Thanks, I was sort of wondering if someone would say it’s not worth it. I’m more than happy to save the money if that’s the case. Sorry about the color—I copied and pasted from an email draft and didn’t notice. It doesn’t appear I am allowed to edit.
Starting from scratch in a large room
I am hoping to set up my first hi-fi system, but I have some room/equipment constraints and would appreciate some advice.
I am looking at an all-in-one amp and passive speakers. Right now, I am leaning toward a Naim Uniti Nova and KEF R3 speakers. I am a total novice and open to suggestions on both the amp and speakers, however, I do think an all-in-one like the Nova is the right direction for simplicity and space considerations. Other speakers I have considered are the Focal Aria 906 and BW 706 S2. I listen mostly to modern/classic rock, mixed with a little bit of everything, exclusively through streaming (preferably AirPlay).
The challenge is that I have a very large room, but I can’t use floor speakers or standmounts--the speakers will likely have to be on the built-in bookshelves, on a shelf that is 24" deep (it's not really a shelf, more like a wooden countertop on top of a closed cabinet). The room is 33’ x 18’ with 11-foot ceilings. I’ll be listening from either 13 feet or 25 feet. There are rugs covering most of the wood floors, heavy drapes on one of the long walls, and large canvas paintings hung on drywall on the other long wall. I understand I have some pretty major room limitations, but I'd like to have something that sounds as good as possible for around $10-15K. I've read somewhere around here that having two subs might help compensate for the smaller speakers. This is our living room/kitchen area, so I am limited in how many, if any, "treatments" I can make to improve the listening conditions. Would some kind of base between the speaker and countertop make a difference? Thanks very much.
Showing 9 responses by deertrail7
I can tell from reading some of your posts that you have an incredible amount of knowledge on this subject. But, respectfully, reading and asking questions on an internet forum is, in my mind, part of "putting in the hard work." I'm trying to learn from people that know more than I do--and by the way, I only came here after spending a few hundred hours researching the subject matter. So, again respectfully, I don't think the only options are (1) figure it out entirely by yourself or (2) be totally ignorant and pay a dealer to do it. |
My interest in music is strictly amateur/recreational, although at one point I actually wrote a couple of album reviews for a local magazine. I have no musical ability of my own. So I don't really know how to quantify how much I "love" music (I mean, doesn't everyone?), but I know my enjoyment of it increases with the quality of the reproduction.
I hope to be able to do that in a decade or so. Right now, I have four young kids and all of the spaces in our home are spoken for.
That's interesting to hear your perspective about Naim and good advice about finding an emotional connection. I always feel uncomfortable walking into dealers and asking to listen to different setups--guess I just need to get over it. Thanks for your response. |
I think you are insinuating that airplay is a low-quality source. I thought that their "lossless" audio format was supposed to be pretty good. Is that not true?
I was considering wireless. Everyone seems to like the KEF LS50 Wireless II, and I thought they sounded fine when I listened to them.
Thanks for this. I stumbled on this thread at one point a few weeks ago but had forgotten about it. |
Yes, first system. At least, I haven't had anything anyone would consider an "audiophile" setup. I am 44.
Very much. That's the impetus behind my desire to invest a not insignificant amount of money in a system that can reproduce music as well as possible given the limitations of the environment. However, I'm getting the overall impression that my environment might be limiting enough that it's maybe not worth it at this time.
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That actually sounds like a really good option for me. I was considering replacing the soundbar in this room as well, so maybe I could just go with the whole Paradigm system. And it would be nice not to have to cut holes in the walls or ceiling. Thanks! |
36 inches.
Good advice. Moving up gradually in speaker quality I'm sure would be an education in itself.
What would you consider to be 'extra' power? That's kind of what I thought I was doing by considering the Naim Nova (80 watts per channel) over the Naim Atom (40 watts per channel). Is that "enough?" |
First, thanks very much to everyone who responded to this thread. So much high-quality advice/information (both technical and practical--heck, even psychological!) offered to a complete stranger, and I truly appreciate it. Maybe some negotiating with/bribing of my wife might be a more efficient use of time than trying to figure out how to get great sound out of small speakers in a large room. Room correction seems to be a common theme, and @kota1's comment about being able to achieve a flat frequency response makes sense to me. Also, thanks for the Paradigm recommendation--that may be where I start, since it would be a good base for a house-wide system even if it doesn't work in the living room for some reason. The Buchardts are appealing to me, particularly the ease with which they can be returned if they don't work out. Perhaps the wireless A500 would be a good alternative, with the Platin hub (with room correction but no AirPlay 2) or the Primare SC15 (no room correction, but AirPlay 2 and wired outputs in case I wanted a wired sub). And I've read in a few places that the Buchardt's put out a lot of sound for their size. It may come down to personal preference, but @ddd1 might be right about the futility of using smaller speakers in the big room. I guess we will see. Those BM15A's are an interesting option. My only other thought was that maybe I could use Klipsch Heresy IV speakers as "bookshelf" speakers, since I think they would technically fit on the intended shelf space. Thanks again.
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