Recommendations for HiFi Listening Room


Newbie here.  Wife and I are looking to turn our Great Room into a listening room.  It’s roughly 21’X’19 and has a cathedral ceiling that is 11’ tall at the wall and 20’ tall at the apex.  Spoke to a good hifi dealer in the area who made the following recommendations/proposal and I’m curious if this group may have any input for getting maximum bang for my buck.  Basically, with a budget around 35k (or thereabouts) would you buy something similar or are there any components you’d add or swap out?

Paradigm Persona 3F

McIntosh MA8950

Pro-Ject Xtension 9 w/ Ortofon Black Cartridge 

Sony ES DSD Music Server (this one concerns me a touch in that it appears to be an 8 yr old product line).

Thanks so much in advance for your collective expertise.  My wife isn’t going to let me drop money into this for another 15 years so I need to get it right the first time. 

If it matters, our musical taste is quite varied: classical, jazz, classic rock, alternative, hip hop.  My mother complained in my youth that if i had 10 bucks I would just buy a CD with it.  She is still right. 

128x128brewerslaw

Tons of opinions and many of them really good !  Doing the GIK room stuff is a good start.  A really good book, easy to read and understand is "Get Better Sound" by Jim Smith.  Using this book and some rather inexpensive room treatments I was able to get my listening-room sound great.  

For a room that size, horn-loaded speaker systems that are efficient may be the way to go as they don't require hefty power amplification for good output and man sound really good.  Volti makes a speaker called the Razz that would probably serve you very well.  It's very dynamic both macro and micro and could be very satisfying for the array of music that you listen to.  There are a number of really good Class-A amplifiers that would work very well with those speakers.  The Pass-Labs XA-25 is highly regarded and would provide plenty of power for them.  And Pass-Labs makes the XP-12 or XP-22 preamps that are really great sounding as well.  Those Pass-Labs products all have terrific reviews too.  As for source equipment, if you must have vinyl, well then go for it.  However, I have gone completely digital and don't even miss my vinyl anymore.  Innuos makes a number of great music-servers and a BorderPatrol DAC will give your great digital reproduction with a very analog-like sound.  All of the stuff I mentioned above would be well within your budget.  In any event, enjoy your audio journey !

 

I thought you were going to ask about room treatment. 

my room is a similar size and shape. The walls are covered with 5.5” and the ceiling with 15.5” of rockwool, which is then covered with fire resistant burlap. 

The rest of my system, seen at the bottom of this link, was built for about $21,000 over a forty year period. It is now set in stone. I will be commenting on that later in a separate post. 

https://www.theaudioatticvinylsundays.com/about

 

First, audition as many speakers as you can in and near you and Milwaukee. Make appointments with dealers and spend a whole day (or two) listening down here in Chicago......first component I would buy are speakers.

You have already started with the room acoustics by contacting GIK

Defiinitely upgrade your power,  it will work no matter what components you choose. At least 1 and better yet 2 dedicated 20AMP circuiits with audtiophile power outlets. Very nice power cables.....upgrading my power was an eye opener, and better performance from some other choices

Rockport speakers would do well in your room. Would be worth adding to your audition list. Good luck and have fun!

Some have mentioned that the room acoustics are important, in fact treatment is paramount. I know a few who believe that if amps and speakers are properly designed they will work in any room, well sure they will 'work' but not in a satisfying way.

The type of treatment depends on the size of the room and your room, domestically speaking, is large and needs a mixture of diffusion and absorption. GIK can supply the panels etc. but a word of caution.

Some have complained of being over-damped with the sound being a little lifeless. You can if you are handy make your own bass traps, absorption panels and diffusers. It's not difficult and there is plenty info online to help. Also the forum gearslutz has a dedicated section on acoustics including how to measure your existing room. This you can do for the cost of a microphone and free download of REW. Strongly recommended.

 

Some good ideas for speakers, I suggest the Volti Razz. It has an unusually high sensitivity which is a good thing and permits the use of lower powered amps including tubes. This type of speaker is able to fill a large room with ease. Their next model up is also worth consideration.

Best not to rush into buying something and heed the advice here, audition,audition,audition.

What has not been discussed is how multi-subwoofers help with room acoustics. The idea here is not to produce thunderous bass, which they can, but to smooth out all the peaks and nulls which ruins the sound. You have the space 😎  Plenty of info online, try looking up Audiokinesis and SWARM or DEBRA. The multi-subs will smooth the response but without some acoustic absorption the sound will still take too long to decay. This all may seem a little daunting at first but once you start it will all make sense.  Combining room treatment with multi-subs is optimal and even a modest system will provide immense satisfaction, outperforming something much more expensive which is simply just placed in the room without taking cognisance of the rooms effect.  Have fun.

Lastly, as a self-proclaimed Newbie, perhaps instead of considering analogue and digital just initially go digital. Streaming opens up a new world of almost unlimited music and you will find many enthusiasts claiming they haven't used their turntables for years or sold off all their vinyl. Digital has come of age and unless you own a huge collection of records, why bother? Vinyl has for a long time been considered superior, not so much anymore.