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Big speakers in small room at moderate volume levels

My office is 11’W x 10’L x 9’H and is where I can listen to music for the next few years. I have a toddler and, for now, he has commanded the big spaces in the rest of the house. I have auditioned the Magico A3 and wanted to buy it but that was before I was relegated to the smallish office (I was expecting to move to a bigger room). I have removed the closet doors in this office room. The removal of the closet door gives me another 4 feet of depth to this room, though for only 1/2 width of the room. I can sit unobstructed 8 feet away from the speakers before I hit the area where the closet ends (so near field listening).

I currently I have KEF LS50 with Peachtree Nova 150. It is good and I can listen for the whole day without fatigue. I listen to FM, digital files on ROON, and my Sony SCD-1 SACD player. I want a bigger sound so I am looking at bigger speakers. I also do not want to use a sub since I am not a fan. I will also upgrade the NOVA 150 to the NOVA 500 in Spring 2019 and use with the LS50’s in a bedroom.

I came to the conclusion that my tastes would be best served by one of KEF Reference 1 or Magico A3. I was thinking that I would use the Lyngdorf 3400 in this room but I am having seconds thoughts on this now (some A’gon comments that it maybe a little dry). I am interested in solid state AB units like the Hegel H590 and Mark Levinson 585 to drive the speakers. I have heard the ML 585 and it is a fatigue free sounding unit that was a joy to listen to. I have not heard the Hegel H590 yet (but have heard other Hegels with KEF) and I am in the process of getting an audition of the H590. I have also discounted the class AB Micromega M-One 150 (with MARS room correction) because I do not want a cooling fan blowing in the room.

I must mention that I do not listen that loud when I am working and when I am working very late at night the volume is very low. The Mark Levinson and A3 combo was very good at low volumes during my demo but that was in the dealers perfect large room.

1) Am I making a mistake foregoing room correction with the 2 integrateds I am considering? Should I go with the Lyngdorf and A3 or KEF Ref 1, though I have never heard the Lyngdorf?

2) Will the Magico A3 work in this small room at moderate volumes WITHOUT room correction or will I subject myself to headaches and fatigue?

I am going to ask the dealer selling the A3’s this question when I am ready to buy but i wanted to ask on A’gon first to get some feedback. I doubt I could get the A3’s into my room for a trial but I have not asked the dealer yet.

I think (not 100% sure) the KEF Reference 1 with a non room correcting amp should work in my office space but I would prefer to buy the Magico A3 for the office. I have plans to buy another KEF model once my kid is a bit older and I can kick him out of the big room.
yyzsantabarbara
yyzsantabarbara OP
5,037 posts
 
@glupson I need to keep the office closed because I am remotely connected to a lot of live production software systems. My 2 1/2 year old kid loves to come over to my desks and click the mouse on the computers. The KEF LS50 system was his system until my recent move. I sold my other system which was previously used in the office. He will get the LS50 back once I get a new office system.

@lancelock Thanks for the recommendation. You sold me the Benchmark AHB2 amp which I loved and recently sold. I may buy that back again once I get the new system. The TAD and KEF Reference 1 are likely going to be huge improvements on the LS50. Do you use the TAD ME1 in a small room?
 
yyzsantabarbara OP
5,037 posts
 
@kahlenz The KEF LS50 sounds real good in this room but there are limits to this speaker. My audio memory of my A3 demo keeps bugging me that the LS50 is a small speaker and the sound could be fuller. I do not dislike subwoofers. I like them integrated buy a designer into a floor stander. Saying that I have read that the Lyngdorf 3400 is rather good at integrating a sub.

So far from this thread I have gather a lot of useful info. I have the following items that I want to do next.

1) I will definitely check out the Vandersteen Quattro CT
2) I will check out the TAD ME1. I have a "local" dealer who carries this speaker. He also has the LS50 and KEF Reference 1. I do like concentric drivers (also had an Thiel SCS4 a few years ago)
3) I will try and get the A3 into my room on a demo basis.
4) I will see if I can get a demo Lyngdorf. Adding DSP to the sound is a big question mark since I have not heard it. There is also software based DSP which I have read maybe not as good as the Lyngdorf but I can research this more.
5) The KEF Reference 1 is my safety net speaker for the office and should work without room correction. if I go that route I will then end up with 3 KEF models in the house, not much variety there.

lancelock
1,102 posts
 
@yyzsantabarbara I have the TAD’s in my living room currently. My living room is a horrible room to get good sound out of speakers with the L shape and all glass on one side but they still sound wonderful. The listening room at CAF was set up better and they did sound better. The room was probably 16’x 18’ if I’m guessing. I was drawn back to this room four times during the weekend. At the end of the show I bought his demo pair.

I also have a pair of Janszen zA2.1 in a 14 x 14’ room that sound spectacular. Unlike most electrostats they are not dipoles so you can almost put them up against the wall. These can leave you longing for more bass so I have a pair E110 subs that work great.

Lance
kahlenz's avatar
kahlenz
285 posts
 
I'm not sure what "full" sound is.  More bass?  Wide dispersion?  Small monitors with well integrated subs can sound plenty "full".  Timing issues regarding when the sound pressure hits your ears are a tough argument for me to swallow.  Separate subs that can be moved around can even be an advantage in cancelling room resonances.  The lower frequencies are fairly non-directional as the longer frequencies pressurize the entire room.  The mid and high frequencies, which are more directional (the sound pressure from the drivers hits your ear before the reflected frequencies) are coming from the same size drivers as a bigger speaker.  Big speakers are, well, bigger, and have the potential to be louder.  Small speakers are easier to integrate into a room, will likely create more stable stereo imaging, and are probably going to be loud enough.  If you have a big room, and like loud music, get bigger speakers.

The Magicos are great.  They will sound better than your LS50s.  You will probably want to invest in some acoustical room treatments, or DSP, to tame the room resonance frequencies.
d2girls's avatar
d2girls
1,029 posts
 
I may have to downsize/downgrade next year. Is the KEF Ref 1 a worthy replacement for my JBL 4367? Reason for downsize... can’t play loud bass anymore in the new apartment.
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