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Starting from scratch in a large room

I am hoping to set up my first hi-fi system, but I have some room/equipment constraints and would appreciate some advice.

I am looking at an all-in-one amp and passive speakers. Right now, I am leaning toward a Naim Uniti Nova and KEF R3 speakers. I am a total novice and open to suggestions on both the amp and speakers, however, I do think an all-in-one like the Nova is the right direction for simplicity and space considerations. Other speakers I have considered are the Focal Aria 906 and BW 706 S2. I listen mostly to modern/classic rock, mixed with a little bit of everything, exclusively through streaming (preferably AirPlay).

The challenge is that I have a very large room, but I can’t use floor speakers or standmounts--the speakers will likely have to be on the built-in bookshelves, on a shelf that is 24" deep (it's not really a shelf, more like a wooden countertop on top of a closed cabinet). The room is 33’ x 18’ with 11-foot ceilings. I’ll be listening from either 13 feet or 25 feet. There are rugs covering most of the wood floors, heavy drapes on one of the long walls, and large canvas paintings hung on drywall on the other long wall. I understand I have some pretty major room limitations, but I'd like to have something that sounds as good as possible for around $10-15K. I've read somewhere around here that having two subs might help compensate for the smaller speakers. This is our living room/kitchen area, so I am limited in how many, if any, "treatments" I can make to improve the listening conditions. Would some kind of base between the speaker and countertop make a difference? Thanks very much.

deertrail7
ddd1
261 posts
 

I would forget about an integrated amp and instead get a preamp with dsp and a pair of large active studio monitors (use the port plugs if necessary and the controls on the back of each speaker to adjust the highs and lows and you may not even need to use dsp).  Not sure what your source is but some people can get by with a versatile DAC like the RME ADI-2 instead of a preamp.

ie. Dynaudio BM15A, Adam, etc.

If once placed you are unable to reach in behind and turn them on/off you can plug them into a device to accomplish that.

Tiny speakers in a big room won’t work out, even with subs.

kota1
2,706 posts
 

@ddd1 , the Yamaha HS8 studio monitors has 8 inch drivers, if the OP gets the Paradigm PW Link it has the pre/streamer/ARC etc. No sub out though :)

OP, if you look on Agon you might find a pair.

deertrail7 OP
9 posts
 

First, thanks very much to everyone who responded to this thread. So much high-quality advice/information (both technical and practical--heck, even psychological!) offered to a complete stranger, and I truly appreciate it.

Maybe some negotiating with/bribing of my wife might be a more efficient use of time than trying to figure out how to get great sound out of small speakers in a large room.

Room correction seems to be a common theme, and @kota1's comment about being able to achieve a flat frequency response makes sense to me. Also, thanks for the Paradigm recommendation--that may be where I start, since it would be a good base for a house-wide system even if it doesn't work in the living room for some reason.

The Buchardts are appealing to me, particularly the ease with which they can be returned if they don't work out. Perhaps the wireless A500 would be a good alternative, with the Platin hub (with room correction but no AirPlay 2) or the Primare SC15 (no room correction, but AirPlay 2 and wired outputs in case I wanted a wired sub). And I've read in a few places that the Buchardt's put out a lot of sound for their size.

It may come down to personal preference, but @ddd1 might be right about the futility of using smaller speakers in the big room. I guess we will see. Those BM15A's are an interesting option. My only other thought was that maybe I could use Klipsch Heresy IV speakers as "bookshelf" speakers, since I think they would technically fit on the intended shelf space.

Thanks again.

 

 

panzrwagn's avatar
panzrwagn
518 posts
 

Lots of interesting answers.unfortunately none of them are grounded in the physical reality of your room. It is easily 3X to 5X the volume most HiFi speakers are intended for. Your placement limitations are exactly that, but there are speakers that should work well. Specifically, you need controlled directivity to minimize sound from reflecting off the walls, ceiling, and floors. In other words, horns. That leaves about 99% of all commercial speakers out of the conversation - their small drivers that work in small rooms are simply unable to 'throw' the amount of sound at the distances you need.  The new JBL 4349 looks like a very likely choice. At 29X18X13" deep, it will fit easily on a 24" shelf, and even allow for some placement toe-in. I would suggest a good 100-200 W/Ch amp to drive them. $8250 per pair. 

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