What speaker to choose for my room

C

Chamomile tea

Enthusiast
Hello folks :)

I am in dire need for some help/advice :p
The first of March I will move with my family to a new house and therefore get a new room. The room is 2,85 meter/9,35 feet x 2,50 meter/8,20 feet. I think there is 3,50 meter/11,48 feet to the ceiling.
Unfortunately the speakers will have to be positioned in the 2,5m/8,2f area.
Then my question too you is: do you think putting floorstanding speakers in there would be okay or should I buy some bookshelve speakers?
I went to a store some weeks ago and demoed the B&W 685's. I was very impressed, but maybe that is just because it was the first time I listening to some really hifi audio :p (Right now I am using Razer Mako with a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series sound card). Then a week ago I went to the same store and listened to a couple of different speakers, like B&W 683, Dali Lektor 6, B&W C1 and B&W 686. I really liked the Dali Lektor 6, so I hope it will be okay. Give me your thoughts and also if you would/could recommend some other speakers to a room with that size. Thank you ;)
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Hello folks :)

I am in dire need for some help/advice :p
The first of March I will move with my family to a new house and therefore get a new room. The room is 2,85 meter/9,35 feet x 2,50 meter/8,20 feet. I think there is 3,50 meter/11,48 feet to the ceiling.
Unfortunately the speakers will have to be positioned in the 2,5m/8,2f area.
Then my question too you is: do you think putting floorstanding speakers in there would be okay or should I buy some bookshelve speakers?
I went to a store some weeks ago and demoed the B&W 685's. I was very impressed, but maybe that is just because it was the first time I listening to some really hifi audio :p (Right now I am using Razer Mako with a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series sound card). Then a week ago I went to the same store and listened to a couple of different speakers, like B&W 683, Dali Lektor 6, B&W C1 and B&W 686. I really liked the Dali Lektor 6, so I hope it will be okay. Give me your thoughts and also if you would/could recommend some other speakers to a room with that size. Thank you ;)
It depends what sound setup you are looking for? Is it strictly PC Multimedia (aka Near-Field) or you are looking for 2.0, 2.1, 5.1 setups?
And whats even more important whats you budget?

As per desktop only music setups there are several option which easily outdo your Razer 2.1 in SQ:
http://www.audioengineusa.com/a5_home.php
http://www.emptek.com/cs100_tubespecial.php
Or you can just get pair of Behringer 2030p speaker for about $150 and stereo amp (vintage would do)
For my work place I got Behringer MS16 speakers and I couldn't be happier with result.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
If you like the sound of the Dalis then that is probably what you should get. See if they will let you "test drive" a pair and see how they sound in your room.
 
C

Chamomile tea

Enthusiast
I am still going to use the Razer Mako, but only at my desk/for my computer. The other speakers is going to be in the space where there is 2,5m/8,2f from one wall/side to the other. So I will have a sofa in up against the wall and then the speakers facing against me (what a surprise) :p
I don't have the money right now, but I was thinking about $2000 for amps and $2000 for the speakers.
I have been thinking about buying the NAD C165BEE preamp and NAD C275BEE poweramp. They are "ment" to be together :p And then after a while I would have enough money to buy a subwoofer. I have been thinking about buying the amps first and set them up with my computer and Mako and see if there would be an increase in SQ. Then after a little while I would buy the speakers (which I don't know what is going to be yet) and then at last buy a nice cd player. I make/earn about $735 a month since I still go in high school :p
 
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C

Chamomile tea

Enthusiast
You are totally right but wouldn't the nad pre+poweramp wich is 150 watt be a whole lot better?
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
You are totally right but wouldn't the nad pre+poweramp wich is 150 watt be a whole lot better?
No, the difference b'ween 100w and 150w would be couple of dB at best.
BUT If I'd be set to with separates - i'd go with Emotiva USP-1 & XPA-2 [300 watts RMS x 2 into 8 ohms] :D
But in any case j_garcia is right, use 1k for electronics, 3k for speakers
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
You are totally right but wouldn't the nad pre+poweramp wich is 150 watt be a whole lot better?
Not necessarily. The speakers easily make more of a difference than either the pre or the amp section. The difference in power won't get you more than a little headroom. I am a fan of NAD but Outlaw makes very good stuff too, and this particular guy is well regarded. If I hadn't already bought my PM7200, I would have bought one of those (wasn't out at the time). I haven't checked the specs of the NAD, but this guy has a .1 channel with configurable x-over, something few 2ch setups have.

I was going to mention Emotiva as well :)

Get the right speakers first, then get the right amplification to properly power them.
 
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C

Chamomile tea

Enthusiast
This looks very interesting :)
But I live in Denmark and I don't know if I am able to find them on the internet :p It's like they can only be shipped inside the US.

Do you also have some recomemdations on speakers?

Ty
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Well, that makes a difference then. They ship anywhere in North America, but that doesn't help you. Go with the NAD :)

My favorite bookshelf speaker is the Joseph Audio RM7 and they are well within your price range. http://www.josephaudio.com/JosephAudio/RM_7XL.html You'll have to email them to see if there is a dealer in your area.

Others I might look around for overseas are Dynaudio, Canton and Cambridge Audio.
 
C

Chamomile tea

Enthusiast
Heh, but now i really want the Emotiva USP-1 and XPA-2 :p
But it shouldn't be impossible to get them to Denmark. I could use freight forwarding.
Yeah I have been looking on the Joseph Audio RM7XL. They might be pretty (or even) very good but I think $2299/pair is a lot of money for bookshelf speakers. Have you heard them yourself? But if bookshelf speakers are going to sound better in my "little" room than floorstanding speakers then of course I will get some bookshelf speakers :p
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
I haven't heard the XL. I heard the previous RM7Si Signatures, which aren't much different. They are amazingly good, though they were only $1700 then :D They are very clear and articulate, yet still extend lower than I expected for a speaker of this size. That infinite slope x-over really works.

If you are going 2.1, then yes, bookshelf, otherwise look for towers that extend pretty low and don't get a sub - note that this route you will want more power, as the sub would be handling the lows in a 2.1 setup and has its own amp to handle the most difficult duty.
 
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