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Good Used Speakers ($8K-10K) For A Little Listening Room

I know that this is a tough one, because speakers are so subjective.  My dedicated 2 channel listening room is only 10ft x 10ft.  I listen to mostly jazz and rock.  I currently use a Plinius SA100 Mk III (recapped and upgraded) driving Joseph Audio RM25XL's.  I'm thinking of upgrading and was wondering what speakers would be a good upgrade for a small listening room.  I like the Joseph Audio sound, but want more.  I was thinking of Pulsars or maybe Perspectives.  First, is my room too small for floor standing speakers? Second, what other speakers in the $8-10K range used would be a good fit in a small room?
moto_man
toneranger58
57 posts
 

Moto Man

I have the same Joseph speakers you have in the exact same size room you have. I had the same thoughts/concerns you have. I purchased a pair of Sopra 2's, thinking these will be better in the 10X10 room. Over much time, I have concluded the Joseph's are much better speakers for the room, even though the Sopra 2 is an overall better speaker.

The Josephs sound better due to the 10X10 room size. The Sopra's are a much better speaker in my larger room main system. But they do not perform as well as the Joseph's in the 10X10 room.

In my opinion save the money, the Joseph's are perfect for the 10x10 room and relatively speaking are an A in the smaller room while the Sopra's are an A in the larger room, but neither would perform as well if I switched them. The room size really made a difference with these speakers.

Hope this helps.

tomcarr
530 posts
 
Like others have said, get your setup dialed-in to play the room best, then do room treatment on all first reflection points, then bass traps in the corners if needed. Spend your money where it gives the most benefit.

audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
1,621 posts
 
Tomcarr, by the time you are finished with room treatment and bass traps you are going to blow a lot of funds.

The biggest issue with a small room is not first order reflections but bass boom. as the room being a perfect square will cause serious loading in the bass the OP may have furniture in the room which removes reflections naturally or perhpas not. 

If the room has slap echo that will have to addressed, belive it or not large throw pillows pilled up can work wonders with this for very low cost.

Not saying that acoustic treaments are not warranted but bass traps take up a lot of space and are expensive, hence our idea of using active room correction to remove the peaks in the bass without having to resort to taking up space with passive bass traps.

Active room correction is the answer. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
willemj
1,036 posts
 
I am a great fan of active room correction. However, the problem is that it does not really work well in small rooms: the correction frequencies are just too high, and as a result the perfect listening position becomes very small. Room eq is great in a large room, but in a small one there is only one realistic option: avoid low frequencies. There is no way you can avoid physics.
If you ever decide room eq is your thing, have a look athe DPSpeaker Antimode X4. It is probably the most sophisticated room eq pre amp on the market today.
tomcarr
530 posts
 
Audiotroy, my dedicated room is small and square (14x14) with some alcoves that do allow for less bass boom. My main problem was not bass, but 1st order reflections. I did not blow a lot of funds to treat with panels. Less than $1000 spent to cover all 1st reflection points and no bass traps needed. Best money I've ever spent in audio.
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