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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
 
Yeah, go figure. The ML's are semi-transparent and the most expensive pair had the shortest bass cabinet so there you have it!

Do K2's come with a grille cloth? Every pic I've seen shows raw drivers which I don't think will pass the test.
veroman's avatar
veroman
299 posts
 
yes they do. they only cover drivers on top 1/3 of speaker. they are nothing more than black grillcloth with monofilament line hemmed in around edge. they are a pain to remove and re-insert as the line strech itself is what causes them to fall into the cabinet groove that surrounds the two drivers, but they look just fine as far as that goes. in other words there is no structural rigidity and of course zero protection to drivers, not unusual in hi end gear tho. playboy mag picked them as part of a $20K dream stereo 2 yrs back so they may have a photo on line.
wdrazek OP
100 posts
 
I'll try looking but will have to wait til I get home. The firewall here will definitely ban that url.
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
A guy recently sold a pair of K2s here in the cherry finish for $600. I made an offer (too late of course) even though I had no place to put them. That may have been one of the years best buys.
wdrazek OP
100 posts
 
That is a screaming deal! I know the urge to buy something you can't use - there's a Rotel RMB1095 and pair of Spendor SP1/2's sitting in my storage as we speak.

Right now a scuffed pair of Kestrels is available for $500 (reduced from $600). I think with a little patience a nice pair should be available at a great price. One thing that impresses me is how satisfied Kestrel owners appear to be both here and on Audioreview.
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