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Downsizing Speakers in Main Listening Room - Your Feedback on Some options

All,

So I am looking to move to a smaller speaker to allow better low volume listening and possibly a little change in sound quality. I like the sound of my PSB Synchrony 1s at higher volumes - not room shaking but loud enough I am asked to turn it down when other family around <smile!> They could still use bit more bass kick (not thumping  loud - just a bit more punch). So I am thinking a higher quality bookshelf for closer, lower volume listening that still has some bite.

My current system is the following:
  * Speakers: PSB Synchrony 1
  * Integrated Amp - Ayre Ax-7e
  * CD/SACD - Ayre C5xeMP CD Player
  * DAC - PS Audio DLlll
  * Sonos Connect
  * Cables - Morrow MA4 Balanced Interconnects/Morrow SP3 Bi-wire Speaker Cables

Room setup is roughly 16'x20' (one side is open to adjoining room and dining area). Theater sloped higher away from setup -- starting at 7.5' to about 16'. Standard living room with fireplace and windows - hardwood floors, but have the usual rugs and furniture. Speakers are about 8' apart (slight toe in) and about 10' from main sitting position. Done usual minor acoustic tweaks to try to improve sound - within reason as this is the main living room.

Listen to all music genres but country(sorry) -- but most often jazz, rock, world.

Recent speakers I have enjoyed -- Aerial Acoustic 7t and Sonus Faber Olympica I and III. Enjoy the sound of both even though they are different (and different from my PSBs, which again I like as well).

So I am considering the following bookshelf speakers and just a few smaller floor standers (most looking at buying used), budget is max at about $2,500(used):

BOOKSHELF:
  * Sonus Faber Olympic I, Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor M, Sonus Faber Liuto, Sonus Faber Venere 2.0
  * Dali Epicon, Dali Euphonia
  * Monitor Audio PL100, Monitor Audio Gold 100 (or GSX 100)
  * Focal 1008 BE
  * Aerial Acoustic 5t
  * ATC SCM 11 v2

FLOOR STANDERS:
 * Monitor Audio Gold 200
 * Aerial Acoustic 6t
 * Sonus Faber Liuto 

So while I am expecting to listen to several of these in coming months - probably cannot access all of them -- likely will hear Monitor Audio, Aerial Acoustic, and again Sonus Faber.

So please give me your best feedback on the list above and feel free to comment in any capacity. Thank you for your valuable opinions!

sbleam
willemj
1,036 posts
 
For me, this has involved reducing the room's noise level. When we had our house built, we made sure that installations were as quiet as they could realistically be (and in the Netherlands we fortunately do not need air conditioning and do not use air heating). It is an open plan house, so we also made sure the fridge was ultra quiet, and also the dishwasher. Ventilation is through muffled openings in the facade, and the window glass has extra sound deadening properties. Construction is mostly brick and concrete.
Given that even a very quiet room has a backgroud noise level of some 30dBA and that you do not really want to listen to levels of more than about 90dBA if you care about your hearing, it is obvious that dynamic range is severely restricted. Playing softly and stil enjoying a more or less realistic dynamic range is only possible when the background noise is as low as is humanly possible.
gary_c
46 posts
 

ProAc Response D Two is worth considering, if you’re able to audition.

Natural sound, excellent imaging and soundstaging (somewhat holographic), and convincingly resolving. Can sound somewhat forward, perhaps dynamic, but in a way that the music comes towards you; you don’t have to "hear into" their soundstage. They play well at moderate volumes. They are resolving enough to show differences in amplification, cables, and everything else upstream; yet are not difficult to place for excellent imaging. Your Ayre integrated amp and CD player may be a good match for them, and the D2 has bi-wire speaker cable terminals.

I haven’t had the chance to hear Harbeth, or the SF Liuto monitors, but they sound like very good options as well.

The ProAc D38 would be a good floorstander for your room size, speaker placement width, and distance to seating position. I have them in a 13x17 room, 9-10 feet apart, and about 9-10 feet from seating position. I usually listen at moderate volume, but they play well at low and somewhat high volumes with my Simaudio 600i integrated amp and Simaudio Supernova CD player.

Good luck with your search. A lot of good input from everyone.

perazzi28's avatar
perazzi28
225 posts
 
I have recently converted my 2 channel system to a smallish room.  I selected the 2-way Wilson-Benesch model Vertex.  Using a great preamp and mono blocks.  Absolutely ridiculous at any listening level.

Good luck!
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,639 posts
 
Your $2500 budget is a little low to get something way better than the Synco 1 low level detail has a lot to do with a systems resolution. 

Have you tried or considered moving to a much better digital front end as the PS unit you have is an ok dac and the Ayre is also an older starter player. 

The Monitor Audio Platinum PL 100 monitors are impressive but they will not have the bass to fill out such a large room  and they lean towards a more agressive treble but the detail and clarity are fantastic.

Based on the amount of room you need to fill you really need the bass response of a set of floorstanders.

A used set of PSB T3 would really impress you as they are way better in every way over the Syncro 1 and they have fantastic bass.

The ATC SCM 19 are amazing monitors but sill will require a woofer in that size room. The 19 are a huge improvement over the 11. 

So I would recommend you save your pennies sell your Syncro Ones and move the T3 also still upgrade your Dac, check out the Mytek super detailed a little cold but overall great. the Aqua Hifi La voice is a super sweet punchy dac, and the T+A Dac 8 is just remakable. These are all dacs we sell, we haven't tested all the others on the market. 

Hope that helps.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
willemj
1,036 posts
 
I think this is bad advice. Floorstanders are a bad idea in a small room because of their uneven in room response. Changing the electronics is unlikely to make much of an audible difference, if at all. A bit more power might help, but that is about it.
If you want to create the budget for much better speakers you could, however, sell much of the electronics, use the Sonos as a digital preamplifier, and get a beefy pro audio amplifier like the recently discontinued Yamaha Pxxxs series. See here for a real review (in French): http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/amplificateurs-de-puissance-haute-fidelite/mesures-ampli-yamaha-p...
I appreciate this offends many hard boiled audiophiles, but electronics make very little difference to the sound (unless tubes because their frequency response under real load is usually far from flat). Underpowered amplifiers do degrade the sound because of clipping distortion and compression.
The best speakers for the room will make an enormous difference, however, and far more than the differences between different decent quality electronics. In a room of that size I would opt for the Harbeth M30.1, with two (or four) smallish subwoofers, equalized by an Antimode 8033. Harbeths are beautifully clean and sweet.
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