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. . .
Hi Captouch, Are you using any type of isolation under your turntable? If not, I use the Townshend Seismic Vibration Isolation platform, and it works quite well. As a point of reference my room is 14’ 4” x 10’ 6” x 9’. My system, consists of 8 speakers, 4) 12” subs. 2) 8” mid bass cabinets and 2) mid/hi cabinets. It’s a four way system, three way active. I have been known to hit peaks as high as 119 db. The four subs help smooth out a lot of the nodes, though I still had an approximate 80 Hz standing wave issue that I have been able to eliminate by adjusting the the crossover point and using a parametric e.q. band in my DSP unit. The bass in my room has all the slam/impact that the music calls for and I have no issue with overloading the room or any bass boom at all. You can get there with out giving up the slam/impact, you just have to keep plugging away. You might want to contact someplace like GIK Acoustics and see if they have some thoughts. |
@audiorusty No separate isolation, but there is a TT shelf attached to the wall, so isolated from my bouncy wood floors, but that’s it. Besides the four subs and DSP, did you take a lot of other actions (room treatments for example) to make your room workable?
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I believe that it would be well worth your time to work out the acoustics of your room before giving up on your Aerial loudspeakers. I am not convinced that stuffing the ports are a valid approach. The overwhelming bass is due to speaker placement exciting a room node. Have you tried moving them forward - closer to your listening position & possibly a bit closer together? I am getting at a "near-field" arrangement which many times helps ameliorate room anomalies. Check-out the "Cardas Audio" Near Field room set up: https://www.cardas.com/system-setup Diffusers on the back wall could pay large dividends as well. You may find yourself enjoying what you have without giving up your Aerials. Best of luck |
I own Aerial 7s (the original) and my room is 12’-2” by 11’ after downsizing; I ended up using GIK Impressionist Corner Bass Traps which helped. Unfortunately, your room constraints doesn’t appear to be workable for that option (as well as bringing the speakers closer together). Every so often, I toy with the idea of getting more suitable speakers but then there is that glorious mid range… if you’re into open baffle and want to address the node issues, that may be helpful (or DSP). Good Luck! |
