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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
4,914 posts
 
With the buy decision made on the Lyngdorf and my room now sounding good even without treatments, another speaker that I think I can add back into the picture is the Vivid Kaya line. I went to hear this speaker the same day as the Magico A3 | Vandersteen Treo CT | Vivid Kaya 90. I thought the Kaya 90 was the best of the bunch but it was rather rich for my pocket book and also too big in sound. My listening time with the Vivid Kaya 90 was real short but what I heard sounded somewhat like the KEF Blade.

Prior to the Lyngdorf, I thought the Kaya would not fit in my space. However, it does have some things that would work real well with the Lyngdorf. It can be placed very close to the back wall. I got this info from the dealer I visited and also heard this from an email with one of the principals at Vivid Audio in South Africa. He described the placement they sometimes had to use in small hotel room demos. The Kaya also has a Lyngdorf approved narrow front profile (facing the listener).

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/vivid-kaya-45s.5380/

https://7review.com/vivid-kaya-45-review/

This link above has a photo of the middle item in the current Kaya lineup. It has less bass than the Kaya 90 that I heard (a good thing for my room). It is also cheaper. Finances are also fluid and I maybe able to raise some pennies for the Kaya 45.

I just need to live with the Lyngdorf for a few months and really understand what it’s limits are. In other words I am not going to jump in on a speaker purchase. Today, it seems to me that I have a lot more options in getting good sound in this room.

My wife is on board with this office audio upgrade of mine and looking forward to getting the KEF LS50 and Peachtree Nova into her loft office space in the house. She listens to music via the iPhone and the Peachtree has some enhancements to facilitate that in a semi-decent manner.  Her loft space is actually rather amazing acoustically.
gosta's avatar
gosta
839 posts
 
If I were you I'd pair my new Lyngdorf  3400 with a big ATC or beautiful Tannoy. You will never never have a look at a LS50 again. Good Luck :-)
gdnrbob
4,452 posts
 
@yyzsantabarbara .
I have never heard of the Kaya until now. Thanks for posting that, now I have something else to try listening to in addition to MBL and German Physics.
Bob
yyzsantabarbara OP
4,914 posts
 
@gdnrbob That Kaya line is rather impressive, at least the Kaya 90 that I heard.

I am going to demo another speaker his Friday that I heard demoed by the same store reps a few years ago in a really bad (small) hotel room. This time the demo will be at their shop. It is the Paradigm Persona 5F driven by Simaudio. I am really only interested in the Persona 3F because I think it should fit my room and also comparable to the 2 other speakers I have under consideration and already heard, the Magico A3 and Vandersteen Treo CT. They only have the 5F for demo. It could be more coherent than the Magico A3 since the materials in the mid and tweeter are the same on the Persona line.

Should be interesting since this is such a polarizing speaker on this forum and with some reviewers. I was reading an online review on the Persona B and the reviewer stopped it half way and said I hate it no need to continue. Never seen that before. When I heard it in the bad room a few years ago I thought it had a lot of potential and I should listen to it again.
justanotherhifiguy
17 posts
 
I’ve decided to get Coherent gr12 speaker. They will mate wonderfully with low watt tube amplification.
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