You might consider something like Omega Super Alnico Monitors, which are full-range,Ā mated with a REL subwoofer. The combination will not have excessive upper range dissonance and will have a very natural sound. They are also efficient, with sensitivity >94dB, which would permit you to use a wide range of lower-power class A amplifiers and SET tube amplifiers, if you chose.
Help Deciding On New Speakers For Small Room, $10k budget
Hello everyone! A brief background. For the first time in my life, I have a dedicated room for listening! š Iām very excited about it. However, itās not very big. Something is better than nothing though. Previously I always lived in apartments and had to primarily listen on headphones. The room size is 10 feet by 11 feet with 10 foot ceilings, almost a perfect square. It has already been professionally sound treated with many panels from Gik Acoustics. So despite its tricky sizing, it should be all set up for a proper experience! And I already have a nice chain, a McIntosh MC52 Preamp and Primare Power Amp and CD Player with a Holo Audio May KTE. Oh, I also have a Rel A7X subwoofer.
I unfortunately have a disability that makes it very difficult for me to travel. I cannot easily just go to a hifi store and try things. I also live kinda in the middle of nowhere. But Iām a former professional musician and music is my life, and I want to feel connected to my music as much as I can, so Iām willing to invest into it. I have a budget of about $10k give or take $1k or so. I donāt mind looking at used options in like new condition.
A little about my hearing preferences: I am very sensitive to high frequencies, specifically around 7k-10k. For reference, every hifi headphone Iāve ever used made me wince because the high frequencies are too pronounced. I just put up with it because I didnāt have a choice, but Iāve noticed that with speakers Iām usually not so sensitive to them so Iām excited to go down this journey and enjoy my music listening more. I like powerful, punchy bass, and generally prefer a warmer sound signature, however, even though my ears are sensitive to higher frequencies, I love a nice crisp and realistic cymbal sound. In general, as a musician, I think Iād love something that sounds ātrue to lifeā because I have obviously a lot of experience hearing instruments live. I mostly listen to jazz (because Iām a jazz musician) but I also love music of all genres like rock, electronic, pop, soul, alternative, and occasionally K-Pop too, Iām pretty open minded. So something that is a good all-rounder might also be nice. Writing this all out, I now think I might be asking for the moon though, so letās just say jazz and realistic instruments is my main priority š
So with all that said, I would greatly appreciate your suggestions. Iāve been looking at Focalās line of Kanta and Sopra but Iāve heard they are bright. Iāve heard B&W but I donāt think their house sound is for me, again too bright. Ā Also debating between bookshelves and small floor standers for a smallish room. Iāve been looking also at Canton, Dali, Tannoy and Wharfdale, but Iām not as familiar with the speaker world as I am the headphone or IEM world, so Iām quite open to ideas. Thank you so much and best wishes on the evening of this crazy time Iām in the U.S.!
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ATC SCM40 (active or passive ). Fully sealed/ no rear ports to potentially cause resonant problems in room. I have em in my office, slightly larger than your room, and I love them. Prior used Harbeth C7esXD, SHL5 +XD, and a ton of other standmount and floorstanders. Like you I tend to shy away from bright speakers. Three of the āhotā sounding models of note, were Focal Sopra No1, Marten Oscar Trio , and Devore Super Nine. They all caused listening fatigue. Numerous amps , tube amps, adjustments, ad nauseam. Ā The balm for me was Harbethā¦ but they are not great on all the genres I really like. The ATC performs above them all. To my ears the ATC midrange does Harbeth midrange better than Harbeth, which can sound dry at times. If you favor realism, true authentic natural / believable sound, dynamics, soundstage, on and on then def give them a shot. There is a real reason why heaps of the top recording studios and artists demand ATC speakers. I would have saved a truckload of time and money if I had tried ATC years ago. Happy tunes to you and good luck. Ā |
Probably standmounts.Ā Perhaps Vienna Acoustics Haydn Signiture, PS Audio Aspen, Gershman Audio Studio II or one of the Sonus Faber offerings.Ā The tonality of these speakers may be more in like with your liking.Ā I also don't like speakers that get grainy or harsh in the upper frequencies but still enjoy the detail. |
For that room Iād seriously look at Audio note UK AN line of speakers. They are designed to be placed in the corner of the room. some of the very best for a musical presentation. None fatiguing, excellent detail levels, excellent bass depth and detail, not harsh on top but all the detail you could ask for. Also, quite efficient so it opens the doors to a wide range of amps. |
@cookiecurls wrote: "The room size is 10 feet by 11 feet with 10 foot ceilings, almost a perfect square". This makes me think that a somewhat unconventional set-up geometry might be worth considering: Perhaps with the speakers and listening position oriented almost, but not quite, along a diagonal. This would help to smooth out the in-room bass in your almost-cubic room. @cookiecurls again: "I also have a Rel A7X subwoofer" and "No [placement] limitations, itās an empty canvas." I would suggest main speakers whose low end overlaps the subwoofer somewhat, such that the subwoofer is augmenting the low end rather than being the sole source of low end energy. And, I would suggest elevating the sub so that it is closer to the ceiling than to the floor. Combined with not-quite-diagonal speaker placement, this approach would result in your three in-room bass sources each being a different distance from the nearby room boundaries, with good distribution of your bass sources in all three dimensions.Ā Does your subwoofer have a phase control?Ā A phase control is often useful when there is overlap between the sub(s) and mains. @cookiecurls: "[The room] has already been professionally sound treated with many panels from Gik Acoustics." Which types of panels, and can you relocate them if you wanted to try the almost-diagonal setup geometry? One final question, which has to do with spatial quality preference: Are you more interested in a "they are here" presentation (it sounds like the musicians are in your room), or a "you are there" presentation (it sounds like you are in the musicansā room)? Thanks! Duke |
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