Just confused about where to start


Hello all,

I'm looking to add speakers to my audiophile setup which currently consists of (very high end) headphones. I want speakers for everything the headphones cannot do - simple enough. Problem is, I'm having difficulty deciding which gear I want to buy. I demoed a pair of B&W 705 S2's today and was very impressed. Unfortunately, my budget isn't that high. It's $1500 total, for the speakers and amp combined. Source is a computer. I listened to a cheaper pair of B&W bookshelf speakers (can't remember which, but were around $1200) and was not impressed. I am leaning toward bookshelf speakers but don't know if getting floorstanding at this price point would be a large increase in quality. The room they will be placed in is only 100 square feet. I am willing to buy used.

So, my questions, summed up are:

Is bookshelf a better option than floorstanding?

Is it worth looking at cheaper B&W models, or should I look at other companies altogether?

At least with headphones, I like a pretty neutral sound, if not a tad warm. Are there any companies that predominantly have this sound signature?

How should the room size inform my choice of speakers?



muffinhead123
@david_ten OK, thank you for that. SR007 is using a modded T1 amp and LCD2 is using a Schiit Lyr2. Source is a computer fed through a Modi Multibit (not impressed, looking for DAC recommends as well).

As for the budget: I was thoroughly impressed with $2500 speakers. Granted they were hooked up to McIntosh components. but let’s ignore that for now.

Say I up my budget to $2500. Will this better approximate the SQ of my headphones? I realize it will take $10,000+ speakers to match the level of detail that the Stax present, so I don’t expect to attain that aspect of quality. What I do expect, however, is getting some speakers that image very well and present soundstage in a realistic way. Clearly, I won’t be satisfied with muddier sound, but I’m willing to accept it as a tradeoff for the inherently more expensive nature of speakers.

As for amplification, how much does it matter with speakers? With most headphones, it accounts for about 10-20% of the sound, in my experience. Is it the same with speakers?
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Amp and speakers have to work together. Consideration needs to be given to an amp that will be powerful enough to drive the speakers to their full potential. So matching is much more important than with headphones.
The nice thing about headphones is that they take the room out of the equation. For speakers the room, furnishings, treatments (if any), and positioning can make a big difference.

Is this a dedicated listening space or are going to be practical concessions in terms of placement?

As far as amps go, you’ll want something with enough power to drive the speakers you choose and that can handle whatever the impedance of your speakers is.  

Most integrated or standalone amps are fine with 4 ohm loads, and the vast majority of speakers don’t present a load appreciably less than that.  

Since you have a small space you aren’t likely to need tons of power.  
@lowrider57 So suppose I match the power and impedance, current, etc, between speakers and an amp. That's surely not the whole story. Does component "synergy" play a big role with speakers?