For obvious reasons I did not mention these in response to what fits in the OP's room.
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.
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.
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- 257 posts total
Wow you are willing to go through a lot of work. The one demo of the Magico's we heard they were way forward with gobs of deep bass. Even if you open up the room a bit you may still overload it. The Vandy Treo's do have less bass and a less aggressive voiicing then the Magico.s personally we feel that their bass is going to be a bit boomy but you will have less of it then the Magicos. Overall the room is still quite small we would still caution against any speakers with bass lower than 30hz range. Let us know your findings with the new Krell KAV 300i talked to Walter and he says it is amazing sounding. Time will tell. Dave and Troy Audio Doctor NJ |
Good thread. I don’t have any speaker advice but most all of our rooms are not large enough to support bass waves without bending them. Even a 40hz wave is 28’ long and that makes even the 1/2 wave 14’. It is just the way it is… a speaker that goes down to 40hz will still have standing waves (a spike followed by a dip) in most rooms. You need to find the residence of the room and try to trap that frequency. With that in mind you need to “eliminate” the room and sit as near field as possible imo. The other key will be NOT to sit with your head near the rear wall where that wave is changing direction. If I were you I would be looking at what speaker works the best in extreme near field (thinking driver placement and integration) and think about sitting very close to the speakers. I read the whole thread and see your are off the A3 now but I am curious why you did not look at the S1? This guy says it better than me. https://youtu.be/xECtAruK0fM |
@james63 Thanks for the awesome vidoo link. I just watched the following. Nice to hear some of the science behind the acoustics. How To Get Good Bass In Small Rooms - www.AcousticFields.com What Are Standing Waves In Rooms? - www.AcousticFields.com How To Make Your Room Sound Larger - www.AcousticFields.com Unfortunately, I am sitting in the exact worst sport you have identified. There is nothing I can do about it because I need all those computer monitors on my desk. In the photo of my room you see the desk chair is against a 31 inch wall. I am getting room treatment panels for that 31" wall and the closet space and it is supposed to make it appear as if the wall does not exist right behind me. That is the takeaway from the description my friend with the Spendor D7 gave regarding the wall behind his couch. He has tamed the wall it in a manner that made the sound non-fatiguing. I am hoping the same happens to my situation. I have the opening of the closet space and now the ability to open the entrance door which I hope will make that 31" wall less of an obstacle. Without treatments when I play music (KEF LS50's) that is loud and hard the the sound is rather good with the room entrance door open, not so good with it closed. The reason I went to demo the Magico A3 over the S1 was because felt that the price of the S1 was not something I wanted to pay for that type of speaker. Also when I went to audition the A3 I was under the impression I that the house I would move to would have a larger office space. Maybe 2x as large as the current one. However, I decided to move to this current place because it is perfect for my kid. Another speaker that is maybe similar to the Magico S1 is the following: https://vividaudio.com/products/kaya-25/ I heard the big brother, Vivid Kaya 90, on the same day as the Treo CT and Magico A3. It sounded great but (somewhat like the KEF Blade) it was too large a sound for my room and expensive. I know you are thinking about a Magico. Take a look at the Vivid if you have not done so already, it is an excellent speaker.. |
- 257 posts total