Bed room systems?

I also love having a system in my bedroom. I had a dresser, about 5' wide and maybe 18" deep to work with. I couldn't hang speakers or run cables all over the place - the whole thing had to fit on this one piece of cherry realestate. Here's what I did:

a Shanling STP-80 integrated tube amp. Looks great, sounds great, affordable (I think I paid about 1200 brand spankin' new). Gorgeous build quality, easy to use, the nice warm glow of tubes...

a Shanling CDT-200 SACD/CD tube player. Looks scary good, sounds great, affordable (as these things go - I think I paid less than 2k for it). Works gloriously with the STP-80.

I have tried several different speaker combinations, most recently a pair of Linn Katans and a Linn Sizmik subwoofer on the floor (I know, breaking my rule of confinment). I have settled on an absolutely wonderful pair of Spendor SP3/1p monitors. Quite a bit larger than the little Katans, but oooh that mid-bass. Wow.

I use Sonic Euphoria cables throughout, and tied it to a little Rotel RLC900 (I think that's the model number) power conditioner with an A/C trigger plug. This goes to the wall through a home depot remote controlled switch. While prone, I can easily turn on or off the whole system with the click of a button, AND the little rotel has delayed on/off - so that the amp gets a few seconds head-start on the player to light up those glorious tubes.

The whole system cost less than 5k; and gives me truly outstanding sound stage width and depth - even while falling asleep: which is admittedly alittle hard to do until the CD runs out because I get drawn into whatever I'm listening to and just can't let go.

Hey, atleast I don't dream about work anymore - but I have awoke many times in the middle of the night to the somewhat eerie blue glow of the shanling CD player casting shadows in the room.

Did I mention that these things look fabulous side by side? Not a single person seeing them hasn't stopped to exclaim at how gorgeous they are. Wives included.

- David

Funny that you bring this up!!
I just put together a bedroom system. Click on my user name to take a look. Some pix are included. FWIW.

Henry, for something of an Anti-Rives-Not-how-It-Should-Be-Done-System, take a look at my virtual system. I have separate 2 channel and home theater systems in my bedroom. I actually like it!

Simplicity is the key to my bedroom system. A Roksan Kandy III integrated and a NAD C541i which decodes HDCD very well are the electronics. Current speakers are Vandersteen 1Cs which are probable a tad larger than you intend. I used several different bookshelves, Acoustic Energy Aesprit 300s were my favorite closely followed by Von Schwiekert VR-1s. Very satifying in a small room. Good luck with the search.

Make sure that your system can play well at low volumes. This is really key for a bedroom system and sometimes difficult to achieve, as so many speakers need power to sound at or near their best. Speaker choice, in general, can be difficult as you will probably need to compromise (a lot) as to where you can place the stereo. This may mean near rear wall or inside a cabinet placement for the speakers. If this is the case, you may need to consider acoustic suspension speakers (preferable) or front ported speakers (not so bad) only. NHT makes some excellent acoustic suspension monitor sized speakers (SB1 & SB2).

Also, consider going with a quality 2 channel receiver or refurbishing a quality vintage receiver. Having FM available to you as a source is a nice to have when background music is desired and you do not want to play DJ. Receivers like the new Rotel RX 1052 or NAD C740 or even the Denon DRA 395 would work out nicely.

If you check out my system, I have evolved to a vintage Marantz 2240 receiver paired with a Music Hall MMF CD25 CD player and a pair of Omega Super 3 loudspeakers. The Omegas come in close to a dozen stunning wood and laminate finishes ... so matching to your decor should not be an issue. The Omegas are interesting in that they employ one full-range speaker ... super efficient and no crossovers. The sound is very lifelike and especially enjoyable with the types of music that typically get played in a bedroom (attempting to be a gentleman here folks).

Regards, Rich