Near field speaker setup

My office, small bookshelf B&W with a sub in the middle, equidistant close triangle, direct sound prior to reflections, imaging is terrific. Big music system downstairs, bigger drivers, horns, bigger room, very nice imaging, but not as precise as my perfect close triangle upstairs.

I would encourage you to add a self-powered sub, not loud bass, just enough for bass extension, and a large benefit of self powered subs: removes the need for the smaller mains to try to do low bass, easier on the main amp not trying to do low bass also.

Many people make the mistake of going for too much bass, muddying up their mids.

Thanks for all the feedback. Nice setup millercarbon, that took a while to drink in! Im onboard with the "every little thing" in sum does matter.

Im using an apple laptop -> Tidal -> Yggdrasil DAC -> Naim Nait 5i setup. Very happy with the way it sounds but for some reason in this hobby my mind keeps wanting more, after partaking in some extra curricular activities :), I moved in very close with this system as I describe its crazy the way the music sounds, hard to see how it can get better and Im certain it can since my system is not that high end.
I'd like to move to tubes and been looking at a PrimaLuna setup. I have a bottlehead headphone tube amp with sennheiser hd600 (pretty basic stuff) and that sounds incredible as well. Plan on fooling around with room acoustics as described from some of you today.
Anyway, having a fun time with all this hope you all are too, thanks again!

-Richard

Hi OP,

What I want to know is, why does it sound so good this close?

You may have seen one of my dozen or so suggestions that Audiophiles move their chair so they can hear their speakers up close. 

The difference between that and what you hear at the listening position is how the speaker interacts with the room.

I often suggest this as a way for audiophiles to think about whether their problem is before the amp, or after it. The near field listening greatly shifts the amount you hear of direct sound, vs. reverberant.  It's analogous to increasing the signal to noise.  This is why speaker designers often put microphones 1/4" or less to the drivers, so they can ignore what the room and baffle are doing and get quasi-anechoic measurements.

I find it a very good diagnostic tool for audiophiles who find problems with tonal balance, or warmth or imaging.  If the problems go away at the near-field, the issue is acoustics in nature. If the problem remains, we know it's at the speaker or before.

Thanks for all the feedback. Nice setup millercarbon, that took a while to drink in! Im onboard with the "every little thing" in sum does matter.

Im using an apple laptop -> Tidal -> Yggdrasil DAC -> Naim Nait 5i setup. Very happy with the way it sounds but for some reason in this hobby my mind keeps wanting more, after partaking in some extra curricular activities :), I moved in very close with this system as I describe its crazy the way the music sounds, hard to see how it can get better and Im certain it can since my system is not that high end.
I’d like to move to tubes and been looking at a PrimaLuna setup. I have a bottlehead headphone tube amp with sennheiser hd600 (pretty basic stuff) and that sounds incredible as well. Plan on fooling around with room acoustics as described from some of you today.
Anyway, having a fun time with all this hope you all are too, thanks again!

-Richard

Look real close at my system. Its hard for most to fully appreciate because we are so bombarded with the importance of big box components, but the little things you hardly see actually account for a lot of the great sound. They also are extremely cost effective and universal. When you upgrade the system with new speakers you get rid of the old ones but when you upgrade with something like Cable Elevators, BDR Cones or Synergistic HFT those things stay and are used and make your system shine for the rest of your life, without ever spending a penny more on them.

That said, I would be looking at Raven. Okay technically I am looking at Raven. https://www.ravenaudio.com/product/nighthawk-mk3-tube-amplifier/ Having had a couple tube integrateds and knowing they are the sweet spot in audiophile amps I did of course look at PL. Their main problem being China. And that is one very big problem. Sound wise they are probably close enough to come down to side by side. They are in other words well within tweaking range of each other, which again gives the edge to Raven.

right mate the Raven looks good at aboot 4K...anything in the under 1K bracket for the lowend hifi?