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Recommendations to a small room setup

Hello everyone,

Im setting up a system in my apartment this coming fall and just wanted some extra input from those much more knowledgable in this field than I am.

My living room is fairly small (~200sqft) so I am looking for speakers for this size.

I have looked at Dynaudio Excite X12s, Magnepan MMGs, Dali Zensor 3s, etc. But honestly, they all seem pretty good to me.

I was suggested against the NAD C165BEE and NAD C275BEE setup for any small speaker setup (maybe except for the MMGs), so I would love some input on electronics setup as well. What do you guys think about the Marantz SR7009??

Finally, I will be mainly listening to alot of pop, indie, ballad, jazz, blues, acoustics, and EDM. Also, I hope to have the speakers and electronics I purchase to be pretty decent when watching movies/TV shows.

Thank you!
davidthepark
jrinkerptdnet
430 posts
 
Is a 10 x 20 room REALLY that small??? Unless you must listen "nearfield" I would try to find a more full-range type of speaker. There are some very good models on the used market for not that much cash
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,411 posts
 
The Dynaudio and Dali speakers the OP is considering are very closely spec'd...50 Hz to 20K+, sensitivity on the Dali is 88 dB, 86 on the Dynaudio, crossover at 2kHz, 2.6kHz. I believe these would provide a satisfying full-range sound for the OP's type of music in such a small room.
The low rumble a subwoofer provides may be missed when watching movies.

The Magnepan MMGs may provide the fullest sound, but I defer to others as far as the low-end performance.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,411 posts
 
Jrinkerptdnet,
I just did the calculation and you are correct, this may be a 10'x 20' room. In that case, these speakers are on the small side and the OP may need to look for a full-range speaker or add a subwoofer.

I think we need to hear more specific details on the room.
demar
25 posts
 
I will suggest Totem Arros for speakers. McCormack DNA .5 and a passive pre. Use any source your comfortable with and you should have a killer little setup.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Yep. 200 sq. ft. could be any number of shapes. 10x20 is one, but so is 13x15 or 12.5x16. Hopefully it's not a 14.142' square for standing wave concerns. Actually, 10x20 would be problematic that way too.

Anyway, 13x15 (for example) has quite a bit more breathing room than a 10x11 or 11x12.

The GoldenEar Aon 2 or 3 on stands would occupy this room size with ease and wouldn't need a sub. Some of the small footprint floorstanders could work well too, such as the Silverline Prelude or Prelude Plus, or the Focal 816V Chorus or 826V Chorus.

Of course, I also like the Magnepan offerings, and you may even have room for the new .7 over the MMG.

In fact, here's a very favorable review from Steve Guttenberg at C-Net where he auditioned the Maggie .7s in an 11’x12’ (121 sq. ft.) apartment room to great success. 200 sq ft should be a breeze by comparison.

As for amps, I already mentioned that the NAD integrateds (e.g., C356BEE) are good for this application. If you go Marantz, get the PM8005 integrated. That's a nice-sounding amp and would be a good match for the room and speakers under discussion.
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