Small Room. Go for it or forget about it?

I have a small room for my second system--a much smaller room than yours--and it works very well. One reason for this is the disused closet which functions to help control bass.

So I would say don't give up. Your component list looks very good. Have fun with room treatments--get help from a consultant like Rives if needed--and you'll likely do very well.

Sometimes putting the system in a corner rather than on one of the walls will get great results in this situation.

Also, when you listen 'near-field' it does not matter nearly as much.
near field is close... very close.

Go for it. Like anything else, you have to size the equipment to the room. Imagine how great some exquisite small monitors will sound in there with moderate power. Like oversized headphones if you do it right.

Room treatments could be significant for a small room depending on shape, so plan some $ in that direction too.

In a small room,first-order crossovers are a necessity.You will not have the distance to allow the sound to re-assemble.In near-dield set-ups,tweeter height vs seating height is more of a factor.If the tweeter is dominant,things will appear to be bright-experiment.

There are speakers that will work in small rooms. Small and front ported would be some general guidelines. Sonus Faber has some nice ones, you might check into single drivers also. That's where I ended up getting the best sound in my 12 x 14 home office.

Check out my system. It works great.

Go for it.....
Remember, headphones are the smallest room.. :-)

Good reason to play with 3-7 watt amps. You won't need much power. My office is only 6 watts/ch, my one home system is 20 watts into 94db speakers.

Azshawn,

I went from a 22'x18' dedicated room to a 10'x15' room. I listen in the near field and the speakers are about five feet to the left and right of me. My listening chair is right up against the back wall.

There are three other members I know who use this same set up with great results (we all have the same speakers).
I like my listening room so much that I have canceled plans to build a larger dedicated room.
I had a sound engineer from the pro audio business help design my room.

If you decide to go that route shoot me an email and I will fill you in.

Very interesting as I'm preparing to move my system into an identically sized room. My concern is the square factor not the small size. Don't worry about the small size as my experience is the larger room is over rated unless you plan on having guests listen with you. For one to three people it's fine as long as you keep the furnishings to a minimum. I moved from a 17X15 room to a bedroom years ago and haven't looked back.
Sound treatment along with speaker selection is key. Check my system as I feel the sound in my small room is really good. I agree with the recommendation about 1st order crossover along with driver time alignment. Right now I'm looking at the best plan for sound treatment for the square room. Good luck.

One of the systems I have enjoyed the most featured and Audion PX 25 single ended amp rated at 8W, a pair of Reynaud MkII speakers, Audio Note Lexus Cables, and a very modest Rotel 965LE amplifier in a modest sized room. Musical magic. Integrate the room and the system and you will not be disappointed!

Go for full 47 Labs system including the Lens speakers!

Bob_reynolds......., in totally non-technical terms, a first order crossover is just a type of crossover circuit design.

Basically the poster is saying to get speakers designed for "near field" or "close up" listening. You could use any speakers if you like, but the image, soundstage, etc, will not be very good in speakers that are designed to focus at a distance in a large room.

Some people prefer close up/near field listening. In a small room it is obviously the only choice by default.

You will have to do some research or start of new post asking for suggestions for near field speakers. I probably would not bother asking about the crossovers. Most people won't know.

I am not even sure the use of "first-order cross-over" is correct. B&W uses first order crossovers in a lot of their designs, including the largest Nautilus speakers that won't even fit in a small room. There are also small bookshelf speakers that are obviously for a small space that do not have first order crossovers.

Bob,did Sugarbrie answer most of your questions? This situation would be best served by a two-way design.Though squaring the number of drivers can still allow for a two-way to move large amounts of air in the low-freqs.Though it then becomes a line-source,as opposed to a point-source.
A 6db/crossover is the simpled way to design a crossover,as long as the drivers have adequate response through the crossopver range.Some manufacturers will stae a minimum seating distance (that allowing the drivers to re-integrate the soundfield).

I have a 10'x12' bedroom with a system built around a pair of Celestion SL700s. My SL700s work great in this space. I just noticed that there is a pair of SL700SEs listed for sale; the 700SEs were the epitome of that design and can be positioned close to the front wall. Another suggestion is Audio Note speakers that are designed to be placed in the corners.

Loving all the info guys. Thanks!

If you have the patience to explore the benefits of room treatments and the wonders they can do to one's system, I'd say go for it.

I've seen Marten Coltrane speakers($50k retail) in a space of 9'8"x13' heavily treated, and since you have monitors I believe you shouldn't have much difficulty setting them up in your own room.

Once had a small room with great results using a pair of DIY Vifa two ways with a first order series crossover.  Speakers pulled out almost halfway into room, listening chair against back wall.  Sounded great with huge sound stage.  Other speakers worked well too.  But the above were special.

I lived in a small efficiency  11' by 10' with one side a tiny bathroom and tiny kitchen stuck on. Lots of windows, great neighbors. Ten years. I had Infinity RSIIa speakers in there. Near field, all the way. I would lay on my Futon on the floor, my head near the speakers. Loved it. (there was no room for a stereo and a frame bed. so I skipped the bed. used the Futon. I was happy. the speakers were just on one wall. Though if possible the diagonal is said to be a good choice for speaker location, if possible. (often it is not)