that:

- Play Classic Rock well without sounding flat or harsh (I only listen to 70s/80s)

- Sound alive and snappy at lower volumes (to avoid noise complaints)

- Won't overload my listening room but still have some boogie factor.

I've had B&W 803 Matrix for 20 years but they don't sound good at lower volumes.  When I play them at a volume loud enough to make them come alive in my condo, they interact with the room too much and sound harsh.   They sounded great when I lived in a house with carpeting and a bigger room.  I will probably get noise complaints trying to use these speakers in my condo.  The room is 12' x 13' with the speakers along the 13' wall.

I want to buy used so I don't take a hit if I need to buy different pairs before I find the right one for the room.  I was thinking of trying ProAc D2's or the really old B&W Matrix 1 which was a bookshelf speaker with a 6" woofer that many say was the first 805 but without the 805 name.  I heard these back in the 80s and thought they sounded really good because their small size presented a smaller musical experience and still boogied which seems like what I need.  I see some used ProAc DT-8s for $3500 but they are full towers with (2) 8 inch woofers so they would probably overload my condo which has no carpet and floor to ceiling windows that reflect sound.  I heard the B&W 805D3  back in 2017 but that was at a stereo store with a big room.  They really thrilled me at the time but maybe they would sound bright in a smaller room.  Anyone else been down this road of playing Classic Rock in a smaller room?

tom32801
dynamiclinearity
247 posts
 

If any speaker is essentially flat it will sound bass shy and a small treble loss at low volumes due to Fletcher/Munson affect at our ears. Bass and treble roll off at low levels at our ears. Our ears are flat at about 100dB. Even at 80 dB, fairly loud actually, our ears are down over 10 dB.

What you are looking for are speakers that are dynamically linear, that change level at mini, midi and macro levels linearly(no or little compression). They will still have Fletcher/Munson affect but will have some jump factor. Off the top of my head(and without having heard many speakers) the one manufacturer I can recommend is ATC, the SCM 7, SCM 11, and especially the SCM19

 

jbmac75
193 posts
 

Paradigm. 

jl1ny's avatar
jl1ny
414 posts
 

ProAc Response D2’s will not disappoint. I’m a low volume/near field listener and the D2’s were superb in every aspect. 

freediver
1,144 posts
 

Amplification has as much to do at low listening levels as speakers...A pure Class A amp like Pass Labs or Sugden,aligned with a decent pair of 8 ohm speakers like the ProAcs you mentioned,Spendor,Harbeth or Reference 3A De Capo's will give superb low level listening...
 I would also agree with the headphone recommendation..I live in an apartment with neighbors on 2 sides & downstairs..I can rock out during the day while they are all at work,then when quiet hours are mandated, I plug in the HiFiMan(Classic Rock/Blues/Reggae) or iBasso headphones(Classical/Jazz) & never miss a beat...

sls883
225 posts
 

I helped my son set up a stereo in his bedroom. We found that Wharfedale Diamond 225 are pretty darn good if used with a subwoofer. I originally bought some Monitor Audio and they were too bright. 

I recently found a used pair of Wharfedale Diamond 10.7 floor standers.  They don't take up any more floor space that bookshelf speakers on stands. I let him use my Cambridge Audio cxa60 integrated amp and Bluesound Node as well as some decent cables. His bedroom is small and placement is less than ideal, but it sounds really good. No subwoofer needed with the 10.7. 

Far from high end gear, but I'm impressed with the sound quality given the cost. 

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