Listening Nirvana in Tiny Hideaway Room

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

Over the last two months I too relocated to a smallish room, 12X15, with surprising results. I am using 2-way Focal Utopia Be's with an Ayre V1xe, BAT 51SE and Ayre's redbook CDP. My only thought is that as one of the posters above pointed out, I feel the treble is sl too much. Room panels would be the next thought, but not sure which direction/manufacture to seek out. Back to the original post, yes success is very obtainable with smallish size rooms.