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Help building new system: devore, verity or Sonus?

I'm getting a dedicated room for my gear, but the room is tiny, at 11.5' by 11.5' with about 9.5' ceiling.

I've been listening and reading up on a lot of speakers and the one's I'm most curious about are Devore Fidelity's The Nines or Super 8s, Verity Audio Finn (possibly Rienzi) and the Sonus Faber Liuto.

My current system is a McIntosh MA6600 with Dali MS4 Euphonia's, Clearaudio Turntable, and MHDT DAC with Mac Mini and Denon 3910, and Harmonic Tech. cables. I listen to folk, singer-songwriter, jazz, classical, female vocals, classic and indie rock, as well as solo guitar work. I Prefer smaller scale groups and intimate recordings.

My previous experience with the Dali's in a small room makes me feel they will be too much. I will treat the room as best I can, but WAF is a big issue.

I want to build my system around my speakers, and am in the NYC area, so can demo a lot. I'd prefer to buy from a dealer probably. I am looking to build a system that is very natural sounding and has some life and emotion to it, with no listener fatigue. I like: nice, taut, round bass that isn't boomy, muddy, or over-pronounced; sweet highs that are neither syrupy nor hyper-detailed and analytical; lush but not over-romantic mids.

I'd like to spend under $7,000 on the speakers. What do you guys think about the McIntosh with the speakers I listed? I am happy with the McIntosh, but would consider changing to something else if I found it didn't pair best. It's a small room so don't want anything that runs super hot.

Any other speakers I should try out? Any particular speaker/integrated amp combos you guys love?

Sorry this is so long, and thanks in advance for the help!
brookjoo
goldeneraguy
442 posts
 
I'm sure you know by now that the size of your listening room will preclude you from owning many great speakers.
You are fortunate though that you are in an area that allows you to audition many brands and models.Try to arrange a HOME AUDITION for the speakers that appeal to you for sound,sight and size.Best of luck on your journey
brookjoo OP
26 posts
 
Thanks everyone for the responses.

I also agree that I wouldn't think of using Verity Parsifals or Sonus Cremonas in a room that size. I am definitely going to listen to a lot of speakers and do as much in-home auditioning as I can, or at least bring my amp to dealers to try them out together.

I was hoping to find a good floor-stander that could also work in the room, so that it could also move into a larger room down the road, hence why the speakers I've gravitated towards are on the smaller side for floor-standing speakers (maybe with the exception of The Nines, although it's supposed to be somewhat easy to place, and could work well in a large room too).

I was under the impression that the Verity Finns replace the Taminos. They're certainly not huge speakers. And both they and the Liuto's don't dip below 35hz (40hz, for the liuto's actually). Can someone chime in with technical reasons they think these speakers may not work. I know, obviously, that it's optimal to hear speakers in your room with the gear you intend to use; however, if there's some technical/physical reason that these speakers, based on their specs, wouldn't work, I'd be curious to know.

Thanks
aronsss
110 posts
 
Go to in living stereo and audition the nines and the finn. I believe the finn is better suited to your room. Steven should be able to guide you correctly.
davt's avatar
davt
505 posts
 
One option you have that allows some flexibility down the road if your room size changes is to go with the Verity Parsifal Monitor. I have the Verity Parsifal Encores and when I first got them set them up with just the monitor and was really surprised how much I liked them, and that was going from a pair of Dynaudio C1's and before that special 25's. In a small room I think the Parsifal Monitors would really sing. You would not get the lowest bass but that is going to be a problem with your room no matter what the speaker. Then, if your situation changes down the road, you get the bass modules.
nrenter's avatar
nrenter
766 posts
 
My room is about the same size as yours (except for higher celings).

I will treat the room as best I can, but WAF is a big issue.

If you don't feel the need to really focus on room treatments, you're wasting your time and money. You may as well buy headphones and be done with it. Room treatments do not have to be ugly (but they won't be feast for the eye, either). IMHO, it's still to spend that kind of money on speakers, drop them in a small room, and not put room treatments as a high priority.

Can someone chime in with technical reasons they think these speakers may not work.

I've never heard these speakers, but (one of) the general issues with floorstanders in a small room is that you have very little control over the interaction of the low end and your room. Granted, you can use a parametric EQ to help things out. I prefer to use monitors and a pair of subs.

You'll also want to make sure your speakers (and associated amps / pre-amp) resolve at low volumes. My system was designed for a small room (and I've very happy with the results).
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