2. speakers
  3. 1237542943

matching speaker to room size?

I have a 14 x 16 room with 9 ft ceilings and looking for new speakers. Presenlty using large old Ohm C2 bookshelfs. Listen to broad range from modern and classic jazz (piano, guitar, horns and vocals) to electric blues, tons of female singers, Hawaiian acoustic and fingerstyle guitar, classic rock and even some classical and newgrass like Nickel Creek and Alison Krauss. The one dealer in town suggeted stand mount monitors like Totem One, JM Focal 1007S and similar. I have been more interested in floorstanders like Gallo 3.1, Dali Mentor 6 or Helicon 4. He is saying this will give me too much bass? Is there a way to compute good match from room dimensions? I listen at low to high levels depending on time...Saturday mid-day vs. 11 at night. I have heard all these speakers, not necessarily side by side, trying to make a call but not sure which type to go with so I cant even proceed to which individual speaker to purchase. BTW, I dont have the optoin of bringing any of these home...most were heard on the US Mainland not in Hawaii.
joekapahulu
martykl
3,578 posts
 
IMHO, the best way to get full range bass in most any room is an EQ'd subwoofer. Velodyne DD series (or SMS-1 controller for use with non-Velo DD subs) works well, providing PEQ, room analyzer and x-over. SVS will ship a similar device in May, but that requires an external x-over. The SMS-1 costs app $500 and the SVS with an NHT X-2 X-over is about $1K. Reportedly excellent subs from SVS start at app $650, good subs from many manufacturers can be found for under $500.

Good Luck,

Marty
lapierre
547 posts
 
I've listened to Helicon 400 with smaller integrated amp from Sim Auido that sounded fantastic. If you are concerned about too much bass then you should be looking at room treatments.

If you are leaning toward monitors I think you need more power to get the best sound. For example, my musical fidelity A308 amp is rated at 250 watts per channel, and can deliver blockbusting current with low distortion. I pair this with Vienna Acoustic Haydns. My McIntosh MC275 amps rated at 75 watts is run in mono with upgraded tubes approaches 190 watts. It is paired with the Dali Helicon 300.

Enjoy the journey.
chashas1
596 posts
 
Hi!
First off, I wouldn't trust that dealer. It sounds like he's trying to sell you something he has. I'm borrowing a fabulous set of new Kudos c-10's (two way stand mounts), and while I think they're great, they still sound, like any other of their ilk, like stand mounts. For some people that's great, for others a floor stander is the only answer. Unless you have great problems with bass in your room already, I wouldn't assume you're going to have bass problems with a floorstander. There are many many good choices now, depending on how much you want to spend and the associated gear. Try and listen before you buy if you can. One's cup of tea is not another's.
Good luck
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,457 posts
 
if you like the C2s, check out their website (www.ohmspeakers.com) for available upgrades that can bring them up to date with other newer speaker technologies.

If you like the OHM sound, for that room, you might also consider either Ohm 100 series 3, or Walsh 5 series 3, depending on budget.

I saw a pair of Walsh 5 series 3 up for sale here on Agon the other day for just over $3000, a pretty good price for those.

BTW , check out my system and you'll see I still run custom upgraded OHM Ls (the C2s little brother) in my system as well as Ohm 100s and 5's series 3. I also run Dynaudio and Triangle speakers as well, but am still very much an OHM fan.
ablang
165 posts
 
I use Vandersteen 2ce Signature IIs in a room almost exactly your size, probably even a little smaller because it's irregularly shaped--14x15 (for half its width)/18 (for the other half) x9. The Vandies go low, and with proper placement they work perfectly--the best sound I've ever had. I've owned the Totem Model One and Dynaudio Focus 140, and in this same room neither had the kind of bass extension and impact I've gotten out of floorstanders. The Vandies would be in your price range. If you like the looks of them OK, you can't do much better at the price, though monitors and sub(s) would be a good route, too--but involving more boxes+stands+power cords...
More to discover