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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
mahlman
433 posts
 
"We all have different tastes in music, hearing, and different rooms. A general statement like spending more on a speaker is a waste does not come across as accurate from my perspective."

 Absolutely. I just prefer not to spend more if I can get equal audio ability. In the end it is what makes us happy. My all time favorite is a set of Kipsch MCM 1900's I have and since I can't buy what I want I am getting ready to build an MWM bass bin variant which should go down to 27hz -10db and stick a set of K-402 horns on top. Probably have to get into DSP with this one since the throat of the Super MWM will be 106" long but you are right there inside the organ pipe with these.
mahlman
433 posts
 
For obvious reasons I did not mention these in response to what fits in the OP's room.
gpgr4blu
1,094 posts
 
Audiotroy:
Please stop selling your gear here. You are getting very tiring in your efforts.
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,854 posts
 
Wow you are willing to go through a lot of work. The one demo of the Magico's we heard they were way forward with gobs of deep bass. Even if you open up the room a bit you may still overload it. 

The Vandy Treo's do have less bass and a less aggressive voiicing then the Magico.s personally we feel that their bass is going to be a bit boomy but you will have less of it then the Magicos.

Overall the room is still quite small we would still caution against any speakers with bass lower than 30hz range.

Let us know your findings with the new Krell KAV 300i talked to Walter and he says it is amazing sounding. Time will tell.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
james63
534 posts
 
Good thread. 

I don’t have any speaker advice but most all of our rooms are not large enough to support bass waves without bending them. Even a 40hz wave is 28’ long and that makes even the 1/2 wave 14’. It is just the way it is… a speaker that goes down to 40hz will still have standing waves (a spike followed by a dip) in most rooms. You need to find the residence of the room and try to trap that frequency. 

With that in mind you need to “eliminate” the room and sit as near field as possible imo. The other key will be NOT to sit with your head near the rear wall where that wave is changing direction. 

If I were you I would be looking at what speaker works the best in extreme near field (thinking driver placement and integration) and think about sitting very close to the speakers. 

 I read the whole thread and see your are off the A3 now but I am curious  why you did not look at the S1?   

This guy says it better than me. 

https://youtu.be/xECtAruK0fM



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