Any speakers from the BBC family would fit nicely, I have the Graham Audio LS 5/9, can listen to them all day without fatigue, I am very sensitive to upper middle and treble, another brand is QLN, great speakers.Ā
Help Deciding On New Speakers For Small Room, $10k budget
Hello everyone! A brief background. For the first time in my life, I have a dedicated room for listening! š Iām very excited about it. However, itās not very big. Something is better than nothing though. Previously I always lived in apartments and had to primarily listen on headphones. The room size is 10 feet by 11 feet with 10 foot ceilings, almost a perfect square. It has already been professionally sound treated with many panels from Gik Acoustics. So despite its tricky sizing, it should be all set up for a proper experience! And I already have a nice chain, a McIntosh MC52 Preamp and Primare Power Amp and CD Player with a Holo Audio May KTE. Oh, I also have a Rel A7X subwoofer.
I unfortunately have a disability that makes it very difficult for me to travel. I cannot easily just go to a hifi store and try things. I also live kinda in the middle of nowhere. But Iām a former professional musician and music is my life, and I want to feel connected to my music as much as I can, so Iām willing to invest into it. I have a budget of about $10k give or take $1k or so. I donāt mind looking at used options in like new condition.
A little about my hearing preferences: I am very sensitive to high frequencies, specifically around 7k-10k. For reference, every hifi headphone Iāve ever used made me wince because the high frequencies are too pronounced. I just put up with it because I didnāt have a choice, but Iāve noticed that with speakers Iām usually not so sensitive to them so Iām excited to go down this journey and enjoy my music listening more. I like powerful, punchy bass, and generally prefer a warmer sound signature, however, even though my ears are sensitive to higher frequencies, I love a nice crisp and realistic cymbal sound. In general, as a musician, I think Iād love something that sounds ātrue to lifeā because I have obviously a lot of experience hearing instruments live. I mostly listen to jazz (because Iām a jazz musician) but I also love music of all genres like rock, electronic, pop, soul, alternative, and occasionally K-Pop too, Iām pretty open minded. So something that is a good all-rounder might also be nice. Writing this all out, I now think I might be asking for the moon though, so letās just say jazz and realistic instruments is my main priority š
So with all that said, I would greatly appreciate your suggestions. Iāve been looking at Focalās line of Kanta and Sopra but Iāve heard they are bright. Iāve heard B&W but I donāt think their house sound is for me, again too bright. Ā Also debating between bookshelves and small floor standers for a smallish room. Iāve been looking also at Canton, Dali, Tannoy and Wharfdale, but Iām not as familiar with the speaker world as I am the headphone or IEM world, so Iām quite open to ideas. Thank you so much and best wishes on the evening of this crazy time Iām in the U.S.!
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If you prefer a more detailed, transparent, yet full-bodied, minus the fatigue, great dynamics, great bass, huge soundstage, high resolution, great value for the money sound, I would highly recommend one of the smaller Revel PerformaBe speakers.Ā If you prefer a more lush, softer, more romantic sound, then Sonus Faber would be a great choice.Ā Happy listening,Ā Ā |
I have really been enjoying the Vivid Audio Kaya S12 speakers.Ā They are small speakers with matching stands ($9,700 with stands).Ā I have to say they are a slice of pure heaven.Ā They have an uncanny sense of presence and amazing imaging with "reach out and touch" focus.Ā Their tonal balance is spot on and just when you are wondering if they have bass, it shines through with detail and articulation and the proper quantity.Ā A very special speaker with some obviously amazing technology. |
I have a Yamaha NS5000 "bookshelf" in a decent sized room, but it is too big for a small room. To solve this for people Yamaha introduced the NS3000 which are true bookshelf speakers (use stands). The NS3000 is not sold in the USA but can be bought from Canada (I know a store in Toronto). I have heard the TAD ME-1 and the NS5000 is at a different level to the BE drivers on the TAD's. The NS3000 would be the same as the NS5000 since the Zylon drivers are essentially the same. I recently moved into a smaller office from another small office. In the larger office I had a Magnepan LRS+. It was not the utmost in detail and dynamics, but it was a great listen with the wall of sound it produces. You need a lot of power for this speaker. Now in my new smaller office I sold the LRS+ and got the Magnepan Mini. The mini is used in near-field but I think it would work in a room 12x11x9. It is a bit more detailed and smoother than the LRS+. This speaker also needs a lot of power. (I tried lower 70 watts and it was not enough). I use a Sanders Magtech which give me 500 @ 8Ā and 900 @ 4. The Mini can be bought used for $1000 and a used amp in the range of $5k (like mine would be perfect) Remember a small room is not a great friend to great sound. Ā Ā |
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