Best Speakers for 10' x 12' room?

Br3098, you say "monitors work VERY well in small rooms." What's your view on rear-ported vs front-ported monitors for such a type of room? I'd imagine the front-ported monitor would work much better since you can place it right up against the back wall. Any tips or suggestions regarding ported speakers in a 10x12 room? Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions.

Gfcf424892, You are correct; front-ported monitors are generally easier to use in in small rooms. Rear ported speakers almost (but not always) need placement well away from the wall behind in order to sound best. Exceptions include the Audio Note AN-E & J, which are rear-ported speakers designed for corner or near wall placement.

But for a 10x12 room I might try a non-ported speaker first. In my room, I have tried similar Salk Ellis 1801b speakers; one pair ported and one sealed. Although the bass extension on the ported speaker was a little more than from the sealed unit, the bass from the non-ported model is much tighter and pleasing.

In a nutshell, speaker selection for very small rooms is about energy management. Small speakers w/ small bass drivers, fewer or closely-spaced drivers, sealed and (hopefully) non-resonant enclosures help to make these speakers work in smaller rooms; and have the added benefit of making the room easier and less expensive to treat.

Bill

B&W PM1 stand-mounts supported by B&W's PV1D subwoofer.

I heard this combo right after hearing Wilson Alexandria XLFs powered by ARC reference electronics, and really, the little sat/sub system was not much of a letdown. It has a great sense of cohesion, musical truth, deep imaging, and tonal balance from top to bottom. With factory stands it's a helluva small room system for around $5K.

I s'pose if ya gotta have the diamond tweeter then you could move up to the 805 Diamond monitor. It would also be a great match with that PV1D sub. Taken on its own merits, however, you might not miss the diamond tweeter on the PM1s, and they're also very gorgeous.

I heard the PM1/PV1D combo powered by Classe gear including a digital pre with crossover with high pass filter to the PM1s (probably around 80 Hz).

Br3098 - do you have any experience with either the Magico S1 or the Wilson Duette's. I have been impressed by both and they seem designed for smaller spaces, but that is the extent of my understanding.

Johnnyb53 - Right now I have the Pm-1 speakers and i love them. Somebody suggested that I add a Rel 328 sub. I hope to move this system downstairs and get a better system for upstairs - either the 805D with sub or the Wilson Duetter's or Magico S1.

Mksr: You really need to hear the B&W PV1D sub before committing to the REL. The PV1D is a perfect match with either set of B&W monitors. It's fast, powerful, compact, and goes deep. When I heard it with the PM1's the integration was completely seamless and totally in phase and in sync.