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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
4,887 posts
 
@gosta When I had my speakers on my desk I found that using the low cost isoacoustic stands helped a lot by elevating the speaker above the desk. It also angled the sound away from the desk. 

It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the ARC2.
yyzsantabarbara OP
4,887 posts
 
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/kef-ls50-david-versus-jbl-4722-cinema-goliath-speaker-compari...

I think what I am hearing now with the LS50's is what the above article is showing with measurements. 

colin44ct357's avatar
colin44ct357
122 posts
 
Small room I use JBL control 1 pro, amazing tone from such a small pair, 60wrms x 2 is more than enough.I have run various small boxes and some are way above the rest..budget forced jbl and i was more than happy.Still have a pair of retro swt1's, boxes in mint condition, which must be populated with some good drivers, skytronic 10's from the uk with MS tweeters and the mid is still to be decided.
colin44ct357's avatar
colin44ct357
122 posts
 
have 5 Mission M Cube speakers, going to give those a try, 2 per channel on stereo...xmas present from a customer...best present in many years, one can never have enough speakers...more drivers the better..overlap says it all..
gosta's avatar
gosta
839 posts
 
@ yyzsantabarbara
got the ARC2 from before and it works very well with my desktop system to reduce all negative reflexes you have from the desk, pc monitors and so on. It’s really fun to listen into the mix when you sit very close. Hard to work though! My ATC SCM12 presents a fabulous sound (together with small REL subs) that I’m not shure the TAD can match :-). Always tries new monitors though. Recommend you a try with your KEF:s although I myself find them a little boring (less dynamics, no usable bass and hard to integrate with a sub, low SPL capacity). I have the active LS50 - possibly havn’t given it enough chances.

Don't know though how the ARC2 will work for longer listening distances.

Last night I removed my JBL 6328P monitors from the wardrobe and put them on top of my ATC150ASL in the movie/music room. I’ve had problem listening to the JBL’s as a near-field because they are so brutal. The drums really hurt you and they are a bit edgy (harsh) in the upper mids. Like pro monitors tends to be in general, because they are really a working tool and made to let you discover all faults in a recording.

Putting them higher up I thought would make the sound come from about the same height as the performers on the video. To get a more realistic presentation and fill the room better. Worked! It also took some edge of the speaker. I then started to work with the crossover and the parametric eq in my Yamaha surrond cx-a5000. Put the crossover for the svs-pb16 ultra sub up to 100hz (I normally use 60hz). Reduced -3db at 60hz and -2db at 125 hz to reduce some remaining bass thumbs (used the antimode sytem on the sub before that) and finally reduced -4db at 2,6 khz to make guitars, saxophones and harsh voices a little softer.

I was congratulated by my son to now give him the best concert sound ever!

You never know what you have before you tried to make the most out of it. Speakers, listening positioning and room treatment (manual and digital) is 90% of the sound. The rest just cherries on the pudding. That's my view.
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