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Floorstander or bookshelf?

Hello everybody,

My current current system is:
-NAD C542
-Naim Nait 5i (VER.02)
-Monitor Audio RS6
The room is around 17MP (5M X 3.5M) /(16ft. X 11.5 ft),speakers being placed along 16 ft. side.

I had recently the occasion to make a comparison of my current speakers with Spendor S3e and Sonus Faber Toy.
To my surprise ,I found that RS6 sound is very "colored" and the bass is boomy vs the other two speakers.
Much more ,I was very impressed by the musicality of Sonus Faber at the point that I am very tempted to buy a pair even they are a little bass shy and very slow for pop and electronic music.
Personally I didn`t like very much the Spendors which I found to dark for my tastes.

- What do you consider that should be more appropriate for my room , a bookshelf or a floorstander?
- Having in mind the positive reviews for RS6,do you consider a downgrade from RS6 to Sonus Faber Toy and if so what would be your recommendation?
kerio
j_bailey
53 posts
 
I second the room treatment suggestion.

The comment about bookshelf and room size suggests that the room is on the small side. The smaller the space the more important the treatments become.

The room is about 50% of the sound. Money spent there will probably have a greater return than that spent on H/W - at least up to the point where the room is under control.

I would rather have an average system in an excellent room than the other way around.

Good luck,
Jim
larryken
537 posts
 
treat the room first....biggest bang for the buck and most necessary
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,406 posts
 
Either can work but good choices for floorstanders in a room that size will be more limited. For floorstanders I'd look at OHm Micro Walsh talls, 100.3s (there are a few pair up for sale on agon currently for well under $1000), 1000s, Totem Arro, or various smaller Klipsch HEritage series floorstanders to start depending on your sonic preferences.
cmalak
681 posts
 
Kerio..i agree that you need to address the speaker/room interface before entertaining new speakers. Before treating the room, you can get potentially great enhancement in your in-room bass response by merely playing around with speaker placement. I am attaching a link to an exerpt from Robert Harley's (editor of TAS) book "A Complete Guide to High End Audio," which has a detailed section on speaker placement, starting on page 7 of the 21 page booklet exerpt. There may be other helpful hints in there as well on common room treatment suggestions as well. But first I would try tweaking your speaker placement. One suggestion is to pull your speakers out further away from the backwall, as that should definitely reduce boomy bass. Here's a link to the exerpt, which can also be found at the TAS website: http://media.avguide.com/excerpt.pdf

Hope this helps
smholl
190 posts
 
I am using MA RS6 with Nait XS in similar size room. My speaker placement is closer to the sidewalls and front wall than yours. At first I found the bass to be a little excessive, but I put the foam plugs in the rear ports. This cut the boominess. Now bass is more natural and well balanced. One thing that probably helps in my particular room is that I have 11 foot cathedral ceiling.
I have also found that the MA speakers are a nice match for Naim gear, after playing around with speaker placement.
The other speaker line I would recommend is Harbeth.
Are you using the foam plugs?
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