15k USD Speakers for Classical and Pop Extended Listening, Near setup, Low volume

My friend Danny who knows more about audio that I ever will recently came over to listen to my other system. He listened to my office system too. He was blown away by the LRS+ and said why would you need anything else in a small room such as mine.

Listening skills (my friend who critiqued the LRS+)

Given the space the LRS+ is a great choice. Listening to the speaker behind me has never been an issue. The room is so small and filled with music. Imaging, soundstage, details, are all as expected if facing the speaker.

The LRS+ is the best sounding speaker I have had in this room. Not saying it is the best speaker I have had in the room, but the best sounding when the room interactions are taken into account. I think the LRS+ is easier to place and that soundstage is huge and deep.

Here are the amps that I used with the LRS+ and were good to phenominal.

• PeachTree GAN400 (400 watts Class D GAN, $1000 used) GOOD
• Sanders MagTech (Magnepan + Tech, Class AB 500 | 9000 watts @ 8 |4) GREAT
• CODA #16 (mostly Class A (100 watts). 150 | 300 | 600) Phenominal

I also use ROON. Mitch Barnett at Accurate Sound will make almost ANY speaker sound good in your space. So that can be a safety net for you. His solution is configured remotely (with measurements by you) and works great on ROON. I do not use this anymore, but it can make a bad audio situation great.

I use a Schitt Yggi+ Less Is More DAC at around $2400). I love this DAC and it replaced my Lumin X1. Though I neeed a streamer for the Yggi+. The Lumin X1 streamer is amazing. I also use fibre optic with the Ygg+ and previously with the Lumin X1 (easier with this one).

If you are interested in a MagTech amp. I would be interested in selling it since I plan on using my CODA #16 permanently with the LRS+ and I am almost sure to be getting the latest CODA SYSTEM 150 for my Livingroon system, where the Sanders now resides. I want Class A over AB for the NS5000 speaker.

BTW - prior speaker that are also very good in my office was the KEF LS50 Meta with the KC62 sub. Do not put a floorstander in a small room. It can work well but you can get great with a speaker with less volume. The LRS+ sounds much bigger.

@yyzsantabarbara My room is around 13.5'x21'. Layout is as shown on this image 

Coda looks interesting. Are you based out of Canada and which dealer carries it?

Thanks

I am from Toronto (yyz) but now live in Santa Barbara, CA. There is a great CODA dealer out of Winnipeg I forgot the guy’s name. Doug at Coda can give you the dealer info for Canada.

Your room is much better than mine for audio. Whatever, you put in there can be made to sound great. Even a floor stander would work in that space. If you are in Toronto, go to Kennedy HiFi and listen to the Yamaha NS3000 monitor. I have the NS5000 speaker in the Livingroom and it is much better than the LRS+. I love the LRS+ in the office but the NS5000 in the bigger space is something else. My friend Danny was raving about the NS5000. My intention was to get the Yamaha NS3000 monitor from Canada (not sold in USA) and use with the KEF KC62 sub. However, the LRS+ made that moot. Do not let the Yamaha name fool you, this is Magico, Vivid, et al level audio genius.

The Sanders amp was built by CODA long ago on Sanders specs. I like it more that the CODA #8 amp (splitting hairs). The #8 would work great with any speaker. The new CODA S5.5 I do not think would be ideal for the LRS+. Would be amazing with the NS3000.

@ilikeclassical

(1) first and foremost, the ATC SCM 40’s and Monitor Audio Gold 300 5G are large floorstanders that will highly likely simply overwhelm the room ( and you ….) from your proposed quasi or full nearfield listening position.

As @ghdprentice has pointed out….stick with suitable bookshelf / standmounts with an added subwoofer.

(2) None of your wishlist speaker options are inexpensive. What I believe @ghdprentice has subtly inferred in his post includes a key second guidepost embodiment of the following: ergo:

- don’t fall for the common trap that Uber high-priced strata speakers with comparative budget strata upstream electronics will be that magic silver bullet to provide you with that “aha” or “Jesus” moment in your audio performance improvement and enjoyment satisfaction .

Rather, here’s the better philosophy that is clear.

- A comparably affordable speaker with decent / better amplification and source,  makes a lot more sense than an expensive strata speaker paired with a comparatively budget strata performance / cheap amp and source.

choose wisely

@akg_ca - thanks for your advice. My room is roughly 300 sq ft. @yyzsantabarbara suggested putting the speakers at the back. With that would floorstanders be fine?