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Impossible? Small towers, efficient, musical, loud

I've been reading on threads here for different speakers that sound good with rock, which is my primary pleasure. But I am also a lover of high fidelity and do not want to compromise on sound quality, so this isn't necessarily about speakers that just sound good with rock. My situation may be a paradox or impossible, but I'm hoping I can be enlightened favorably. I'm looking for smallish floorstanders that are tube friendly, placement friendly, and can still sound nice and full at reasonable to loud levels.

Room is an open design roughly 23' wide, 12' deep and vaulted ceilings 8-12' high. Listening area is 15' wide as opposed to the 23'. Speakers must go along the wide wall at 10' apart, one speaker is in a corner. Listening position is 10' from the speakers. I can pull the speakers out at most 2' away from the walls, depending on how large the cabinets are.

Associated gear:
Cary Rocket 88R (30w triode/60w ultralinear)
Promitheus passive TVC Ref 4
Eastern Electric minimax cd

The amp and the TVC are new, haven't yet received them yet in fact but will be replacing my current gear.

Current speakers are Usher 6381, large speakers that I believe are too big for my room. With the tiny amount I can pull them away from the walls, staging is pretty flat, though surprisingly I haven't had any issues with bass boom. Hoping to put them up for sale/trade soon and wanted some feedback on what I should be looking at.

I was considering something like the smaller Silverlines (though they may not be good enough) or perhaps some Devore's. Above all I value musical speakers that emanate a sense of realism. I don't require subterranean bass, just a natural, full sound that doesn't sound wanting without a sub. Musicality is key.

Thanks in advance
tholt
johnnyb53
3,490 posts
 
The Mirage OM3-FS is 93 dB efficient in-room, in a 42" tower with a 5-1/2 x 6-1/8" profile. They're practically invisible, yet can fill a large living space with sound. They are very dynamic, yet excellent with inner detail and clarity. Best of all is how they energize the entire listening space with a radiating pattern that approximates live performers. The result is a natural, timbre-correct sound, a totally stable soundstage, and large sweet area with no suckouts, lobing, or venetian-blind effect. They are also amp-friendly--30wpc should give you about 108-110 dB clean, in-room.

The only downside is the very bottom octave. These are good down to about 50 Hz, but can use a little help below that. They don't need much--a small sub the size of a 9" cube should do the trick, and would be easy to hide.

I strongly recommend you audition these--they practically re-define what a speaker this small, driven by a modest amount of power, can do in a large space.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Mirage or any Mirage dealers in any way. I've been a satisfied customer for a dozen years, but have been particularly captivated by their current offerings using the Omniguide and ribbed elliptical cone surrounds.
martykl
3,563 posts
 
You might want to consider an older generation pair of Merlin VSM, like the SE. These speakers were IMHO voiced a little thin through the mid-bass and I found that the octave to octave balance actaully benefited from near (front) wall placement, though I thought the VSM's wonderful imaging capabilities suffered a little.

The corner/sidewall placement issue will be tough on any speaker, including the VSM SE. Horns and other "waveguide" designs that control dispersion may reduce problems at higher frequencies, but problematic bass issues will be tough to avoid. Sub/sat designs are probably your safest bet, with the sub tightly in the corner and the sats as far out as you can manage.

Good Luck

Marty

The current gen VSM (while IMHO terrific speakers) are pretty much neutrally balanced and you might find yourself with something of the same problem you have now. Also, IMHO none of the VSMs show their best at really high SPL.

Good Luck

Marty
goatwuss
875 posts
 
As much as I like Merlins (I owned the mxe's for a while), I wouldn't recommend them for someone whose favorite music is rock. Imaging and detail are to die for on the Merlins, but they are not the best for rock IMHO, as there are more dynamic and punchier speakers out there.

In my opinion the Gallo 3.1s would be a great choice for your situation, but I'd sell the tube amp and get a high current class D or A/B SS amp with these. I had Cary sixpacs on these, and the bass was loose and floppy. A wyred 4 sound amp cleaned that right up.
martykl
3,563 posts
 
I agree with Goat's general statement re: Merlins not being the first choice for rock music (and, in particular the VSM SE that I suggested) because of less "thump" below app 100hz.. But, but, but...

Your desription of the sound in your room and the required set up suggests that you may have too much energy in the bass region due to speaker/room interaction. Hence my suggestion of a "non-rock optimized" speaker for a rock music fan. BTW, the Merlins are tremendously dynamic through the presence region ("jump" factor), particularly with some tube amps that ride the impedence curve a bit.

Marty

PS One other thing to consider is a tuned Hemholz resonator like the bassbuster. If you have 10 or 20db too much energy from 80ish hz to 150 or 200hz - a reasonable guess - these devices can help a ton.
martykl
3,563 posts
 
Oops, your post says NO ISSUE with bass boom - I misread it. My bad. As Emily Litella put it "never mind".

Marty
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