General Speaker Advice and Recommendations

I can budget to upgrade the source equipment in the change. In fact a combo of Tower and Amp recommendation would be great!

My reasoning for using the Jot as a preamp was because I already had one that I used for headphones. I did not buy it to be a preamp originally. that said it is doing a good job from what I can tell (it does support my balanced xlrs and it does alright as a volume control)

I have not heard the Kanta's and I realize it is pretty dumb to buy such equipment without listening to it. The thing is,I don't have multiple dealers close to me, so it's been difficult to get demos of tower speakers. The one demo I was able to get, they had me listening to these Bryson towers that I didn't like at all. I did get to hear the Focal Sopras 2 which I enjoyed, but I think they'd be too much for an apartment.

I have received a lot of good advice here about headphones, and now that I've moved more to speakers I'm feeling a bit lost again.

 

You’re probably going to have to give a bit more specifics around the sound signature you like and don’t like so people can try to help you out. What do you like about your current speakers? What did you not like about the Bryston’s (and what model were they?). Is that the only brand available to listen to in your local area? You should try to listen to as many as you can to try to triangulate the sound signature you prefer. For instance, with most Focals, many people find them too bright and over emphasized in the highs (I have found this in the 2 pairs I’ve tried). Not sure if the Focal 50s are like that too, but if they are and you like that, you may do well to stay in the Focals. Or if you find them a bit too bright as well, you may want to find something a bit more balanced.

More data required.

 

How are the Klipsch RP-160m and the 280 floorstanders regarded ?

 

The dealer only had one Bryson model available, I believe it was the Model T and it sounded like the mids were hollowed out... not sure if it was the room, the speaker, or my ears... but It was bad to the point that I thought it might be a defective model...

I too find the Focals a bit bright, but it's a minor negative in my opinion. Outside of that I do really enjoy them (otherwise I wouldn't even consider the Kanta)

Ideally I would like something less bright than my Focals with slightly more forward mids. I enjoy the low end of my current speakers, so a present and clear bass would be apprciated as well ( I do like to feel the bass impact, but not to the point where I'd consider myself a basshead) I lean more analytical/neutral than warm

Your description of "a bit more balanced" fits what I want exactly

If it looks nice/stlyish then that's a definite bonus

 

Yep! Trying to dial ‘em in.

 

Thanks for the recommendations. I’m going to be trying the Pranafidelity amp, so I figure an nc1200 module amp designed to work with my specific speakers should cover me for class D.

 

I heard Focal Sopra 1, 2, and 3. All of them have the same Infinite Horn Loading (IHL) of the tweeter, and this is really what makes the Sopra series sounds good if you wants treble details without being too bright. I'm looking for a used pair of Sopra 1 myself, and I would suggest to audition Sopra 1. It has a good bottom end for a standmount and I think it will suit your room better than Focal Kanta 2.

Other recommendation will be Dynaudio Contour 20. It doesn't have treble details like the Sopra, but it has smooth sound which helps with bad recordings. For ATC, I would go with the active version rather than passive. ATC has the best midrange detail, but less tolerant of bad recordings unlike Dyn. It's also a bit fussy with partnering electronics. Other good all around speaker like Dyn with different presentations is ProAc Response D20R. The D20R is small floorstander with ribbon tweeter.

 

My recommendation would be active speakers:

Dynaudio Xeo 30
Roughly 3.6 k$

or if you can afford them (maybe used):

Dynaudio XD 30

Probably in the 8 to 9 k$ range

With those speakers you only need a digital source no need for a seperate DAC, Pre or Amp. If you factor that in they are well worth their price.

The XD has more power, sounds even more refined and goes a little deeper. The 36 Hz of the Xeo will do well with your room because given the size of your room you will have a mode around 34 Hz, so the Xeo will not to pump too much energy into your room.

As a general rule do not buy a speaker without audition.

Dynaudios do not exaggerate a certain frequency band.

ATCs are nice but I would go with active ones and those tend to be a bit pricy.

 

Ok, supernoob question: are there any speaker designs that are less impacted by room interactions? I desperately would like to build some good speakers for my living room, but one would be in a corner, and both would have to be pretty close to a wall. I live in a narrow house in the city, so room configurations are limited. I should add that room treatments will be tough since my girlfriend has um strong feelings about how things look.

 

I’d go sealed or at the very least have the bassreflex port in the front. Put them as close as possible to wall/corner then use eq/dsp or absorbtion to tame any excess. Ribbon tweeters are also less affected by floor and sealing reflections but not everyone likes them.

 

@Riotvan has some good advice. Took me decades to go against conventional wisdom that always want your speakers out from the wall by several feet. I then read an article on comb filter effects in the bass. Best way to tame it, put those suckers right up against the wall. Actually with some bass shy speakers I have now, I put them right in the corners like @Riotvan suggests.

Now with many designs you then have to deal with all sorts of front wall splashing in the midband and treble. If you can talk your SO into a nice big artsy print quilt to hang on the wall, you will help things quite a bit. Otherwise look for designs that incorporate a more directional approach to the mids and highs, eg. Full range single driver, Horn loaded tweeter, ala Amphion, or a real horn if you can get away with it and you like the sound.

Just do not be afraid to try lots of positions, oh we are still talking about speakers, haha.

Good luck!

 

Generally no. Speakers from Kii and Dutch&Dutch have cardoid polar response in bass, which makes them less fussy about boundary loading. These designs are good, but not above room acoustics. With that said, proper room eq can do wonders to just about any speakers.

 

There is some info here you can put to good use even though you’re not using a nearfield setup: http://arqen.com/acoustics-101/room-setup-speaker-placement/
Pay attention to the SBIR part for some tips for near wall placement. As @bixby said the SBIR basically reduces dips the closer the speakers are to the wall and creates peaks that are higher in frequency. And these are much easier to treat with absorbtion, the higher the frequency the less absorbtion you need.

 

When I moved house the last time and needed to place my spekers closer to the front and side walls and listened to music I nearly wept, it was so bad. I even considered selling the whole stuff.
My solution to the problem was to put something like $4000 into acoustic room treatment which got me a long way and then DRC was the icing on the cake.
DRC alone can yield quite impressive improvements, the fact that my new listening room is not acoustically symmetric made it more difficult for me.
I also prefer to treat the root cause before applying DRC but I have an understanding girlfriend.

If I was in your place I would think about nearfield listening.
If that is not an option I would choose a pair of speakers which don't go so deep as to stimulate the modes of your room too much and try the best with DRC and heed both bixby's and Riotvan's advice. Maybe you can lend someones speakers in order to try it and find out whether you are satisfied with the result.
Third option of course is dump your girlfriend and get a new one which loooves the look of bass traps, absorbers and diffusors.

 

I read about a speaker meant to be placed close to the wall.. sjofn hifi The Clue
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/sjöfn-hifi-the-clue-speakers.631235/

 

Anyone have any experience with HSU subs?

I’m thinking of picking up one of their sealed 15s as it seems to offer both the size and feature-set I’d want within my given budget ($500-$1000).

For ref. To use with 2-way monitors with 6.5” drivers rated down to the mid/upper 40s. Room is roughly 14x17 with vaulted ceiling up to 12.

Ps. Tried searching for “HSU”...too short of a query.

 

Don't use the regular forum search. Click on "Resources | SUPER SEARCH" at the top of the page under the SBAF header. It will use Google to search the forum with no restriction on short query.

 

Hey is pretty cool, I hear at audio shows he hooks his gear up with notice cables and drives the speakers with just a receiver. Very objectivist of him

 

What do you guys think about rear firing woofers? I've read a lot of pros and cons about side firing woofers, but can't find anything about rear firing woofers. Is anything wrong with them? Apart from more room gain (woofer closer to the wall), are there any deal braking flaws about this approach?

Verity Audio uses them and certainly, for aesthetics they're extremely nice, specially for their elegant, slimmer, less bulky appeareance compared to what would be having the 10 inch woofer in the front of the speaker, but I would like to know a bit more.
For example, this is their "Amadis" speaker, and uses a SB Acoustics Ring Dome, one front firing AudioTechnology 5 inch midrange and one rear firing AudioTechnology 10 inch woofer.

 

A lot of speakers even with a front-firing woofers are rear-ported, so a lot of the bass energy is still coming out the back.