2. speakers
  3. 1059366909

Small Room Question

Hi,
I need some help from some of the more experienced folk out there. I am currently driving B&W Nautilus 805s with a SF Power 2 (or occasionally a McCormack .5 Rev A) in a small room (12x14x8). In general I like the sound and don't necessarily need/want deep deep bass (<35 or so), although a little more than the 805s 45hz would be helpful.

My problem is that my headphones sound way better than my speakers with regard to openness, seamless integration of frequencies, lack of boxy sounds, feeling of envelopment.

I want to seriously upgrade my speakers and would like to hear the experiences of anyone who has is similarly restricted/challenged (?) with regard to available listening space. I can place speakers about 3ft from rear wall (covered with heavy curtains). Would floorstanders/electrostatics go berserk in a room this small?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Haven't decided on price yet but would like the speakers to match the quality of my anciliary equipment so $4 to $6k, maybe cheaper if used.

Thanks
Audioq
audioq
rbstehno
1,407 posts
 
i have a similiar size room (13x13x9) and went from floorstanders to monitors/sub. the monitors are almost 3 ft from the rear wall. the monitors simply disappear. the rel sub was fairly easy to match up with the monitors and the room. I also added 4 asc tube traps in the corners, 2 14"x4' in the front and 2 10"x6ft in the rear.
mfkeleher
146 posts
 
Those speakers should be sufficient to deliver the sound you seek. Did they sound better in a previous room? What are you using for a speaker stand? What do you have between them? Do you also have a thick absorbing carpet and soft cushy furniture? Are opposing walls hard and bare?

You are eventually going to have to experiement with some setup issues to get the sound you want anyway, you might as well spend time first with these. It will inform your shopping, and you might be surprised to find all you want is a sub.

There's no reason you shouldn't be able to get at least damn fine sound out of a pair of 805's. And if you are not, you wont be getting your money's worth out of the next pair either.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
ramond
63 posts
 
I too had the same problem.
Floor standers were way to big in my 11" X 13" room.
Went to a pair of monitors with stands.
Less bass was the trade off,no more standing bass waves.
I have tube traps and acoustic panels that i'm also using to dial in the room.
Small rooms are not the best but can be made to sound good with a little time and patience.
In your price range the selection is huge.
Try to audition the speakers in you're room with you're equipment and with you're choice of music.
Just my $.02 Rick.

ljgj
955 posts
 
Check out the Gershman Acoustics Avant Garde RX 20. It will give you really great bass and detailed sound in that size room. I own a pair and they are beautiful as well as great sounding. They are 4500 new but can be gotten used for 2300-2800.
If you stick with the 805 you will need a sub - they need one - most places that I have been to have them setup that way. The best I have heard them with is the Vandersteen sub. The RX 20 needs no sub at all.
Electrostats will be different and to get better bass you would have to go with a sub say with the Martin Logan Aeon i. The Ascent or Odyssey which I also own would not thrive in a room that size and you would need them to get deeper bass than you have now.
pmotz
409 posts
 
There was a related thread last week, check this out: "http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ymisc&1058899409&read&keyw&zzdiagonal" I intend on trying this out in the future since I too have a small room with questionable acoustics.
More to discover