Speakers for a small room, looking for feedback

Hey Macct,

Which trick depends on your system, what is going to be your preamplifier?

My friend Chris is a cable expirement-er type and would be a good resource for an opinion too. Without knowing what your system is, its hard to move forward with the recs. What might even be more helpful is what system were you experiencing the forward midrange issue?

thanks

Well, I finally heard the Spendors & came away disappointed. Based on reviews & user comments, I thought this would be a good speaker for me. I liked the tonal balanced, but just too soft & polite for my taste. I wanted more air, dynamics & detail.

I also heard some Proacs. Very similat to my B&W N804 with a sweeter top-end. Very crisp & detail, but a bit lean in its presentation. Nice, but I prefer the ATCs.

I then heard the Linn Ninka's, and came away pretty impressed. Its going to make the choosing difficult. Very musical speakers with midrange warmth with a detailed upper-end. It doesn't seem to have the same level of inner detail and dynamics as the ATCs, but provides a very musical experience. I find it odd, the reviews on this speaker have been very mixed, while the Spendor has been so well received? Any comments on the Linn Ninka's?

I anticipate listening to the other speakers on my list (JM Labs, Paradigm, PMC) over the next week or so. Hopefully, I will narrow it down to 2 relatively soon.

thanks again...

PS - system is Krell HTS 7.1, Cary Cinema 5, Cary 306/200, XlO cables

Hey Macct.

You're pretty much ruined if you have heard the SCm20's as you have heard there are not too many speaker in its class.

I Know the Krell HTS will be fine with the 20's you might want to play with some cables to get it perfect but otherwise I wouldn't worry about the sound being too aggressive. The 20's don't image artificially so don't expect them to give you a break with a diffuse distant deep soundstage created by response shaping, I always tell people you better like your music if you buy an ATC speaker because its not a presentation you can easily ignore. Very involving and demanding.

The ATCs have really captivated me. I still want to try the 35's in my room, albeit I think the 20's are a better fit. I heard them early in the speaker search & I really want to know this is going to be a speaker that I will want to keep for 10 years. It also makes you questions how resolving you want your system.

I think I want that level of detail & transparency, but I am hoping it doesn't lead to detail overload, detracting from the musical presentaion. The speakers don't seem fatiguing, however. I knew they were a good fit when I was disapponited after I re-connected my B&Ws. The ATCs main negatives are price & their homliness (speakers from the 70's).

I must say I was impressed with the Linn Ninkas though. More engaging than the Spendor. Very musical with a nice tweeter. It doesn't have the detail & air of the ATC, but came away as very musical & enjoyable. The Linns are also quite a bargain and good-looking. They might be too polite for the long-term though.

If it comes down to the ATCs or Linns, its actually going to a difficult choice b/c I'm not exactly sure what type of presentation I want for the long-term.

I appreciate all of the responses. They have definetly led me to try various speakers as well as focus on what type of sound I am looking for.

You may have seen by now the HiFi+ review of the 907Be. Not sure if you have auditioned the 907 Be, or are pretty settled on the ATC's by now.

I had the 907Be home for a weekend and liked it very much. I think it fair to describe it as a natural extension of the good things in the Electra 906, or as a fair piece of the Micro Utopia; in other words, within the same family voice. Certainly the highs have tremendous detail and air, and overall the speaker has a very clear, natural sound.

Personally, I found the 927Be richer in the mids and bass, without getting out of hand in my smallish room. On the other hand, another correspondent whose done his homework (Bashline)preferred the 907 Be to the 927 Be, but clearly he had different room acoustics, i.e. concrete floor & walls. The Electra 926 would be worth checking out, IMHO, as more of a full range option at reasonable cost,if you don't think it looks too big for your room.