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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
wdrazek OP
100 posts
 
Yes, she is Italian and a beauty ;-) My den is exactly what I wanted - THX 2 ultra, plasma, black leather, breuer tables, etc. Ultra modern. And the kitchen has all the Wustoff and Calphalon I want but when it comes to the public areas it's a different story. She rules that with the fervor of a true zealot.

The main issue is that the speakers are supposed to be invisible. Since the sideboard the speakers will flank is only 35" tall and all the wood in the room is stained dark my choices are limited. I might end up with S3/5's, small Dyn's or Tablette's and a Sunfire sub. But I'm afraid they will get lost in a 15 x 28 room. Not that it will play Mahler's 5th at staggering levels. Mostly it's for background and entertaining.

OK< now should I go commando?
veroman's avatar
veroman
299 posts
 
As i suspected! sub, sat is what you are left with eh? imo you can do a lot better than a sunfire for starters. musically that is. many great sub deals out there. don't go too small on monitors tho. imo, a sub should ideally only handle LOW bass, below 40 hz. to really keep music believable. you are down to brass tacks now. it will be an interesting search to find sub sat trio for $1K that is 'audiophile' quality. a shoddy sub will ruin a good system so do not skimp there if you really want great sound. (lessons learned). love to know what you end up with! is she southern or northern italian? :)
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
Have you considered Vienna Acoustics, Bachs. Very musical speakers and I believe less than 36 inches tall. Or has any one suggested the Monitor Audio RS-6 that recieved rave reviews in Stereophile. This speaker is only 33 inches tall. I haven't heard them but they seem worth a look.
Post removed 
wdrazek OP
100 posts
 
Veroman,

I'm taking the wife to look at a few speakers today - small floorstanders and stand mounts. Yesterday she started talking in-walls so the urgency level has been raised... She objects to beefy stands so maybe a floor stander will win after all. That would eliminate the need for a sub.

Speaking of which, I've had a Sunfire True for 8 years and love it. You're right it should be crossed over low. The only really bad match was with a pair of NHT super zero's. The hole in the upper bass was huge. Anyway, I've ruled out getting something I'm not thrilled with just to be WAF compliant. Whatever it is, I have to love it.

Wayne
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