I’ve been listening in my office/study/lounge for sometime now, after discovering that l prefer the performance there vs other larger rooms. The office dimensions are:
4.2m length x 3.8m width x 4.5m height (vaulted ceiling really helps with overall acoustics ).
The speakers are setup on the longer wall, pulled out almost 1m and listening spot is about 8 feet ( 2.4m) away. Speakers are about 7 feet wide (2.1m) center to center
I’ve had excellent results with Harbeth Super HL5+XD, probably the best overall sound in terms of fullness, tone, and fatigue free listening. I tried Focal Sopra No1 for a few months and could not tolerate them due to excessive upper presence region hyper detail and tweeter artifacts. They would sound weirdly artificial and metallic at times that really turned me off. I had pretty much the exact same experience with my Sopra No2 in the downstairs setup, which at the time was much larger room using Luxman m900/c900 and an MSB discrete and also Chord TT2. Impressive sound staging but that tweeter was out control for me and I could not listen for very long.
Also in the same setup in the basement, I moved to Dynaudio Confidence 30 and then 50. Both were significantly better sounding to me esp in the presence region and as it transitions into the extreme high frequencies - much smoother and more natural air and extension. Not a whiff of artificial hyper detail, etch, or tweeter ringing artifact. I mentioned the basement experience so you can get an idea of what I’ve calibrated to over the years.
In the office I tried Dynaudio Special 40 and Confidence 1 premium. The C1’s were more accurate at both ends but the special 40’s had an interesting vibe and presentation- they were more fun and relaxed whereas the C1’s could sound uptight at times. The C1’s had more audiophile approved characteristics- flatter profile, extreme resolution, cleaner low frequency articulation, maybe a more locked in and focused sound-stage. Between the two, if I had to decide again I’d take the Special 40’s because they basically just played music and were very engaging for hours.
I spent about a month each with Kef R3 Meta and Kef REF1 Meta. I wanted to badly to love the KEFs but found a flavoring not totally unlike the Focals in the upper octaves. They were better than the Focals but I could not make peace with an artificial signature overall.
I also experimented with Devore Super Nine, Marten Oscar Trio and most recently Opera Callas 2014. The Operas tend to fly well under the radar, but have been a real sleeper all along. They have become my new reference point for standmount speakers. I feel they have the best traits of the Dyn C1’s but with a more natural tone and ease of presentation that I have been attracted to the past few years. I am not into hyper detail and extreme audio performance as I was fond of chasing in the past , but do love the basics like: tone, depth, natural mid-range, sound-stage, bass quality, ease of setup, and just the right amount of sparkle.
The Callas 2014 easily checks all these attributes and they are absolutely gorgeous to look at. The cabinet design and overall appearance make them easy to fit in the room and just simply look awesome.
The biggest difference between the Harbeth SHL5+Xd and the Callas 2014 is in the bass envelope/ the Beth’s are fatter sounding- but the bass is more blended / homogenized vs faster and better defined. After this area, the Callas 2014 exceed the resolution and air of the Beth’s, have better transient snap, as well as offering up a gorgeous midrange. Female voices are incredibly well portrayed and “see through”. The soundstage capabilities of the callas outshine the Beth’s in my space. I get more wrap around effects and greater sense of the recording space. I attribute this to the choice of tweeter, crossover design, and very low cabinet resonance. In terms of cabinet resonance the Callas are very inert and do not react / resonate to frequencies in the critical midrange transition region (550 to 750 Hz). The Devore super nines otoh rang like a bell here/ as I suspect this must be a character of the bamboo and cabinet damping design, but drove me to near madness trying to get them to calm down. I think I understand now, why soft low powered amplifiers are pretty much mandatory for them.
This went on a bit long winded but I think you ought to add the Opera Callas 2014 to your list. They have an MSRP of $6500 and would probably work out well in your space with your equipment.
Happy hunting!
