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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
4,917 posts
 
The Treo were a little more mellow on the top end than the Vivid Kaya 90. I go into auditioning audio gear with the mindset of "one good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain". I am looking for an emotional experience. I am not really listening to speakers but music. I feel I had the most enjoyable time with the speakers in the following order:

1) Vivid Kaya
2) Paradigm Persona 5F
3) Magico A3
4) Vandersteen Treo CT

The Yamaha NS5000 maybe more like the Vandersteen from what I have read. I have not heard that yet but am hoping too if and when it arrives to the USA this summer. All reviews are saying what a great musical experience it is to listen to that speaker.

I used to own Revel Salon1 speakers for a long time. I spent a good chunk of money on them. However, I am finding that my KEF LS50’s give me a more enjoyable listening experience. The cost difference between the 2 speakers is massive but I just can connect better with the KEF’s. I really have no way to explain in words why. The KEF Blades have been my favorite speaker so far but that will not fit my office.

The Paradigm Persona 3F will be reduced by 20% in Feb 2019 for a sale so I may consider saving money and buy that.

Listening to Fela Kuti. This guy is a musical genius. I cannot believe it took me so long to discover this guy.
gosta's avatar
gosta
839 posts
 
Since you’re so happy with the LS50, why don’t you try the Ref 1?
I’m right now listening to the 201/2 model in a near-field setup and crossed at 100Hz. It delivers a huge, very dynamic and very detailed/transparent sound with maybe the best mid and upper bass I’ve had. The troublesome bass solo on Rickie Lee Jones "Easy money" is just fine. Gregory Porter the same. You can "see" his a big guy...The 201 tweeter can be a little tuff on lesser recordings (I like that - more live/true feeling). The Ref 1 more polished I'm sure.

yyzsantabarbara OP
4,917 posts
 
@gosta My speakers in the last 10 years due to lack of space:

1) AudioengineUSA 2 (maybe 5 years)
2) Thiel SCS4 (2 years)
3) KEF LS50 (3 years)
4) Audience 1+1 V3 (9 months)

I finally have some space and I will not buy another stand mount. Just sick and tired of them.

gosta's avatar
gosta
839 posts
 
Alright, I can see it’s time for a floorstander :-)

Because you are sitting behind a desk, and your room isn’t that large I think you really need some room correction. I have the same situation.
A small unit that is a really great tool and a step into the RC world is the Paradigm PW amp with sub out and ARC2 RC system. Works very fine. I prefer it to the Lyngdorf because you can adjust the result, you can easily play with several adjustment files and you get to see the frequency curve before and after (true or not..). Integrates subs very fine and it’s a small cost. Find out what it can do to your present listening. It has power enough to drive the KEF 201/2 as near-fields. To get the ARC2 RC system you need to buy an Anthem or Paradigm amp or processor.

To your fullrange list I would add the PMC Fact 12 and why not the Tannoy DC 10T (for another presentation). The new Yamaha on your list is very exciting. Actually I’m an ATC fan....so why not the 150 SL... (they easily disappear in the room :-))

How are the Audience 1+1 V3? I’ve been having thoughts about them.
yyzsantabarbara OP
4,917 posts
 
@gosta In my posts on this tread I have been going back and forth stating I need to get a stand mount or floor stander. The reason being when I started setting up the LS50’s in my office the sound was fatiguing. So I was under the impression that l would be resigned to another small stand mount. However, as I have added acoustic treatments and done the other things mentioned I realize that I can get a small floor stander in this room. I have no doubt about that now.

One thing I will get is a preamp with DSP as a safety net device to integrate the floor stander in the office. I have mentioned 3 DSP units that I am considering based on feature set and ease of DSP use. They are Lyngdorf 3400, Linn Selekt DSM, and the Anthem STR. I will be doing a DSP shootout soon at an audio deal who has a small conference room with glass panels. We will put the rather large Paradigm Persona 5F in there and fire away. That dealer is actually very interested in hearing the results themselves.

I recently found out that the Linn unit will not have a "high quality" analog board (it does have an analog board), I also have a tuner and SACD player. So the Linn drops down a lot in consideration. I would have to jump up to the much more expensive Linn units to get the better analog board. So the Lyngdorf and the Anthem STR are the front runners now based on feature set. I would be throwing money away with the Lyngdorf because when I auditioned it I did not like the amp section but I did love the preamp section. We did not test DSP that day. The Anthem has the perfect feature set and if the sound is within range of the Lyngdorf then that would be a great choice. I also heard an all digital setup of the Linn + DSP in a big room and it sounded very good.

The Audience 1+1 V3 is an amazing sounding speaker. It sounds better than the KEF LS50. So why sell that and keep the KEF’s? It was because the imaging was driving me crazy when I sat off-axis, the LS50 was better at this. Now after tuning my room with the treatments and other things, I think I maybe able to get the Audience imaging fixed but at that time I did not know how to fix it. The thing that is amazing about the Audience is the clarity you get in the sound. It is actually a bit like the Vivid speaker, maybe even better. You sometimes felt like you were in the studio with the musicians, especially with my Benchmark AHB2 amp.

I wrote a bit more detail on the Audience to someone else that asked. I will see where that is and send you.

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