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Questions about room size and speaker choice

I have two unrelated questions regarding speaker choice:

1) I am moving to a new, bigger apartment, which is great as I will have a dedicated listening room, but at the same time somewhat of a problem as the dedicated room is rather small measuring 9 x 11 feet. (It's the master bedroom and the shorter wall behind the listening chair has an opening into the bathroom so it's open in a sense.)

I am in the process of upgrading my speakers from the Totem Acoustic Hawk and the smaller room now has thrown another twist into the selection process. Some of the floorstanders I have been considering, such as the Acoustic Zen Adagio or the Silverline Sonatina, might now just overpower the room, or it might simply be not possible to set them up optimally given the distance of 9 feet between the side walls.

I wanted to ask whether anyone has tackled a similar problem and what the results were. Should I forgo full range floorstanders for a pair of monitors, perhaps? Harbeth comes to mind and I have been wanting to audition a pair of the 7es-3.

2) I have seen some incredible deals here on Audiogon on used speakers, and was curious what the opinions were on the age of the used speakers. Assuming a speaker is in a great condition and there are no flaws beyond cosmetic blemishes and simple age, at which point would you say a speaker has been used for simply too long to bother with it? Since it's a mechanical transducer with moving parts, years of use might exert more wear-and-tear on it than might be visible with a naked eye. The rubber surround might not be as pliable as it was and slowly start to crack; the voice coil might be pretty stressed and more prone to breaking; screws loosening; you get the idea.

I'd appreciate any input and opinions. Thank you.
actusreus
br3098
997 posts
 
What electronics? What type mof music do you play. How is the room furnished? (bed, crammed full of furniture or bare).

No doubt about it, 9 x 11 is pretty small - floor standers notwithstanding. Good monitors and subs would certainly be the easy way to go. If you can be flexible about the associated gear a small tube or SET amp and efficient speakers could be wonderful.

Personally, I have no problem with used speakers, especially if you deal with someone here on A'gon. You can find good deals, and if what you buy doesn't ring your bell you can usuaqlly sell it for minimal or no loss. I have bought and sold many pairs of speakers here, from eBay and craigslist and I have never been burned but maybe I have just been lucky. But as with any "used car" transaction remember - caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).
Post removed 
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Thanks for the replies and suggestions above. I'm sharing the apartment with my fiancee who's understanding enough of my passion for great sound to let me use the master bedroom as my listening room. The compromise is that I have to live with two of her cats and, even though the living room is nice and big, I cannot deal with moving my speakers every time I want to listen to music to avoid any damage to the woofers by leaving the speakers unattended. I did it for two years now and I'm really tired of it. So it's a smaller room for the peace of mind kind of thing. There are of course neighbors above and below to be mindful of, as is always the case in an apartment building.

I listen almost exclusively to jazz, but also some classic rock here and there. The room would be pretty much empty with the exception of record and book shelves, possibly a plant in the corner, a desk along the longer wall and of course a small couch or armchair for listening. It is carpeted and the closets are in the wall so don't take away from the square footage.

I will be using my Hawks for a while as I'm still recovering financially from my analog front upgrade, but the Hawks are about 7 years old now, a little beaten up and I'd like to upgrade to something that offers more of everything. That said, the Hawk is a great speaker, and I have enjoyed it tremendously.
br3098
997 posts
 
What gear - SS or tube?
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
The phono preamp is the Camelot Technology Lancelot (solid state, battery powered), and the amplification is Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum tube amp.
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