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Small Floor Standers

I'm looking to create a short list of speakers for music only. The room is 15x28 with 9' ceilings and hard surfaces, except a few padded chairs and light fabric window covers. The main listening area is 15x18 and the rest of the room is my kitchen which opens up to it.

Musically, I listen to rock, jazz, and a variety classical but no hip hop or electronic to speak of. The ideal speaker will provide smooth tonal response, good dynamics and importantly freedom from stridency which the live room will only accentuate. High SPL's and subterranean bass are not required but I don't want something that gets lost in the space. The speakers must be compact - 35" or so tall and not more than 8-12" wide and deep. I prefer floor standing designs because of the room volume and as protection against a 6 year old. My budget is around $1k used, maybe a bit higher for the right choice.

A few of my early thoughts are the smaller Spendors and Quad L series as well as Totems and Dynaudio.

The source will be a Squeezebox playing lossless digital and the amp is TBA, but will be matched to the speakers which I think should be picked first.

Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks in advance.
wdrazek
timrhu
2,778 posts
 
I tried out the Totem model 1s a while back. I did not use them with a sub which they needed. As stated before, I've owned both the Kestrel HRs and Shearwater HRs; both wonderful speakers and I give a nod to the Kestrels for their warmth. One issue to consider is their looks with the grills on. The grills look horrible IMO so ou should make sure the wife doesn't mind speaker with drivers exposed.
Never owned the Kestrel IIs but they are far more attractive.
veroman's avatar
veroman
291 posts
 
timrhu is right about covers, but the nice woodwork flows directly to drivers with no plastic or cheater plates to mar the look. K'2's did not offer hr version, went with top quality parts and cut out the hasssle in building 2 types. go to web and i think pictures will show why most folks find the K 2 design more eye appealing. your call tho. i think the WAF will not even be a problem, they look like modern art and the wood is very well finished. a real point of attraction to most of my houseguests. recommend iso pads under basic spkr spikes.
wdrazek OP
100 posts
 
Thanks for the detail on the 2. It sounds like a better way to go. It is a nice looking speaker but the pics I've seen so far of the 2 show it with light to medium finishes only. I need either a rosewood type stain (preferred) or else ebony. Light cherry or similar won't work in the room. Also, I've found that the 1 is 36" tall but haven't yet found a spec for the 2.

The more I think about it, the more sense this makes. A mini needs stands and a sub which would drive the cost way up whereas these could stand on their own and be run with a Nait 5i or Jolida 302/502. Simple and painless.
veroman's avatar
veroman
291 posts
 
39" w/o spikes. you may be surprised with the effect of mixing light and dark woodtones in a room. it creates a sense of drama and highlights the wood grain more on all the wood furniture as opposed to all the same tone just muting into a solid blur. imo, the elegant form of this design is artisticly appealing enuf to warant the objet d'art approach. the light ash will work well with darker tones as an example. but hey, this is an audio site, what do i know about your decor ideas ;). i use jolida 60 wpc but honestly would not go much lower. thought you should know
panderso
156 posts
 
Well Wdrazek, if you are considering Nait 5i, the Neat Motives have fabulous synergy with that amp, although somewhat over budget. The Motive 3 monitor not too much over your 1k mark, the Motive 2 a little moreso. They're probably too new for many used ones to come up just yet.

If budget has to rule, IMHO the Reference 3a Dulcet outperforms the Kestrel and the Totems in the context you're describing, but of course it is a standmounter.
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