new small room, big change

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.

Goatwuss,

I agree with you assessment of Dynaudio speakers in general.

However, the Dynaudio Contour 1.3 specifically are small monitor style speakers that I have found to fit and work well in smaller rooms. I acquired them specifically for application in my smaller listening rooms. They do require a lot of power still though to sound best as you say.

In larger rooms, they still sound good, but do not have the lifelike dynamics and satisfying low end needed to compete with other speakers I have heard that are better suited to larger rooms.

If you decide that you do want a speaker smaller then the Spendors then look at B&W 805s. I have the original ones which are very good, The newer ones are exceptional and look great.

Definitely try a pair of Harbeth SHL5s. There's a pair for sale in the $3K range that you could easily turn around and re-sell quickly for about the same price (they don't last long on the used market). I own a pair.