Small Footprint Stereo Setup?

[Coastal1]

Wife is complaining about floor standing speakers/5.1 setup in room that doubles as kids playroom. Her preference would be Sonos, which I'm not totally opposed to as I do a lot of listening on headphones these days w/ young kids asleep, but still prefer the idea of a traditional stereo setup w/ a much smaller footprint.

Thinking of selling current speakers/ receiver and getting something like the new PS Sprout amp/DAC and bookshelf speakers but open to all other suggestions.

The floor standing speakers are the biggest objection. May keep the sub. Components on a shelf are a lot less conspicuous, though really don't use the home theater features in this room these days so wouldn't be opposed to selling the receiver and getting something like the Sprout that's small and focused on audio.

Mostly use FLAC files for listening so may instead prefer a music player that has internal storage.

 

[slipperybidness]

Wife is complaining about floor standing speakers/5.1 setup in room that doubles as kids playroom. Her preference would be Sonos, which I'm not totally opposed to as I do a lot of listening on headphones these days w/ young kids asleep, but still prefer the idea of a traditional stereo setup w/ a much smaller footprint.

Thinking of selling current speakers/ receiver and getting something like the new PS Sprout amp/DAC and bookshelf speakers but open to all other suggestions.

The floor standing speakers are the biggest objection. May keep the sub. Components on a shelf are a lot less conspicuous, though really don't use the home theater features in this room these days so wouldn't be opposed to selling the receiver and getting something like the Sprout that's small and focused on audio.

Mostly use FLAC files for listening so may instead prefer a music player that has internal storage.

Don't bother with the PS sprout. It is NOT a flat frequency response, NOT marketed to audiophiles (audioholics).

 

[Coastal1]

Thanks, I've seen some encouraging reviews but does sound a little too good to be true

 

[crossedover]

Do realize that stand mounted bookshelf speakers really don't take up less space when compared to floor standing speakers. If its a WAF, you might consider a good pair of inwalls for the mains. Triad, Niles audio and Boston Acoustics are some brands for thought

 

[slipperybidness]

Thanks, I've seen some encouraging reviews but does sound a little too good to be true

From the S&V review
http://www.soundandvision.com/content/ps-audio-sprout-and-teac-ai-301da-integrated-ampdacs-review-page-2#jLIZg4oyZLsFEJVM.97

At the end of the day—month, actually, that I spent with these units—the PS Audio Sprout got the nod for “warmth” and “organics” of things like string-tone and bass-guitar “fatness,” but it seemed marginally less powerful than the Teac AI-301DA, at least into my speakers. I sensed the PS Audio didn’t play quite as loudly/cleanly as the Teac, but the difference was very slight, and the Sprout’s behavior at the limit was nicely controlled. As for its “warmth,” I would only learn later, after my evaluation was complete and draft review copy submitted, and after our usual subsequent bench tests, that the Sprout was designed to deliver what we measured to be a 7-decibel boost centered around 70 hertz. This is not the result of leaving on a defeatable setting, but EQ built into the spec. A PS Audio spokesperson said “this was a ‘real-world’ decision based upon Sprout’s largely non-audiophile audience,” with the intent of providing “a touch more impact to the small, relatively inexpensive speakers and mid-line ’phones” that the company perceives the product will be mostly mated with. He went on to say that with wide-range, high-grade speakers, the boost is “primarily heard as a little more ambience or presence, not as muddiness or bloat.”

The PS Sprout has an intentional 7dB bump at 70Hz
I will pass!

Analog frequency response:
–41.10 dB at 10 Hz
–24.15 dB at 20 Hz
+7.10 dB at 70 Hz
–0.31 dB at 20 kHz
–4.62 dB at 50 kHz.

48 kHz PCM frequency response:
–41.05 dB at 10 Hz
–23.60 dB at 20 Hz
+7.14 dB at 70 Hz
–0.50 dB at 20 kHz
+1.36 dB at 24 kHz.

 

[Seth=L]

Wow, dreadful measured response out of the PS Sprout, and I thought I would chime in and say it's not very pretty either.

Yamaha, Marantz, Teac, Denon, NAD and a few others have some digital integrated amplifiers of the desktop variety that perform very well and have modern touches the PS Sprout somehow lacks (such as a remote control).

Right now I'm favoring the Yamaha MCR-N560 system. It is nicely appointed and appears to be well made. The speakers that come with it are apparently trickle down from their well regarded Soavo series speakers. The receiver (CRX-N560) can be purchased separately for less so you can choose your own speakers.

 

[riker1384]

I like the miniature stereo receivers from mini/executive/bookshelf stereo systems made by Yamaha, Denon and Onkyo. If you pair them with a good pair of bookshelf speakers and possibly a sub, you can build a stereo that's small and looks nice, and sounds vastly better than iPod docks and such.

They sometimes have a built-in CD deck, sometimes separate. They're usually sold with low/medium quality speakers so you either want to look for the electronics on the used market, or buy the system new and ditch the included speakers.

They're low powered (usually 15-40 wpc) but hearing being logarithmic, it's plenty if you're playing them at moderate (even moderately loud) volume.

I generally like the Yamaha Pianocraft ones, but there's one Denon ADV-M51 that I like because it has the rare and elusive legit subwoofer crossover with highpass and lowpass filters.

Edited to add: If you want to play music off your computer or streaming, rather than paying for advanced "network" products, I would just get a $30 Bluetooth receiver, plug it into the aux jack, and play the music from your phone or computer.

 

[theJman]

Do realize that stand mounted bookshelf speakers really don't take up less space when compared to floor standing speakers. If its a WAF, you might consider a good pair of inwalls for the mains. Triad, Niles audio and Boston Acoustics are some brands for thought

The other thing is stability. Speakers on stands in a kids playroom might not last too long.