Choosing speakers

[starsurfer]

Hi sound lovers,

I'm a freshman in this universe and need some advice on choosing speakers, my room is about 40m2 (forty square meters) (8mx5m). I was thinking about Klipsch RF-82 or B&W 684, but some friends say it may be too much to my room. If you could give me some expert advice I really appreciate.

Thanks in advance for your replies,

Starsurfer

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

what's your budget and what type of system are you trying to build? 2.0 or 5.1 ?
What equipment do you own now?

 

[jliedeka]

Your answer to the above questions would help a lot. Given the size of your room, some smallish towers backed by a sub (or two) would be good. I won't impose my brand preferences on you. There are a lot of good speakers at various price points that would work. That recipe would be fine for a 2.0 or the basis of a surround system.

The advantages of augmenting speakers with one or more subs is that you can put less stress on your amplifier/receiver and that you can position subs to lessen room modes which are inevitable with bass frequencies. Asking your left/right speakers to handle bass may not necessarily overstress an amp but the best spots in the room for bass rarely coincide with where you put your speakers for best imaging.

Jim

 

[starsurfer]

Thanks for replying. I'm building from scratch, the budget is around $2500 for two front speakers and amp, but later I will buy more stuff to make it a 5.1 system. I will use for music (50%) movies+tv (30%) games (20).

 

[rijaak]

For home theater imaging I don't think you can do better than dipoles. They create a much airier sound and are implacable in a room. I'd prefer planars for a room your size because they lack the enclosure coloration of most speakers. On a budget, Magnepan has a new home theater line on their site. I think it has some mmgs, mmgws, and a mmgc in it or something. If money is no object, go with Quad brand. With planars you'll definitely need a sub (with servo control to keep up with the speakers), they're very "love em or hate em" so you should find a place that sells them to give a listen. Like any dipole, these speakers need alot of room to breath. Except for the wall mounted Magnepans, 4-6 feet from the wall behind them is recommended, but you can get away with less if you put a silk ficus behind each speaker.

 

[rijaak]

Also, you'll need a power amp for any planar speaker. They generally need 200w or more each, though you might be able to find tube amps that deliver the same quality sound with less power.

 

[starsurfer]

Thanks rijaak. I'm taking a look in Magnepan planars and looks interesting, but I cannot find it anywhere to listen prior to buying, however still a choice for my room.

 

[PENG]

Thanks for replying. I'm building from scratch, the budget is around $2500 for two front speakers and amp, but later I will buy more stuff to make it a 5.1 system. I will use for music (50%) movies+tv (30%) games (20).

I have faith in KEF speakers. For music in a smaller room may be the R100 is all you need. It is not cheap but there should be money left from your budget for a decent 5.1 AVR you can build on.

 

[zieglj01]

Hi sound lovers,

I'm a freshman in this universe and need some advice on choosing speakers, my room is about 40m2 (forty square meters) (8mx5m). I was thinking about Klipsch RF-82 or B&W 684, but some friends say it may be too much to my room. If you could give me some expert advice I really appreciate.

One of my favorites is the Monitor Audio Silver RX6 > I know how
they sound next to the Klipsch for music, and they are well built.
http://www.monitoraudiousa.com/products/silver-rx/rx6/

Marantz and Denon and Pioneer Elite, are some nice receivers.

 

[starsurfer]

Hummmm I must confess, bookshelf speakers was not in my options, I wanted speakers with a powerful look, like Klipsch RF-82 or B&W 684, but considering my room size perhaps I should include bookshelf speakers!

 

[zieglj01]

Hummmm I must confess, bookshelf speakers was not in my options, I wanted speakers with a powerful look, like Klipsch RF-82 or B&W 684, but considering my room size perhaps I should include bookshelf speakers!

Powerful looks, will not guarantee overall good musical quality >>
Good subwoofers can bring some good power.

One thing to consider with bookshelves is stands. However I am one
who for the most part, tend to favor bookshelves when compared to
towers around the same price point.

Smaller towers can keep you from buying stands - however, a good
bookshelf can be found in something like the KEF R series, and the
Focal Electra.
FOCAL ELECTRA 1007 S BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS (Pr) at Music Direct

And the Focal 806W
http://www.focal.com/en/home-audio-loudspeakers/hifi-speakers/bookshelf-speakers/chorus-806-w.php

Plus, Monitor Audio Silver RX2
http://www.monitoraudiousa.com/products/silver-rx/rx2/

 

[starsurfer]

Ohh yeah, sounds like bookshelf speakers is the way to follow, I found this speakers really sexy, EPOS EPIC 2 at musicdirect.com/p-57507-epos-epic-2-bookshelf-speakers-pr.aspx, does anyone have some experience to share about this speakers?

 

[zieglj01]

Ohh yeah, sounds like bookshelf speakers is the way to follow, I found this speakers really sexy, EPOS EPIC 2 at musicdirect.com/p-57507-epos-epic-2-bookshelf-speakers-pr.aspx, does anyone have some experience to share about this speakers?

I have not listened to them - you may want to test them out
and see if they are for you. I do own a pair of $219 bookshelf
speakers, that measure better than this. However, how they
sound to you is most important.

I do not like the dip between 4 and 6 khz, and the treble boost
from 6 to 10 khz is not inspiring to me. Make sure that you do
not have a reflective bright room enviorment.

 

[jliedeka]

Your room is big enough that you might benefit from the power handling of small towers. That's particularly true if you like to crank it once in a while. For more moderate listening levels, some decent monitors backed by a sub would do the trick.

If you are just going to start with 2 speakers and live with that for a while, I'd get some 2 or 2 1/2 way towers with 5-7 inch woofers. That way you will have at least enough bass for music.

Jim

 

[KEW]

my room is about 40m2 (forty square meters) (8mx5m).

We are assuming the ceiling is about 2.5m high, but can you verify?

 

[starsurfer]

The ceiling is about 2.7m high

 

[KEW]

I would go with bookshelf speakers for that size room. Perhaps, if you really crank it you may find their dynamic limits, but I have auditioned over 6 pairs of bookshelf speakers in a room which was 20% larger than yours and max. SPL was not a concern for me. As a reference an average SPL of 90dB with peaks of 95-98 was as loud as I played them to test their ability to pay loud. For me this is an uncomfortable level.

IMHO, the main benefit of bookshelf speakers is that for the same money you are buying better quality speakers. When you go to towers a lot of the cost is going to the cabinet (it is expensive to build a tall cabinet that minimizes resonance) and the money spent on drivers is being spread across more, lesser quality drivers. In your price range, you can get some high quality drivers in a bookshelf speaker. You are sacrificing the tower's ultimate SPL and bass for a higher level of sound quality. If you add a sub, the issue of bass is resolved.

I am not familiar with many of the speakers you have available (assuming you are in Europe). It is obvious that zieglj01 has a good awareness of this, and I know he has listened to many more speakers than I have so he can give good direction.

However, while I think someone has already mentioned it, KEF makes a good speaker.

Take your time and be as thorough as you can selecting your speakers. They are the biggest determining factor of the sound quality of your system.
The audible difference between speakers is dramatic and generally easy to distinguish.
Audible differences between amps, CD players, DAC's and other digital and/or electronic components is an on-going debate (in other words, it is so minor there is some uncertainty whether the difference exists).

 

[starsurfer]

Thank you all for the valuable advices.