Try playing with speaker placement first. I’d suggest pulling the speakers another foot into the room and more like 5.5’ - 6’ apart to give more breathing room from the walls and see if that mitigates the issues you’re hearing — my guess is that it will help and probably improve imaging/soundstage as well. I’d also try removing some of the absorptive panels as they may be absorbing the highs and making things sound muddier/congested. Hope this helps, and best of luck.
Thoughts on Speakers for a Small Audio/Video Room
Hoping to get some thoughts from the group here.
I recently moved into a dedicated TV/audio room, but the room size is on the small side: 15.5ft x 11.5ft. As pics will show, there's quite a bit in there, so empty volume is decreased further due to that.
I've been using Aerial Acoustics Model 7B speakers, which I've been very happy with in larger spaces, but they seem to be overwhelming the room and I'm getting fairly overwhelming bass. Vocals have sort of a chestiness/congested nature to them, and there are bass undertones to most songs. If I play records loud, I need to activate my rumble filter, which I never used to have to do. As a sidetone, I also have Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20's in my collection.
Preamp is a recapped Mcintosh C35 and amp is a recapped MC2255. Phono pre is a VTL TP 2.5 II, TT is a Marantz TT-15S1 running a SAE1000LT MM cart.
I borrowed a friend's Sonus Faber Electa Amator II's and they sounded very good in my room - sweeter, more natural, no congestion, though I did give up bass slam/impact, which I kind of missed.
Here are pictures of the room:
Front:
Back:
I'm playing around now with plugging the rear ports of the Aerial, as well as putting some acoustic panels in the back corners of the room. Both of those seem to have helped quite a bit.
As far as measurements, those Aerials are currently about 80" apart, 16" from speaker back to front of cabinet, 96" from each speaker to the listening position.
What's your opinion: With some room treatments/plugged ports, can the Aerials work well in a room of this size, or do I need to move toward smaller speakers?
If I go smaller, any thoughts on something like the Sonus Faber Concerto Domus (there's a pair local to me) or Sonetto III? Those seem to be more modestly sized, don't go as low. Would those be at least a lateral to the AA Model 7B's, or a step down in terms of overall speaker quality? I only mention Sonus Faber models as I was impressed with my friend's speakers and generally do enjoy the smoother, more musical speakers and will give up some detail/pinpoint accuracy if needed to avoid brightness/listening fatigue.
Thanks all. . .
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@glennewdick Yes, no idea why the pics are distorted - I tried multiple times and sometimes one pic would be okay and the second distorted and sometimes both. In the end, I hoped it was an artifact of the posting editor and it would look normal when actually posted, but nope! I did trying plugging the rear port with some rollers up socks and added one big acoustic panel seen in the front of the room to each back corner. I think blocking the port is definitely needed if I stick with the Aerials. I also purchased right sized 12” wide acoustic panels that would fit more properly in the rear corners - those will arrive today. I’ve heard great things about Audio Note. Will see what shows up on the local used market. @soix I will definitely try your suggestions, thank you. At what point is a listening setup near-field? I thought the ideal was close to an equilateral triangle. If I end up say 7ft from each speaker at the LP, I guess that’s still not near field. @yogiboy I’ll keep an eye out. My 7B’s are over 20yrs old, so no idea if the sonic character of the newer Aerial models matches what I have now, but it’s a good thought to guide me.
Thanks for all the comments so far!
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Ideally, I’d go with smaller monitors and a separate sub to better be able to adjust bass levels in the small room. Applying DSp/room correction as needed should also be considered. I use KEF ls50 meta + sub in similar tight quarters. THese are as good as it gets for the size and for modest cost. YOur amp should drive them fine. I use Roon DSp with these and others in other rooms, but I have found very little if any correction needed with the ls50 setup. Listening nearfield is another option to consider when the room just cannot cut it for whatever reason.
DSP/room correction should work pretty well with the speakers you already have, though I think smaller speakers+ sub(s) are more ideally suited for the room due to increased flexibility adjusting the bass as needed.
Good luck!
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