Big speakers in small room at moderate volume levels

Yysantabarbera,

Been following this thread for a while here is where we would weigh in with your quest.

We would not recommend any speaker with very deep bass below 30hz as the room is really too small even with room treatments and electronic room correction you will have difficulty getting clean bass if the response is too low.

2: The best compact loudspeaker we have heard is the TAD ME 1, we are not yet a dealer for them but liked them so much we are contemplating bringing them in. Are they a lot better than the Ref 1 we think they are a bit more magical in terms of the midrange and refinement.

A point source dual concidental loudspeaker works wonders in less then optimal room’s due to the quasi horn loading which creates a very large sweet spot, and can help for off access listening postions.

3: We would recommend the Micromega M150 over the Lyngdorf, the Micromega sounds absolutely stunning with a class A/B amplifier that has a powerful punchy bass response, a warm midrange, and a huge dimensional sound stage and of course the Micromega M150 has MARS Room correction which is a subtitle but effective room correction system. The Lyngdorf is a class D  digital amplifier very similar to the NAD M32 which we have on display, the sound of the M32 is very clean but lacks the midrange liquidity and the involving musicality of the Micromega. The Lyngdorf and the M32  works best with much warmer loudspeakers rather than the cleaner faster sound of the TAD's, Magico or the KEF which seems to be the sound that you like

Personally we heard the A3 and think the TAD is a more musical version of that high resolution sound.

We do like the idea of the passive treatments as room correction can help but can not take the place of passive treatments, the combination of active room correction plus passive tuning makes even a less then optimal room into a very good sounnding one.

In the 2016 New York Audio show we were using the Paradigm Persona 9H a speaker with active bass correction, when we added in room tunning pannels the sound was fantastic.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

I ran a fairly strict a/b on ROON EQ vs none to tame an issue at 80 HZ and was not at all pleased with it’s overall impact on SQ. Of course your results may vary...
whatever you are running ROON core on need be up to the processing task also

But since you have it, why not try after you get room sorted...? I also think experiments like that help with developing critical listening skills

iF you have pre out / power amp in on the future integrated, you could use a phase correct analog filter to roll off the very low base to counter room gain. so for example a Vandersteen M5-HP inserted and set correctly would help. This may allow for a larger speaker than otherwise contemplated....

In that small a room, I would stay away from anything with a cooling fan...

Vandersteen Treo Ct's work great in a smaller room. I have my pair in a room that's 14' X 16". they are 18 inches away from the front wall, and 38 inches from the side walls. Speakers are approx. 8 feet apart, center to center and 9 feet 6 inches from the listening chair. Still have almost 4 feet behind the chair of open space to the wall. The sound is excellent. IMO.

Correction. room is 16 feet in length, not 16 inches.:-)

Wow I wrote a lot here. Sorry about that.

Before anyone starts getting upset with Audiotroy understand that I, the OP, appreciate his feedback. I actually spoke with Audiotroy (Dave) on the phone a month or 2 before I moved and he told me that the KEF Reference 1 and Micromega sound great in a small space (I did not know room dimensions then). His feedback on the Micromega gave me incentive to look into the Lyngdorf because I have trouble with the idea of a Micromega cooling fan in a small space (as mentioned in the beginning of this thread). In my space I have 3 computers that are dead silent; five computer screens now and at one time 7. I also have made holes in the walls to get access to noisy computer servers that I have in other rooms (so I cannot hear them in the office). I have gone to great pains to make this room very quiet and I would be real upset if I were to hear a fan come on. Maybe it would be drowned out in the music but I got strong hearing and I would likely notice the slightest fan noise.

If I went to my safe fall back plan, I would be buying the KEF Ref1 from Audiotroy. I have heard it so many times at shows I do not need a store demo. I would say the chances of me eventually getting the KEF Ref1 are still about 50% because I know it will fit the room, relative cost, and I know I will like it. However, as I mentioned in the beginning of this thread. I am trying not to eventually have 3 KEF speakers in my home. If the Lyngdorf is not an ideal match for the KEF, as Audiotroy is stating (same thing also nagging me), the Luxman 509x would be a good candidate because it is warmish sounding and it has tone controls. I know that tone controls are a non-starter for a lot of people here but I think in my situation they have a place. The KEF Ref1 will likely not have that much issues in my space after treatments so maybe DSP is not needed. Another integrated amp that may work is the new Mark Levinson 5805 (no tone controls though). It is cheaper (MSRP $8500) and has a built-in DAC.

Saying all of this. Now that Dave has given the TAD ME1 such a glowing endorsement, even over his own speaker, I will definitely give it strong consideration when I go to audition it in Los Angeles. My audiophile buddy was also raving about the TAD ME1 along with pokey77. When I looked at photos of the ME1, I was thinking how much better can it be over the KEF Ref1. Both speakers have a concentric driver combo (which I like a lot) and a separate bass driver, with the TAD costing a heck of a lot more. However, with so many people coming to the same conclusion, that it is better then the KEF Ref1, I will give it serious consideration.

@audiotroy I appreciate the advice. I have learned from A’gon posters, especially you, that the synergy between components in a system is paramount. Some of the posters on this thread have spoken glowingly on the Harbeth SHL5+. That speaker is supposed to sound a little warmer than my traditional cup of tea. However, that is OK, maybe I need to expand my horizons. I will know soon enough after I demo them at a store and then at home (if I like them). The Lyngdorf is likely a good match for the Harbeth. I actually got feedback that this is indeed a good synergistic match. The A3 concerns me being paired with the Lyngdorf. I am not so sure if they are a good match because the A3 has been described by many posters on A’gon as requiring warmer sounding electronics. However, I know the A3 won’t fit into my room without some sort of DSP or similar sort of adjustments. The A3 is a Hail Mary pass with my room.

I was looking into big speakers with active room bass correction. The 2 I know are the Persona 9H and the Vandersteen Quattro Wood CT that was discussed on this thread. I got an email from Vandersteen company about the Quattro Wood CT in my small room and they said MAYBE and they did not sound too confident.

@tomic601 I have a Sonnare MicroRendu so I could in theory move my music server running ROON to another room. I have a few super powerful hardware servers (noisy) in other parts of the house. However the current machine in the office is silent with most default operating services turned off. I will play with the ROON equalization to see what it can do.

@mr_m I heard the Vandersteen Treo CT within 1/2 hour after listening to the A3 (at a different store) and I thought it was good but it would have the same issues as the A3 in my room. Your room has a little bit of extra space that makes all the difference in the world. Take a look at the photos I have posted of my room and you will see that it is small. I have 0 space between me and the wall directly behind me.