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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
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Any of the Soliloquy floor standers would definitely fit the bill. They are no longer in business, but are a great bargain on the used market these days. Better to find a pair local to you as they are very HEAVY, and really require better packing than the factory provided for them in order to safely use a ground shipper. Great value for the money! I'd suggest a pair of 5.3's - two on A'gon for $600 but one marked sold. That is an outright steal for the quality of both sound and construction you will get.

Marco
veroman's avatar
veroman
298 posts
 
meadowlark kestral 2's are great, but i just saw an ad for their big brother shearwater hotrods on a-gon this A.M. for @$1,200! snap up those guys and you will have bought a heckuva speaker for a great price! they will deliver extra bass the room calls for.
wdrazek OP
100 posts
 
Thanks for all the replies. I'll check into the Dali and JM Labs lines. Someone here in Chicago must have them. I like the Kestrels a lot but worry that they and the Totem's might be too small for the space. It's really a system for lower level background listening but the room could swallow up a small system.
veroman's avatar
veroman
298 posts
 
i listen to the kestral 2's in a big space and they don't seem 'lost' altho i'm not sure what that term means exactly. i think the 'soundstage' is quite large actually. to me it is about 'soundstage' rather than speaker size. some large cabineted speakers can have a very limted soundstage and vice versa. don't mean to lecture, i just wanted to share my experience. happy hunting!
wdrazek OP
100 posts
 
Thanks for your opinion. When I mean 'getting lost' it isn't all about soundstage size although that is part of it. Mostly, it is the speaker's ability to energize the room and not sound like it is is whispering.

It's been a long standing practice of mine to match speakers to the room they are in. For my den (12x12) I would probably go no larger than Kestrels size. A speaker like a Spendor S8 would likely overpower the room. And, the drivers might not integrate well at too close a distance. In a large room I want something that will be able to provide a solid foundation. It needn't go down to 20hz but it has to have enough drive that it doesn't sound lightweight, or lost in a room that is close to 4000 ft3.

I hope this makes sense.

Wayne
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