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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
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...
ngjockey
1,042 posts
 
Often read where someone wants to acommodate a "bright" piece of gear with "gentle" ICs or other equipment somewhere in the chain. That can be a mistake because that piece is more likely exposing a weakness than being the fault. The same goes for the room. It will perform it's best when you feed it the best.

There are some old Kappa 7s up for auction. No relation.
bdgregory
1,715 posts
 
The only Totems you'll find under $1000 are Sttafs and Arro. Neither is really a rock speaker and they're probably not adequate for your room. If you add a subwoofer (you may be able to get a decent one if you squeeze a little more budget, and buy them used) to complement the Sttafs they may do nicely, especially if you don't need hi volume (they play loud, just not real loud. They do really nicely with Jazz and Vocal music. Given the child, you will want to mass-load the bases, and maybe even consider adding a larger plinth or outriggers as they can be a little tipsy.

Another option that isn't a floor stander but is a great rock and jazz speaker IMO is the GMA Europa. If you get good heavy stands they can be pretty stable. Again with them you may need a subwoofer to fill that room.

The good part is you can add the subwoofer after trying any of these and determined you need it.

Finally - if you can squeeze more $ (ie closer to $1500), the VonSchweikert VR2's may be an ideal choice.
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