captouch
No I don't own the BMRs. I had just purchased a pair of Buchardt Audio S400 MKII stand mounts when I got a chance to listen to them. But I do remember how much I liked the BMRs
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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I had the same issue, 11.5 x 18 and had full range floor standing Revels. Ended up going with B&W 805 D4’s and instead of my two ModWright KWA-150s Stereo amps biamping the speakers, went to mono and biwired. b&W’s need the amp/power. Have the speakers on stands sitting about 27” from back wall, and 17” from side walls and toes in toward my center sitting position. Speakers ended up about 83” apart and so out my listening chair about the roar away and the sound is amazing! I also have room treatments in the back wall to keep the sounds waves from bouncing back towards the front and some just behind each speaker. I have a wonderful sound stage! Hope that helps! |
@turkster3 Thanks for sharing that. How far did you go with room treatments before deciding you wanted to go with smaller speakers? How high are your ceilings? And final question: Do you miss the bass since I assume the smaller B&W’s don’t go as low? |
@captouch I agree with @soix to first work with speaker placement in your new room--i too run Aerial Acoustic speakers (7T) in a room 1' smaller than yours in the long dimension but 2' wider side to side--i do have a nearfield setup which i like as this is purely a music room but if you're opposed to that you may need to go with different (smaller) speakers and many excellent ones have been recommended. Fact is there are always lots of speaker options for any size room but there's nothing wrong with your 7B's and i don't think they are too powerful for the room--perhaps some REW measurements to ensure they are not located in bass node areas would help but in your place i would work with them first... |
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