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Small room, "budget priced" speaker advice, please

Hi,

I recently sold my dearly beloved, old Vandersteen 2C's here on Audiogon (and I hope SgtPeppers is loving them at this moment!) :-) I did this because in our remodeled house, my new listening room (which will double as a guest room) is just too small for the 2C's. The Spousal Acceptance Factor was just too low. ;-)

I have a PS Audio Elite-Plus integrated amp for power (around 70 W/Ch) and a soon-to-be-shipped-off-for-a-refurb Sota Sapphire for an analog front end (I have "miles" of vinyl)! I will also get a CD player at some point.

For now, I need to find a pair of best-of-breed, truly "budget" speakers. By "budget," I'm talking upper limit of $850/pair. (Gone are my free-spending, single days... I'm a dad now...) :-)

Listening habits: lots of 60's and 70's folk and rock, some jazz, Donald Fagen/Steely Dan, a little classical. Listening volume: not too loud. Sonic preferences: I value transparency and imaging/soundstage. Bass should be accurate above all, as opposed to chest-pounding powerful.

I've looked at Paradigms, which I know are highly regarded at lower price points. Trouble is, our one, local dealer is primarily a TV/home theater outfit, so you're trying to hear them in a showroom crammed with other stuff... you know the drill. I've also hit a high end shop. Listened to a pair of PSB small towers and disliked them; they sounded muddy and veiled to me. Listened to a pair of the smallest Rega's and liked them quite a bit, but would want to go back to listen again. I even wrote to PS Audio for advice; they recommended the "baby" Epos monitors, but they're out of my price range.

Thanks if you've read this far. Knowing how subjective all this is, I'd still welcome any advice you have to offer about what I should try to audition.
rebbi
ethanh
48 posts
 
Hi Rebbi,

I also have the Totem Arro. I use them with a 35 watt tube integrated and an Onix XCD88 player that, incidentally, is supposed to be internally identical to the Music Hall CD25. Imaging and soundstage are definitely the Arro's forte in my system, and the room placement is not optimal (I have them about two feet from a side wall and one foot out from the front wall, no toe-in). I also use crappy cables almost exclusively. Still, I do notice that the soundstage is enhanced at the expense of bass response if I move the speakers at least two feet into the room and away from side walls, so that may be something you should try out.

I bought mine used, so I can't give you any advice regarding break-in.

FWIW, I found that swapping out small signal tubes usually nets noticeable effects regarding soundstage and imaging, so this maybe something you should consider experimenting with.
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
Ethanh,

I'll try moving the speakers further out from the rear wall. The cabinet the components are in is about 19" deep, anway, so we're not talking about them being way out in the middle of the room at 2". I thought the Arro was supposed to be flexible regarding room placement, but I know that every room is different.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,457 posts
 
Rebbe,

Coincidentally, I heard a pair of Arros recently at a dealer. Had my reference CDs with me that enabled me to judge what I heard versus other systems I've heard recently.

Sound was similar to what you describe, the signature transparency and imaging accuracy was not happening. I think it was due to these also being placed too close to the wall. They were within a foot or two I'd say and the room was about 18 to 20 feet deep and even wider.

Move them out further away from the walls. Try different locations until imaging locks in accurately at your listening position

These are rear ported, right? If so, probably even more important to move away from the rear wall for best depth of sound stage.

Bass level may decrease, but most important to get speaker placement dialed in for imaging accuracy and transparency first.
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
Mapman,

Ah, my tutor returns! ;-)

Yes, I'll get 'em out from the wall and report back!
asa
662 posts
 
Rebbi, yes, room, but also IC's & speaker cable. Monster can be a bit compressed, especially if its the cheap stuff. Audience has some good value cable. The IC should run you used @$220 and the speaker, well, I can't remember. If you can sometime, think about some of Audio Note Kondo's copper entry level speaker wire: @$500-600 for 8ft pr.

I like the Arro, nice little speaker, but, as I said, I would have tried to scam a Model 1 used for about the same price...that said, the Arro should image well; that's what all Totems do well.
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