1. Home
  2. speakers
  3. 126848-85507

Help Choosing Speakers

I am looking to find a nice pair of speakers that will work well in a relatively small dedicated listening room. My setup is 100% analog, tube amp, turntable, phono pre. I am trying to keep a minimalist approach.

Turntable: Thorens TD-150
Phono Pre: AudioResearch PH3
Amp: Decware MiniTorii
Speakers: DIY MarkAudio A12P in SuperPensil

Room Dimensions: 11' W x 12' 4" L x 10' H

So far I have been looking around at a lot of options and while I don't want to limit myself to 94 dB+ efficient speakers. I would like to be able to keep my Decware MiniTorii in place if possible.

LegacyAudio Signature SE is top on my list, little bit more than I wanted to spend, but this is a lifetime purchase. I have also looked at SalkSound Veracity ST but I am concerned about the Decware amps being able to push those. I have also looked at the Decware HR-1s which look impressive.

Of course its difficult to buy speakers without hearing them, any other recommendations/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone has heard the Legacy Audio Signatures with a Decware amplifier and has any details, that would be spectacular.

Thanks,

Ron

hifiron
hifiron OP
102 posts
 
So after quite a bit more listening, the Vandy 1Ci sound good, but the amp is just not enough power. I am going to be taking the Vandy’s back to the dealer today and start outlining a couple scenarios.

Thank you all for the amazing help and opinions here, this is a tomb of great information for anyone looking for options to pair with a low powered tube amplifier and/or speaker options for a smaller room.

It is worth mentioning, Decware Torii @ 25WPC would be a great fit for the Vandy 1Ci, but with Richard suggesting thats not enough power for the 2Ce (due to the more complex internals) that makes it a tough call to guess on.

The 2Ce also have a rear firing woofer, which makes the proximity to the back wall very important, so much that it would be tough in my small room.

The 1Ci with the Torii are an option for sure. I will be talking with Steve @ Decware today to get his take on some options.

Cheers,
Ron
Post removed 
hifiron OP
102 posts
 
@wester17 @bradf @nakamaye I am looking at the Spatial M line now... is this something that will function in this room. I don’t have the ability to pull the speakers far out into the room. Other words what type of breathing room do they need around them?

---

2Ce are going to need too much power, and the voicing of the Decware Torii is just too sublime for me to walk away from it.

The 1Ci + Torii seems like it would be a killer combo.
The HR-1 with the MiniTorii might work, but I feel that I may still want more power in the future.
At 94 dB the Spatial M3s might be something that I can look into and keep my MiniTorii going for some time.
wester17
20 posts
 
I would say your Spatials would need to be about 3 feet into the room to get optimal sound. The good news is that they are easy to slide in and out if you need to -- unless of course, you add the spikes to the bottom feet as I have done. The Spatials do need some breathing room.  With the 90 day trial, you would be able to know for certain if they will work for your room or not. Clayton Shaw at Spatial is very good to answer questions like these. 

nakamaye
15 posts
 
You should call Clayton and talk to him, but he recommends about 3 feet away from the wall but the Spatial's seem to work well in large or small rooms.  I use them in a large room, but in a near field setup.  One of the design features is that the Spatial M series are very room friendly and get around interference waves by controlled directivity.  I can attest to their outstanding sound especially at this price point.  Just be certain you break them in for a long time and remember you have a 60 day trial period to get in your home auditioning.  
More to discover