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Speakers for a small room, looking for feedback

I would like to get opinions on the following speakers. I have only been able to hear the ATC's at this point & would welcome comparisons.

The speakers will be located in a 12X13 room, angled from the corner (6-9" away from walls). While the focus is on 2-channel, they will also be used for HT. I would like to have detailed & clear highs & a warmer mid-range. Bass just needs to be adequate, but defined (sub only for HT). The presentation should not be forward, but not too recessed. The intent is for a very musical, non-fatiguing speaker that isn't boring.

Top choices at this point:
* ATC 20's - great sound stage; very nice tweeter, but vocals a bit forward; adequate bass, very nice
* ATC 35's - they don't soundstage as nice as the 20's, but the mid-range is excellent; tweeter not as crisp as the 20's; very musical (& homely)

Comparisons: (very few reviews out there)
*JM labs 907 Be or Electra 926
*Paradigm Signature S4
*PMC FB1
*Tyler Reference
*Spendor s5e (local dealer only does custom or referalls, need to find cooperative dealer)

Do any of the above speakers provide what I am looking for? I would appreciate any comments or comparisons of the above speakers. thank you.
macct
panderso
156 posts
 
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.
s23chang
619 posts
 
I'm using the ATC SCM10s for the past 5 years and love them. I have yet to find a bookshelf this size that can match ATC's performance.
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
I have compared Spendor S3/5s to Green Mountain audio europas and found the spendors sounded veiled, lacked transparency, and did not convey a sense of space like the europas. The S3/5 sounded nice, but the europas sounded real.

The europas are very uncoloured sounding, and they do the soundstage thing like no other speaker I've heard (including much better than Spica Angelus and Martin Logans).

They're factory direct only now, but Green Mountain has a new Callisto speaker out soon, that should be available through dealers.

I have never heard any of the other speakers on your list, but the europas strike me as a bit of a bargain.
macct OP
55 posts
 
I heard the two JM Labs today against two Linn models. Both nice, but different. I could probably live with either, but prefered the JM Labs. The JM Labs seemed more open with more inner detail. The midrange and lower bass was great. The tweeter was fine, extended but bright. A little raspy/gritty with certain disc.

I prefered the 926 over the 906. The 926 has the midrange warmth the little speaker cannot convey. Imaging, however, was better with the 906. I think the 926's, however, may be too much in a 12X13 room (6-9 inches from the wall). Will they work in such a small room? Is this an invitation to muddy bass?

At this point, I think it is between the ATC 20's and the JM Labs 926. I also like the ATC 35's, but the tweeter is not as clean (but more bass) & its only available in a natural cherry. I still want to try out the PMC speakers, but at this point I am pretty tired of demoing speakers.
thorndyke
6 posts
 
I do not know the rest of your system, but if you are starting from scratch, look at the new high tech active ATC 20's. Built in amplification is the key here and the dynamics will startle you vs the passive plain jane but fabulous 20's. the active 20's are (one of) the best two way speakers I have heard. (and owned) When you get down to it, what with the amps built in, they are sort of a bargin,if anything in high quality hi fi is.
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