PDA

View Full Version : Help wanted: New speakers for a small room



mr sneff
17-01-2014, 13:03
The listening room is approximately 10ft x 10ft and 8ft high. My system consists of a Dell laptop running J River Media Centre and also a Pioneer PD-S705 into a Matrix Mini DAC. Amplification is a Quad 34/303. Speakers are John Blue JB3, or they were until this week when, on a whim, I took the JB3s out of the system and substituted my old, tiny, QED Arias and was shocked to discover that I preferred them! To my ears the soundstaging is better and the sound is a tad warmer and more engaging.
If I sell the JB3s to finance some new speakers I’m wondering what speakers forum member would recommend for such a small room? Either small floostanders or stand mount speakers capable of working close to the back wall. I’m not looking for high volume levels, I do most listening late at night, but a warm sound with smooth treble. I’m not particularly bothered about deep bass, neither the JB3s nor the QEDs go very low and I don’t feel as if I’m missing too much. My musical tastes are pretty wide, prog rock, folk, classical (mainly symphonies and choral music) ambient and electronic music. The speakers must be particularly good with vocals, oh, and under £500, new or preloved. Let me know what you think, thanks :)

istari_knight
17-01-2014, 13:46
Well I was going to recommend Rega speakers but warm with smooth treble rules them out !

Vienna Acoustics Haydn would suite IMO... Or a budget wildcard, if you can find a pair is Castle Acoustics Richmond 3i.

mr sneff
17-01-2014, 14:39
The other thing I should have mentioned regarding placement is that, due to the position of the speakers relative to the door, it's only possible for the front of the speaker/stand to be 12 inches from the back wall, not a lot of room when you take plinths, binding posts and speaker cables into consideration!

clarkey555
17-01-2014, 17:06
hi david may I suggest rega rs1 absolutely superb at working in tight/confined spaces.also if your budget allows try to stretch to the rs1 as opposed to the r1:wow:

mr sneff
17-01-2014, 17:18
hi david may I suggest rega rs1 absolutely superb at working in tight/confined spaces.also if your budget allows try to stretch to the rs1 as opposed to the r1:wow:
Hi Peter, sounds ideal from positioning point of view, but James said that Rega doesn't have a warm, smooth treble :hmm:

clarkey555
17-01-2014, 17:36
hi david I find the treble works beautiful and certainly integrates with the mid-band.my only criticism would be a little bass shy but it really helps the less space you have in your listening room.i have tried loads of different speakers and found the regas to be something very special like a good vintage whiskey that just gets better with age.:thumbsup:

clarkey555
17-01-2014, 17:44
Hi Peter, sounds ideal from positioning point of view, but James said that Rega doesn't have a warm, smooth treble :hmm:
check this out david http://www.audiocounsel.co.uk/brands/rega/rega-rs1/:thumbsup:

southall-1998
17-01-2014, 22:48
The RS1's are cute looking things to say the least! Are they power hungry speakers or decent enough to power from a humble amp?

S.

synsei
17-01-2014, 23:35
Try to audition a pair of Harbeth P3ESR's on the end of your 34/303 combo, I have a sneaky feeling they might be exactly what you are looking for ;)

mr sneff
17-01-2014, 23:51
Try to audition a pair of Harbeth P3ESR's on the end of your 34/303 combo, I have a sneaky feeling they might be exactly what you are looking for ;)
I thought I'd found a bargain on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Harbeth-P3ESR-Special-Edition-in-Rosewood-/161198606641?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudio HiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item25882f8931
But the price is for a single speaker! Mono, anybody? :lol:

walpurgis
17-01-2014, 23:54
Tannoy System 800 nearfield monitors. My listening room is about the same size and the little Tannoys sound truly marvellous in it. You won't find anything that images better and they sound super clean with plenty of weight. Mind you my big Tannoy Chatsworths work just as well in the same modest room.

http://i43.tinypic.com/23qx79f.jpg

mr sneff
18-01-2014, 09:25
Tannoy System 800 nearfield monitors. My listening room is about the same size and the little Tannoys sound truly marvellous in it. You won't find anything that images better and they sound super clean with plenty of weight. Mind you my big Tannoy Chatsworths work just as well in the same modest room.

http://i43.tinypic.com/23qx79f.jpg

Interesting, Geoff. I actually have a pair of Tannoy Reveal passive studio monitors that I use for monitoring and mixing and, in that context, I'm perfectly happy with them. I have tried them in my listening room and, even as far away from the wall as I can manage and with bungs in the rear ports, I find them too bass heavy.

walpurgis
18-01-2014, 11:19
Rear ported speakers are a nightmare in small rooms. My very good Dynaudio Contour 1.3 Mk.II speakers just could not be got right in here.

clarkey555
18-01-2014, 17:12
The RS1's are cute looking things to say the least! Are they power hungry speakers or decent enough to power from a humble amp?

S.
hi shane I wouldn't say they were power hungry imho.my brio 3 runs them no probs whatsoever even when listening at low volume.

hoopsontoast
19-01-2014, 11:03
A few I have used in small(er) rooms:
ATC SCM7
ATC SCM10
Keesonic Kolt
Rega R1
Rega Alya

Out of those, the Alyas (that I currently have) are probably the best all round being relatively easy to drive, nice tight bass, work close to rear wall (depite rear port) and good overall balance. I felt they do better than the R1s I had previously.
The ATCs tend to like a bit more power although I had good results with the SCM10 and a T-Amp in a very small 8ft square room.
The Kolts are very good too, love mine but very hard to find.