new small room, big change

Why limit woofer to 6in? Best in small rooms is a SEAS exotic.

If you must change Dynaudio Contour is a less expensive option to consider. I'd also consider Totem, Triangle, Harbeth, PSB and Ohm Walsh 100 or Micro Walsh tall even perhaps for more near field listening. Some of these options will run less than your budget, but still deliver great sound and allow you to invest the remaining dollars elsewhere if needed or desired.

WHoops, also forgot Magnepan. MMGs alone or with a sub might even cut it.

I've found that in a smaller room, you do not have to spend a fortune on speakers for great sound. Larger rooms will tend to cost more to do right though.

Don't worry about the woofer size, it isn't relevant. The classic British speaker is a 2 way 8" woofer and most British rooms are smaller than yours. There is a pair of Spendor 2/2s listed for $675. This is a steal. I use a pair in my TV system and I would buy these but my wife be unhappy. I would rather have them than your S8e's. They remain one of Martin Colloms reference speakers. Also consider the SP-1/2E's. I am listening to a pair I bought used on Audiogon instead of my S100s because they fit my room better. If you like the sound of the newer Spendors you will love the sound of the old ones, they are better speakers. Buy the 2/2s. You will love them, they were better than the the 2/3s , which are $3000 or so now. In the unlikely event you don't like them you can resell them for little or no loss.

Hi,

Regarding Dynaudio... they are GREAT speakers, but in my experience, even with their monitors, they need BIG rooms. Not necessarily cathedral sized, but def. quite a bit bigger than 12 foot on any dimension.

Their strength is that they have very big dynamics (much bigger than their size would imply), but they need space to open up. They've got to have some current running through them to really open up and do what they do, which a small room size will not allow you to do.

I owned the S1.4s which are spectacular in a big enough room, but I ran into these pitfalls (room not big enough), and changed to a speaker which did not need as as much current/room size.

The Verity would be a much better choice than the Dyn C1 in this sized room. Also, the Merlin TSM would be a good pick. To go much cheaper (without losing much, if any) I would take a close look at the GR Research Neo2s. They are a sealed monitor with a ribbon tweeter, and I run these in my HT and they leave nothing to be desired for my application. (other than bass, you will need a sub for any sealed monitor for a complete response). These are only available in kit form, but there are people on the GR Research board on audiocircle who will build them for you.