I am nearing the end of my quest for my main speakers ("Notes from Auditioning Speakers" tread) and now want to turn my attention to "zone 2" speakers these will be going in the den, garage, and bathroom. I do not expect to pair these with a subwoofer.
The garage speakers, I guess, are a little different - they can be physically larger speaker and don't really need to fit onto a standard wall bracket. Also, I make sawdust in there (despite a dust collector and air scrubbers, I still find a light layer of dust builds over time) so a sealed speaker has an appeal (it might not really matter, but the notion of sawdust being drawn into a speaker port doesn't seem good).
They will not be for critical listening, and there will not be a specific listening position (for example, in the den, we could be sitting at either of two computers, or reading any place along the couch). The speakers will be wall mounted, so I am thinking I should stay away from rear ports (?).
Because of the varied listening positions, I feel a good tweeter with wide dispersion is especially important. The tweeter of the KEF iQ10 sounds like a good fit (at least, based on the "to 40kHz" spec. and marketing hype below
):
>>>>>>>>>>>Aluminium dome tweeter with ‘tangerine’ waveguide
The unique ‘tangerine’ waveguide delivers a smoother, clearer high frequency response with an even wider dispersion as well as providing an excellent protection from straying fingers.<<<<<<<<<<<
Right now, I am considering the following as viable candidates:
KEF iQ10's ($450)
NHT Classic 3's (about $550 from Audiogon)
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's ($250)
Emotiva ERM-1 ($300)
Aperion 4B ($260)
Audioengine M5 ($350)
Any comments on these models?
Suggestions to add or remove?
Thanks,
Kurt
