Listening Nirvana in Tiny Hideaway Room

I've been using Galante Rhapsody and Audio Note ANK/L in a similar sized room with low powered tubes amps for some time and it works out very well. The speakers were ceiling hung and still sounded very good. It did take some time to get them positioned just so and a friend to help that that exercise makes it much easier.

Using some deadening material on the ceilings and walls is quite useful, too.

I had great success in a room about the same size as yours. I did not even spend that much on it. I was using it strictly as my first dedicated listening room after an absence from High End audio for many years. I was just tired of it but this little system got me right back into it.

I was using a pair of Sonus Faber Concertinos on their matching stands and an Electrocompaniet ECI-3 Integrated with a used Sony XA7ES. For cabling all Audience Au24. The results were stunning. I would have my audio buddies come over and their jaws would drop. It sounded anything but small and the little Sonus would just disappear. I could also not believe the bass I was getting.

Maybe I just had system/room synergy but you really should have heard it. The room I was using was a smaller bedroom on the first floor of our first home. So it had a closet and two windows and was carpeted. I did hang a rug on the system wall and used some Sonex Panels on the rear wall and that was it.

I still miss that little system. Anyway, sorry if I rambled but I say go for it! A place to escape to is sometimes priceless...

Chris

I had great success and fun with a small room in my house. I left my main rig alone and put money into a room that is 11' x 13' with a vaulted sloping ceiling. One corner is rounded. I used Von Schweikert VR-1s with a solid state integrated Creek. It is almost more enjoyable because it is intimate and accurate. As the above folks have stated, you will need speakers that are forgiving and near-field as well as ones that have a wider soundstage. But, for me, it is fun and private and I heartily recommend it. It will give some music a new definition, especially solo artists, acoustic music and recorded performances in intimate settings. Good luck!

CWL,

I have a small listening area and it can be very enjoyable, but different, from a larger listening area. For me, a nearfield setup has an uncanny ability to provide that "you are there" experience, especially when listening to a small ensemble or vocalist.

One great feature of a small listening area is that it generally doesn't require much power to get up to a decent volume. I have a pair of 92db eff. monitors (Reference 3A MM DeCapos) and I can use anything from a 1.5 watt/channel Moth Audio 45 (the best amp I've ever heard!) to a pair of BottleHead Paramours or a pair of Channel Islands VMB-1 solid state chip amps. I would think that the RedWine Audio Clari-T would also be great in this setup.

Also, because "big bass" is just going to overload the room anyway, you can get by with less bass. For me, this means a Quad 99 CDP CD player connected directly to a pair of Channel Islands VMB-1s powering the DeCapos. For a digital only setup, it is all I could possibly ever need and it was very affordable (at used AudiogoN prices)!.

I say, shop wisely and try it. If it doesn't work out, sell it off and be happy that you gave it a shot.

BTW, I am building a new house and I am building a new cave (cave in the sky!) above the garage. It's for me only and I plan to use it a lot!

Enjoy,

TIC

Hi there,
I read this with interest as I have just had to move my main system from the lounge to the dining room - spouse pressure & all that
I do not want to downsize my system as I hope to be able to build up or out at some stage so it's given that the rig is a bit ott for the small room.
It was used in a 22 X 15ft lounge and is now in a 15 x 12ft room, made worse by having 3 ft deep built in cupboards.
This effectively makes it 12 x 12. Apart from an imbalance due to to one speaker being next to the doorway and hence twice as far from a side boundary as the other, listening to my Virgos nearfield has been a whole new experience. I can't get them as far apart as I'd like but I'm very peased that it is still enjoyable and hoping by the use of some room treatments ( a new learning curve for me, not helped by no one in the UK showing much interest), I'm hoping Nirvana will still be possible.
Rives & Ridgestreets posts are encouraging, it would be no fun if it were easy!
Si