I’m looking for some advice.
I’m moving house and the the gaff has a much smaller living room/ parlour/ drawing room/ sitting room than this one. I’m still keen to keep my hi-fi (turntable, amp and speakers) in that room but the floor standing speakers I have will overwhelm it and the cables are going to be a nightmare.
1. I know small modern speakers can pack a punch. Can anyone recommend some – floor standing or bookshelf? The room is 4.8m x4.0m.
2. What about blu tooth speakers? Any good? I’ve only ever seen single ones. Although sounding great – kind of defeats the object of a “stereo”.
Any advice/ recommendations/ chat gratefully received.
More detail required, please. There are loads of great small speakers ranging from £100 to about £15,000.
For starters, what’s your current kit? Whereabouts are you? County is close enough.
Speakers are voiced differently and one man’s punchy is another’s screechy. You really need to hear them before you buy, if only in a shop.
Avoid BT speakers for proper listening. BT is only just good enough for lossless CD quality and most BT speakers are desktop/portable. I can’t think of any which would pack the kind of punch you’re used to.
Thanks,
My turntable is a Rega Planar 3 and I have an entry level Cambridge Audio amp (A3).
I’m not an audiophile as you’ll pick up from my mis-matched set-up.
That confirms my suspicions on BT speakers. That’s them scored out.
Oh – and I’m in Edinburgh.
I sent up the Bat signal and the incoming advice is:-
Tannoy Eclipse 3. £299. Slim 3-way floorstanders. Bargain – best speaker below £1000.
If you must try anything else,
Dali Zensor 3. £299. Bookshelf. Avoid the Zensor 1.
Wharfedale Diamond 220. £200. Bookshelf. Others in the Diamond range also worth a look.
Also consider models from Q Acoustics and Monitor Audio.
Stuff some foam (or socks) into rear ports if bass is overpowering.
A curveball – Naim Mu-so Qb. £595 all-in-one wired/wireless/BT streamer/radio/amp/speaker with line input (for turntable use the A3’s tape out). Proper grown-up Naim Audio sound.
Much appreciated. This is the kind advice I was looking for.
No problem. Although I no longer work in audio – more’s the pity – a best pal is a hi-fi reviewer and a school friend runs a hi-fi shop. How I ever have any money left is anyone’s guess.
overpowering bass in book shelf speakers?
Bass level goes up as you get closer to the wall (something called the proximity effect, it happens with microphones as well). In speakers with rear-facing ports, even more so.
Quite right. Speakers rarely sound any good flush to the wall, they generally need some air to breathe. You’re drastically limiting your choice of models If you decide you can’t move them outwards a bit.
Another endorsement for Monitor Audio – I have a similar size room and have a pair of Monitor Audio PM-702 that have been excellent over the past 10-15 years (driven by an Audiolab 8000 amp).
The Monitor Audio have a very crisp. clean mid range and are not too bass heavy, but as Steve says – listen to them yourself.
I think the modern equivalent would be the Bronze or Silver range.
And while I think of it, if you are buying bookshelf speakers, there are a few simple rules for best sound.
1. Put them on rigid floor stands, but you’d be better off buying floorstanders instead.
2. Don’t put them on a bookshelf.
3. Use rigid metal wall brackets
4. Only fix the wall brackets to a solid, not plasterboard, wall.
I’ll have a think about recommendations. My first would be “go to Hi-Fi Corner”.
Well, I’m just about to replace an ancient pair of bookshelf speakers in a room that is just a bit smaller than yours. I’ve read lots of reviews and am quite keen on Dali Zensor 3s, which seem to pack quite a punch for small speakers while retaining admirable levels of clarity. I’ve yet to audition them mind you, and wouldn’t recommend buying anything without listening to it first. (Note to self).
Cheers Bunglie, They look nice and the couple of review I’ve looked at seem pretty positive. The Zensor 1s also look quite tasty and in keeping with my available budget.
I bought a set of monitor audio silver series bookshelf speakers and a REL subwoofer.
Very happy with the sound.
As Steve suggested they are in brackets on the wall. finding the studs was a challenge and it also means you are hostage to the location of the studs obvs.
A further factor is that the speaker cables hang down, mitigated by being the same colour as the wall but still not a great look.
Hey Junes – I know that in Oz houses are built out of Weetabix, but I’ll think you’ll find that in Edinburgh they’re built out of granite (like the women), and studs don’t exist (like the men).
(Racist/sexist jokes tally: a powerful 3)
I’ve noticed that in Victoria many houses have stud interior walls. You’d never get that in Western Australia where all interior walls are brick. Probably because of the termite problem.
We’ve also got a lot of timber over here too. Why we have wooden lamp posts coz the Victorian Hill Country has incredibly tall straight mountain ash whereas WA and Adelaide don’t so they have steel and concrete lamp posts.
Maybe in the real Edinburgh there are solid wall but oot it the ‘burbs, they’re Weetabix cartons.
No studs in Edinburgh? How, then, do you explain Iainness? 😉
Easy. I don’t come from Edinburgh. I’m only here to provide guidance and instruction for the local beta males.
Well the opportunity to administer that advice will be coming up soon. I feel a mingle coming on now that Glenbervie’s back in town.
You’re thinking of Aberdeen, perhaps? It’s all soot-encrusted sandstone in sunny Leith.
Well then that makes it easier for optimal positioning. A mate came into my house and was about to comment that my speakers weren’t angled correctly then he noticed the location of my chair off centre and laughed.
For granite a masonry bit and some dynabolts, do you call them that, will have them secure as all fuck. But try to get it right first time. Will still have the issue of cables dangling unless you have shelves or whatever covering.
Very impressed that you’ve got the house move priorities sorted out, by the way.
Would you believe we haven’t booked a removals company yet? Well we haven’t.
A man’s coming round on Monday though to give us a cost.
Before you make that purchase Robbie, do test out your big floor standers in the new room – they may not overwhelm it in the way you think.
I have a pair of Rega RS7s in use in a room smaller than the one you describe, and have no problem with them.
Seconded. My stereo’s in a room that’s of similar dimensions, and the Spendors sound great in there. Solid (breeze block) walls on three sides, and a concrete floor; probably helps.
Mrs 1112 may have a different view.