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Big speakers in small room at moderate volume levels

My office is 11’W x 10’L x 9’H and is where I can listen to music for the next few years. I have a toddler and, for now, he has commanded the big spaces in the rest of the house. I have auditioned the Magico A3 and wanted to buy it but that was before I was relegated to the smallish office (I was expecting to move to a bigger room). I have removed the closet doors in this office room. The removal of the closet door gives me another 4 feet of depth to this room, though for only 1/2 width of the room. I can sit unobstructed 8 feet away from the speakers before I hit the area where the closet ends (so near field listening).

I currently I have KEF LS50 with Peachtree Nova 150. It is good and I can listen for the whole day without fatigue. I listen to FM, digital files on ROON, and my Sony SCD-1 SACD player. I want a bigger sound so I am looking at bigger speakers. I also do not want to use a sub since I am not a fan. I will also upgrade the NOVA 150 to the NOVA 500 in Spring 2019 and use with the LS50’s in a bedroom.

I came to the conclusion that my tastes would be best served by one of KEF Reference 1 or Magico A3. I was thinking that I would use the Lyngdorf 3400 in this room but I am having seconds thoughts on this now (some A’gon comments that it maybe a little dry). I am interested in solid state AB units like the Hegel H590 and Mark Levinson 585 to drive the speakers. I have heard the ML 585 and it is a fatigue free sounding unit that was a joy to listen to. I have not heard the Hegel H590 yet (but have heard other Hegels with KEF) and I am in the process of getting an audition of the H590. I have also discounted the class AB Micromega M-One 150 (with MARS room correction) because I do not want a cooling fan blowing in the room.

I must mention that I do not listen that loud when I am working and when I am working very late at night the volume is very low. The Mark Levinson and A3 combo was very good at low volumes during my demo but that was in the dealers perfect large room.

1) Am I making a mistake foregoing room correction with the 2 integrateds I am considering? Should I go with the Lyngdorf and A3 or KEF Ref 1, though I have never heard the Lyngdorf?

2) Will the Magico A3 work in this small room at moderate volumes WITHOUT room correction or will I subject myself to headaches and fatigue?

I am going to ask the dealer selling the A3’s this question when I am ready to buy but i wanted to ask on A’gon first to get some feedback. I doubt I could get the A3’s into my room for a trial but I have not asked the dealer yet.

I think (not 100% sure) the KEF Reference 1 with a non room correcting amp should work in my office space but I would prefer to buy the Magico A3 for the office. I have plans to buy another KEF model once my kid is a bit older and I can kick him out of the big room.
yyzsantabarbara
yyzsantabarbara OP
647 posts
 
@paullb Thanks for that feedback. Out of the 4 integrated’s I have narrowed it down too only the Luxman 509x has tone controls. I would imagine that the Lyngdorf takes the concept of tone controls to another level. I have chosen these units for consideration because of quality and they should also be rather easy to resell. I am going to try these first before I try an equalizer though that was in my thoughts.

I just sold my older office system, Audience 1+1 V3 | Benchmark DAC3 | Benahcmark AHB2. They were easy to sell because they are popular and it did not hurt that they are not very expensive. The integrated’s on my list maybe a touch harder to resell, due to cost, they are all very popular units.

BTW - when I measured my room again for the GIK treatments I found out I have 1/2 foot more length and width. Not much but every little bit helps. Also opening up the door when playing music is also a great way to reduce the bass.
kstirman
4 posts
 
Typically small room means positioning the speakers near the walls. Most speakers are not designed for this sort of placement. I can think of one exception, Audio Note, which are designed for corner placement and, can sound wonderful, and are easy to drive, opening the door to just about any amplifier, including low wattage designs.

There are also speakers that are less affected by near-wall placement, the most obvious being horn designs. 

If there's a country that, generally speaking, produces speakers for smaller rooms, that's definitely England. Designs from ProAc, Harbeth, Spendor, Audio Note, Rega, KEF, etc. might help to narrow down the list of possibilities.
yyzsantabarbara OP
647 posts
 
@kstirman I have narrowed down my list to Harbeth SHL5+ (home demo), KEF Reference 1, maybe TAD Me1 (price issue here), and Magico A3 (now that I can have a home demo of the A3 after treatments). 

The Magico A3 has a very large soundstage, the sound separates itself away from the speaker,  and does lot of things I like. The A3 also has a slim form factor, about as wide as the KEF LS50 (or only slightly more). This is the speaker I want to make work in this room. The others are fall back options which I am sure will work after the room treatments (+ maybe Lyngdorf).

The Harbeth SHL5+, KEF R1, and TAD Me1 are all available for me to demo in the same store (they also have the LS50). 

You mentioned Spendor, I do not think the Spendor will suit me, though I did like the Spendor D7 a lot at my buddies house. I cannot see myself owning that one for long term use.
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
1,457 posts
 

Honda/Toyota.

Harbeth SHL5+/Spendor Classic 1/2.

mushka
3 posts
 
@yyzsantabarbara  
I am interested in using Spendor speakers in a small room.  Do you remember what type of room treatments your friend who owns the D7s used, and if they came from GIK Acoustics?
Thank you
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