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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
4,989 posts
 
Now it is time to figure out what gear to get. First thing is to get a preamp that is DSP capable. I want something that has defeatable DSP and also good quality DSP. I do not need DSP with the KEF LS50’s. I may not with the TAD ME1 but the other speakers I am thinking of I likely need DSP help.

The speaker I want to fit into this room is the Yamaha NS 5000. Just because it would be interesting to own that speaker. The Persona 3F is high on the list but long term listening is uncertain. The Vandersteen Treo CT seems like it will now fit into the room. The Vivid Kaya 45 would be great for the room now but it may be too close to the KEF sound.

If I raise the cash that I am expecting then I will splurge a little on a demo amp (will keep quiet on this one). The store with the amp I want also has the Vandersteen and Vivid. So I will demo those 2 speakers if I have cash for the amp. If I do not get this $$ amp there are a few new amps coming out that I am interested in, the CODA #8, KRELL XD 125, and some older models. Amp will be easy to select.

I really don’t have too much more to add now until I demo the DSP preamps.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,130 posts
 
Home Depot Owens Corning 703 4” deep panels in closet, get one box to start....

Portishead !!!
ya
i had Bauhaus on late, late.... fun
gdnrbob
4,469 posts
 
Saw new pics and left a post. I'm glad you are getting closer to what you want.
B
gosta's avatar
gosta
839 posts
 
Bought a used Anthem MRX510, with the ARC2, to use for my desk top system. Hope it will be a step up from the Paradigm PW AMP I used so far and been very satisfied with. The PW AMP has no digital in so I presume it makes an AD/DA conversion for the ARC2. Want to get rid of that. Eventually also a better amp even if I don't need five channels. Or, maybe I do....
yyzsantabarbara OP
4,989 posts
 
@tomic601 I will take a look at the Home Depot panels. I can walk to Home Depot so it will be easy to check out.

I am currently listening to Led Zeppelin’s debut and I was thinking why does this sound so good now. I know the acoustic panels made a huge difference but the sound seemed even better than expected. It tuned out I now have hi-res versions of Zeppelin. I do not recall when I got that but I can definitely hear the hi-res difference with this setup. I am also upsampling on ROON.

I may end up using this disc as my baseline for my speaker demos. I am curious how this album sounds on a speaker with more bass and resolution. The sound stage is not that deep with my Peachtree and LS50’s but I having a feeling that is available in the 1’s and 0’s.
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