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Speakers for small room,near field

I need some wisdom and advice from you fellow Audiogoners. I've been shopping for some replacement speakers. They are for a pure stereo system (no multi channel stuff here!). The room is approximately 12'x 30', with normal ceiling. My system consists of a McIntosh 6450 integrated amp (100 watts X 2), McIntosh 7008 CD changer, Audio Note DAC-1, with Boston Acoustic A-150 speakers (circa 1981). I listen to mostly jazz, acoustic and classical. However, I've broken out the old Led Zep from time to time! Even though the room is quite long, my listening position is limited to within about 6-8 feet due to seating constraints. My budget is around $2000 - $2500 (maybe a little more) new or used. I've been reading reviews trying to figure out what would be good in my particular system until I can't see straight!! So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance-

John
stereomaniac
stereomaniac OP
75 posts
 
Thanks one and all for the great suggestions. Living in Denver, I have a few places that I can audition speakers, so this helps me quite a bit! I'm making a list of speakers to research. A couple of my concerns are, 1) speaker efficiency, since I only have about 100 watts per side at 4 ohms, and 2) getting a full range speaker, since I can't use a sub. It sure helps to get some 1st hand opinions versus a bunch of sales hype!! John
p_mmk
70 posts
 
Stereomaniac I don't think your room is that small especially if you place the speakers firing into the 30 feet. As audiojerry stated it's not just how far you listen. If you were six feet away from your speakers sitting a foot away from the back wall you'd encounter alot of reflection of sound that you wouldn't encounter if the walls were 24 feet away.

However, if you are placing your speakers so that they fire into the 12 foot part then your speaker choices would be different.

Anyway, if you were to place your speakers so they fire into the 30 feet of your room, I would consider a floor standing speaker. That will alleviate a lot of your subwoofer concerns. Here are some contenders: Dynaudio Contour 1.8, Proac Response 1.5's, and B&W 804's. If I were in your shoes these would be what I would listen to. The Dyaudio's may need more power than you have.

IF you decide to go the monitor route, try the smaller speakers of the above ones I mentioned in the same line.

I'm sure others can offer their advice as well. Good luck
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mp10019
37 posts
 
The Fact is, room size in Europe is even smaller!
I think Europeans have the upper hand with regard to
Designing Speakers for small rooms. JMLABS I hear designed there Mezzo speaker for the small room. I have auditioned the JMLAB Mezzo in a small room and it was Fabulous...
Mp10019
stereomaniac OP
75 posts
 
Has anybody had any experience with Krix speakers, specifically the Lyrix model? I heard them locally and they sounded very good. I wonder how they would compare to some of the suggestions here, i.e. the Proac 1.5 speakers.

John
gbright
13 posts
 
I've read about the Krix,but haven't heard them. I will also agree with the [Audio Physics],either the Sparks or the Tempos. Both are exclnt. near field and also do well if you ever have more room. Sounds like your entire soundspace might prefer the Tempo's a bit more than the Sparks, simply due to the large overall room volume. Well worth hunting down a listen.
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