Overkill for small room


Hello all - long time lurker, first time poster. I've enjoyed reading so many of these posts, and I feel like I'm learning so much from you guys. Thank you for that.

I am strongly considering a pair of Dynaudio 20i - I am aware they require serious amplification - but I suspect that they'll be too much for a small room

Room specs: (11 wide by 14 long, normal ceiling height with acoustical tile, carpet tile covering one entire wall, wall-to-wall carpet on top of cement slab, no basement).

Am I nuts? 

Thank you in advance.

letshearit

@daveyf - yes, it will be a dedicated room, so I'll have flexibility as far as positioning and room treatments without disrupting the living space.

I have zero experience with tube amps, so I'll be starting with AB or D and go from there as I learn more about this world of HiFi and develop a better ear. 

I have a short list already, but opinions on amp choice is welcome too. This forum has infinitely more knowledge and experience than I, but I also realize that opinions vary widely, as does confirmation bias and brand loyalty. If you make a recommendation, please let it be something you know personally. 

@letshearit Since you have flexibility with treatments you can definitely make it work. I have a similar sized room and had a few speakers in there, including KEF LS50, Thiel CS3.7, and now Magnepan LRS+. I like the LRS+ in the small room the best because it seems the easiest to place. I do need 3 feet from the front wall.

I have managed to add 4 feet into my office space by leveraging a closet, and that helps the sonics. Also keeping the door open helps. I have photos on my A’gon Virtual System.

If you want a sonic safety net for a too big speaker in a small room, then this guy will solve your room issues. Genius level knowledge of room issues. If you use ROON then you can easily use his remote service to fix the room. I do not use his Convolution filters with the LRS+ since I find it an easy placement. I used it with the Thiel CS3.7.

Digital Room Calibration Services, Convolver, Headphone Filtersets (accuratesound.ca)

My LRS+ is a bear to drive to get it sounding as good as it can get. It needs a lot of power, and I used the following:

  • PeachTree GAN400 (a sleeper amp, with a touch of hardness on top. $1k used, Class D GANFET, 400 watts)
  • Sanders Magtech ($4k used from Sanders, Class AB 500 watts)
  • CODA #16 ($16k, mostly Class A and 150 watts, huge current)
  • Benchmark AHB2 (works in the small room but not as good as the other 3, 100 watts)

All 3 amps can work, depends on how fussy you get. I am now stuck with the #16 since it sounded the best with the LRS+. Though if I had not heard the #16 with the LRS+ I would have been totally content with the Sanders. The PeachTree is good and great for the price.

My takeaway is that even in a small room a hard to drive speaker sounds the best with a lot of power. My CODA is the most powerful sounding. The Sanders and GAN400 follow.

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My LRS+ system sounds great but there are limits due to the room. If you want something that seems unlimited sonically (no room) then consider the new RAAL 1995 Immanis ($10k). I have the lesser models CA-1a/SR1a and that is better than the LRS+ system that I have. The SR1a is like 2-channel sound.

(51) RAAL 1995 headphones, Magna and Immanis | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

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I will only look at speaker like the LRS+ for my small room from now on. The LRS+ is good but the drivers have some limitations in detail, compared to my Livingroom speaker This was a bit of an issue for me until I put the #16 amp in and now, I am not bothered. However, when I was bothered, I did some research and found these guys who make an LRS+ competitor that has been compared more favorably than the LRS+.

Diptyque audio - Hauts-parleurs plans Haute-Fidélité - Home

Diptyque audio - Hauts-parleurs plans Haute-Fidélité - dp107

 

Welcome to the insane asylum! (kidding)

Lot’s of good advice here but no questions about what kind of music you like and at what volume?

The reason I ask, is that your musical preferences can and should inform your speaker/amp choices.

One of the reasons I went with Harbeth is they are designed to sound very good at low levels, and do IMO. But even the 40’s aren’t the best rock speakers.

Just an example - not trying to sell you on Harbeth at all.

Good luck and enjoy the ride.

Musical tastes are all over the place - Mozart to Metallica, Coltrane to Coldplay, Deadmau5 to Dylan, Bonamassa to Black Sabbath. Lots and lots of blues, both the old guard and newer artists. Good amount of classic rock, alternative, and prog rock too. In short, too many styles to generalize. Not sure if this makes choosing gear more difficult or less!

I guess I'm looking for good balance, tight bass, and revealing detail while avoiding harshness. I seem to be rather intolerant of brightness around the 1KHz to 3KHz range. Not sure if it's my existing room or existing system, thus the desire to relocate and upgrade.