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Budget Speakers for a small living room

Hi guys,

I've posted here some time last year searing for a setup for a new place I was moving to but things didn't work out and I was stuck in my dorm.

I'm graduating soon and finally moving into an apartment of my own with my fiancé.

We've got a small living room that's about 11ft by 11ft. I'm looking for budget speakers that could fit this environment. Primary use would be for audio but we would also like to use them for the TV and for movies as well.

My source would be a Mac running iTunes with ALAC and 320AACs. Would have to stream the music using probably an Airport Express. I don't have any other electronics at the moment, so please do chime in with ideas on amps/preamps and DACs too if you can. But right now I'm looking to build the system with speakers in mind first.

My first option was the Audioengine A5+ since it's cheap and the option of a subwoofer exists for movies but I'm not sure if it'd provide good quality sound for a larger space (since it was made with desktops/near field listening in mind). Or possible the Epoz Aktimate mini, which I was impressed with when I auditioned it, but it's been a long time since then.

The other options was to get a cheap T-Amp like the Trends Audio and pair it with a Paradigm Atom, Wharfedale Diamonds or for more money something like the Monitor Audio BX2.

As you can see from the options I'm looking at right now, my budget is paltry =( Something like $500 tops for speakers alone.

Looking forward to your suggestions.

Btw, I am looking at the used market, unfortunately I'm in Singapore right now and shipping speakers here costs a small fortune. The local forums have some options available but they aren't that fantastic. The fiancé also prefers that we buy new gear rather than vintage sadly.
milesandcoltrane
milesandcoltrane OP
17 posts
 
@sfar - Wow, those are some wonderful words for the S30. That just bumped it up my audition list =) Funny you should mention the Onkyo A-5VL. I did audition that amp with the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 last year. Was keen on it because of the built in DAC. That setup didn't blow me away unfortunately. It sounded pretty good on simple acoustic tracks with 3-4 instruments like Jazz trios and stuff. However it started breaking up and sounded less coherent in busier passages. I think it was Art Blakey's Night In Tunisia. In some parts of that track you've got horns, the piano and the drums and cymbals going pretty fast - that setup just couldn't deliver the sound with ease. I was driving this from my Macbook Pro at the time - Lossless files hooked up optically to the Onkyo.

That Pioneer elite amp you mentioned is quite pricey at about 600ish retail. But will look into it.

Would you advise one of Cambridge Audio's integrates with the S30? Perhaps the Azur 340/350A or one of the Topaz amps possibly?

@Donjr - Ah Epos, seems to be quite highly regarded. Was also thinking of the ELS3 since the price is very affordable.

@Cdc - Yes I do like netural - if that refers to a natural sounding setup. Very often people refer to a setup that's natural and to my ears it ends up sounding bright =( That was mostly for headphones though. I have very limited experience with speakers.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
FYI, an 11 X 11 room can be problematic.
milesandcoltrane OP
17 posts
 
@ sfar and Afranta - I've finally got the opportunity to audition the Cambridge Audio S30s. Amazing speakers for the money. They were playing lossless files from my Macbook Air via USB into a Cambridge DacMagic into a Cambridge 350 integrated.

The same electronics were plugged into a Dali Ikon 5 and Zensor 5 floor standers. They definitely provided a bigger sound. But the S30 put out sound that was surprisingly close to what the Ikons delivered. The only thing with the Ikons were the very bright highs. The Zensor had a bigger sound - a more prominent mid range.

The S30 though was the real star. At about a 1/4 or a 1/5 of the price they delivered more accurate - though slightly smaller sounding - sound. Texture of instruments was impeccable.

I tried the Mordaunt Short Carnival 6 floor stander at another store (they were going for 10bucks cheaper than the S30s!!!!!) with a wonderful handmade tube integrated from a Thai company called TS Audio (15wpc). Amazing and correct tone through the tubes.

Bummer that I missed the chance to pair the S30s with the tubes though =(
manoterror
216 posts
 
Actually, at 50 watts x 3 channels, they are more than loud enough. I have never had them above half volume. I run them in a room that is 13 x 20 and they are plenty loud.

You really don't need as many watts as some think are required. I was also using a 13 watt per channel Roth MC4 amp with 6ohm Mirage OMD-5 speakers, and I never wanted more power. Now I'm using a 35 Watt amp with Totem Rainmakers that is also fantastic.

Hope this helps.
Mot
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