Recommendations for speakers in a much smaller listening room.


My wife and I are in the process of buying and moving to a new patio home. We are both pretty excited about it. The only issue is I will have a much smaller listening room. I currently have a room that is 14.5 x 38, basically one half of the basement. The new room will be 12 x 16 with 8' ceilings.(taller than pervious room at 6'8") The question is what is a good speaker for that size room that will not overload the room. I like sound stage, imaging and listenability over analytical and highly detailed. My current speakers are Tyler acoustics Woodmere II and are giant towers. I do some vinyl on a vintage Panasonic DD TT with Ortofon MC1 cart. Mostly streaming with a Lumin T2, Oppo Digital 105 for disks with a Modwright KWH 225i. Thanks for any suggestions, Allen. 

backwash

I would work to get the best out of your existing speakers, and learn more about the space before changing your speakers.

you will go from very early floor/ceiling reflections with very delayed and weak rear wall reflections to slightly closer sides and a ’rear wall’ situation.

I would start with toe-in with drivers aimed directly to the listening position, tilted back so tweeters are aimed at seated ear height (now angles to floor/ceiling/side walls dealt with), and be prepared to reduce/absorb rear wall reflections. 

Having tools to know what you are getting helps, buy an inexpensive SPL mic (with a bottom fitting for a tripod) and a CD (not LP) with test tones. 

https://www.amazon.com/RISEPRO-Decibel-Meter-Digital-Sound/dp/B01EZZ8B5Q/ref=sr_1_9?crid=J0JCOJQ2WDLW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5D-pYnZdi199rw8zA4ihTCa9H7SKcOxpEgTk32z3XiODFnWp-VcMp4C2S72mS1TJnBpwrA3eiioOsTLAnVBNaXkrn5wujxGoQpxeNgW-YQwZIiQB2foUgGOE9q_aFDcLrbugyVEFZH-jgR0YloJpMPhrpq40fPOiqyKeNtM9zPIj2brz-hDX554WOHs6bRPvg67lLpD0ilXn6OxPy9dg9fwvsrwuL2CwraQxmjiN1DTfym1GEDSlImjTVG4rIqNuJkIDjJ5pkZKPLzFHFHPoSOxArN-GkfDcU6QeZyEFDSs.LNlPfotA6J_46wxUNUXkhiNqnfw8QqJU-xmgbMKN-iY&dib_tag=se&keywords=spl+meter&qid=1754227191&s=industrial&sprefix=spl+meter%2Cindustrial%2C97&sr=1-9

This is an unusually low price, someone should snap this up

https://www.ebay.com/itm/157194978869?_skw=amazing+bytes&itmmeta=01K1R1936Q0ZR4PM07NW1QVMP1&hash=item24998d0635:g:k5AAAOSwrT9oW2vX&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1eEFhrQYOlFdfHB%2Bip6%2FCr5QANuKXRBJyy9Co88n2oFz3xx3oFlur9HrdyJ0%2FA651aYTME1LASCSU0MkfsoABqKq8eStZrR7XoD5r5d7C1waMaBCKu6dmYI8Mo6QbaZjgTUS%2B7Ja4vcQqNXtKUmApwlPwMDe6fJzzQR4tCuHlDvTMVNqztKjG10VUieFrBbkf25EGWRaw12ZndkMWoRHuaUzzP63j3qakbVNiNBPrlKSw2Md1C8EGREs1ysjpA8Ago%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5a0pIGOZg

 

VonGaylord “Return of the Legend”. Affordable, stunningly beautiful, incredible range for a stand mount monitor, great balance, creamy mid range, detail without sounding analytical and the sound stage is large but the speakers just completely disappear. My mains are Odeon Carnegie’s but we are talking about downsizing. My room is 33 by 18 and the first 17 feet have 23 foot ceilings so essentially no interference but that is a unique room. I have run the Von Gaylords in that room with great results but they are very much at home in a smaller room and really get into their groove in smaller spaces. The cover the spectrum from 28Hz to 25kHz. Amazing little guys. Worth a look if you decide your Tyler’s are too much.

This first thing that should be done is install bass traps.  After doing so you will be amazed how many choices will work.  Good luck and have fun!

I do already own a SPL meter, and two sealed Rythmik F12 subs. Also own Some GIK bass traps and some side reflection panels + some home made bass traps that actually worked pretty well. I have no intentions to change my amp or DAC unless I just want to go for an upgrade at some point in the future. I am very happy with how my system sound in the current room. I am fairly sure I can tweak it into shape in the new room. I mostly was curious as to what people were happy with in a room that size just in case I wanted to try something different. Thanks, Allen.