Listening Nirvana in Tiny Hideaway Room

I have been using a 10' by 12' wood-panelled library for the past 6 years. My wife lets me use this room only for my system with all the equipment. There is room only for a three person sofa 6' away from the speakers. Over the years I puttered in this 'garden' and currently I use a horn hybrid speaker which sound best in the corners (so do Audio Note speakers.) I use Eighth Nerve for some light room treatment and actively bi-amp with four 45 tube monoblocks. The monoblocks are on the floor between the speakers and the rest of the equipment is located to the side (long interconnects, short speaker cables). IME/IMS, the biggest improvements/uprades have been (in very rough order): Actively bi-amping with a custom tube crossover, the speakers (SAP J2001 twins), adding vinyl, upgrading to EMM Lab digital, adding three dedicated lines, adding the Equitech balanced line conditioning via a remote wall sub-panel. I am thrilled with the nearfield experience/sound I am getting and I cherish this room, albeit its' size . In fact, I am currently building a house with a dedicated music room which is larger (23' by 15' by 10', and I am fearful screwing it up.

Hope this helps,

Reg

As with other posters, I also moved audio system into a small room (12X10). It quickly became obvious that moving into smaller room required a system downsize. I found happiness with small two way floorstanders. They have adequate bass with solid imaging. It is very satisfying to have a small secluded space to retire to for relaxation. Go for it.

My room is fairly small at 14.5' x 17' with 10' ceiling. I have a very large two piece per side speaker system in it. Results are wonderful thanks to a TacT RCS. Really the only issues are proper clearance of the speakers from the walls and controlling the bass nodes. Absorptive room treatments help too. There is nothing inherently bad about smaller rooms, and in fact it is easier to achieve great bottom octave bass in them because of room gain starting at higher frequencies (about 33hz in my room) -- of course this is only true if you have speakers that have usable output in the bottom octave, which most speakers do not. I do have plans to expand my room out to 17' x 23' which will give me more flexibility in position of speakers and listening seat.

I've put together a small space for a truly musical escape. Check out 'my system' for details. I say - GO FOR IT!!!

I've had a lot of fun with my "bedroom" system. I've gone for different sound than with the main system, with less emphasis on bass. The system is pretty modest, with a Creek integrated and Totem arro speakers. As other posters have noted, you can get a great, intimate sound with a lot less volume (and money).