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Small Floor Standers

I'm looking to create a short list of speakers for music only. The room is 15x28 with 9' ceilings and hard surfaces, except a few padded chairs and light fabric window covers. The main listening area is 15x18 and the rest of the room is my kitchen which opens up to it.

Musically, I listen to rock, jazz, and a variety classical but no hip hop or electronic to speak of. The ideal speaker will provide smooth tonal response, good dynamics and importantly freedom from stridency which the live room will only accentuate. High SPL's and subterranean bass are not required but I don't want something that gets lost in the space. The speakers must be compact - 35" or so tall and not more than 8-12" wide and deep. I prefer floor standing designs because of the room volume and as protection against a 6 year old. My budget is around $1k used, maybe a bit higher for the right choice.

A few of my early thoughts are the smaller Spendors and Quad L series as well as Totems and Dynaudio.

The source will be a Squeezebox playing lossless digital and the amp is TBA, but will be matched to the speakers which I think should be picked first.

Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks in advance.
wdrazek
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,219 posts
 
That is a pretty big room to fill with sound for 1K. None of the Totems that you will find at that price will do it. I tried a pair of Forests in a 26X16 room for a weekend and they definitely weren't enough. Neither are the smaller Spendors going to do it. You will have to go to at least the S8e, and that won't happen at your budget. I think you are either going to have to live with the limited dynamics and absolute volume you will get with the size constraints you have stated. Or else go with a larger more expensive speaker.

Oz
lngbruno
210 posts
 
Wdrazek,

I went through a similar discovery exercise about two months ago.

Here are some of the contenders I seriously looked at:

AV123’s Ref1’s, RS250’s and their hot little x-ls w/mods

Von Schweikert VR1’s

NOLA Mini

AVS sbs 01

Acoustic Energy AE-1 (used)

Reference 3A (used)

NHT 2’s or 3’s

Axiom M3V2

Aperion Intimus 532

Ascend CBM 170SE

The choice you make is dependent on not only your equipment but also what sound signature you prefer. My personal preference is clear and natural sounding vocals and horn instruments, tight lower midrange and bass, wide and deep sound stage, 3-D affect, and detailed upper frequencies; yet have a warm, liquid, high resolution and engaging overall sound. I play commercial Jazz cds, which are all over the map when it comes to sound quality. After listening to many of the above, I choose the x-ls speakers and moded them.

All these speakers are going to sound even better is you add a subwoofer with a fast steep cut-off X-O and cross it over very low. Trust me on this one point because it made a world of a difference. My sub happens to be a Vandersteen 2W with a non-Vandy plate amp set at around 50HZ.

Have a fun journey,
L
sbrtoy
122 posts
 
First off let me say to Ekobesky, the Sqeezebox does not merit $200 speakers, I have a Bolder digitally modded SB3 running to a Benchmark DAC-1 and I am very pleased. I find it very much the equal of many of the high end cd players I have howned previous such as the Sim Audio nova, Electrocompaniet EMC1-up and Ayre CX-7e providing you store the material without lossy compression.

I have owned the Quad L's and they are very nice speakers, pretty polite and would likely work well in an undamped room. They do not however have much bass slam or true high frequency extension.

I would highly recommend checking out the Dali Ikon series, I own the Helicon 800's and the Ikon's do many of the same things well and have an energy and transparency that is addicting. Pair the Dali's with a decent tube preamp and a good SS amp and you can have an excellent system that won't crack the budget.
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
Meadowlark Audio Kestrel Hot Rods meet your needs exactly and can be had for less than your budget. I was looking for a speaker with same size requirements and smooth sonic signature when I lucked upon these. They have adequate bass and work exceptionally well at low volumes. I never tried them in a room as large as you describe but few speakers meeting your size requirements will do better.
Mine are currently in the closet and come out occasionally. These Kestrels will be with me for a long time
demar
25 posts
 
Just purchased a pair of Totem Arros and could not be happier, for now at least...
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