2. speakers
  3. 161658-98013

What is the best audiophile speaker for a tiny square room?

I currently have Soundlabs M545 electrostatic speakers in my 9 x 11ft room. They are great speakers particularly for this small room because they are more directional than box speakers and therefore decrease sidewall reflections. However, like other electrostatics, they are hard to drive and require big amps (>200W), which tend to generate a lot of heat. Class Ds don't go well with ES speakers. Are there great easy to drive speakers that would work well in this room without compromising SQ?
128x128chungjh
dsnyder0cnn
65 posts
 
Headphones?
boomerbillone
355 posts
 
Earphones!
zaphod2006's avatar
zaphod2006
7 posts
 
I would try and compare the ls50's to the audience 1+1, i have the audience in my bedroom, they are easier to locate near room boundaries than the kef's and the midrange is as good as any speaker. Like the kef's a good sub, like rel t3/5/7 should be considered for bass depth
dherring
38 posts
 
I would recommend Harbeth speakers. Depending on your budget, they create an incredible sound for the space consumed. 
yyzsantabarbara
4,804 posts
 
@zaphod2006 I had the Audience 1+1 and the KEF LS50 driven by a Peachtree Nova 150 in the the same room for a few months. The 1+1 was 2x the cost and I wanted to like it more than the LS50 however, I could not get it to sound good. The imaging was bad the soundstage was not correct. I just could not get it to sound correct in the small room. I even called Audience to ask advice.

It think the 1+1 needed more space from the front wall and I did not have the space to do so. The KEF LS50 was perfect in my acoustically treated room. I think the Coincident design makes placement easier.

My new Thiel CS3.7 also has a coincident driver design (Thiel COAX driver) which I think helps in placement.
More to discover