New listening room needs work.

Mike Reeter

I recently moved our 2-channel set-up into a setting room,just off our bedroom...My own little domain.

The room is approx. 12'x12' as you can tell,it's a little small for the 2.3's...my sound stage has become smaller in both depth and width...I knew this would happen,but what's bothering me more is that it seems like I setting right on the front row...

Ever been to a concert that was sold out and they place extra seating between the stage and the "normal" front row?

I'm setting in the front row of the extra seating,a little too close for me...To achieve the best imaging the speaks are 24" from the outside wall,with only 52" between,inside cabinet to inside cabinet.

My seating is 8-1/2' from the front of the speaks.

Should I give up the idea of using SDA's for this room? Get a pair of smaller monitors? Work with some room treatments?

Any suggestions are appreciated...I just don't want to give up MY space...you know,the place where you can go and close the door,and get lost in a few tunes:D

BaggedLancer

Sorry for the derail but is that really a black JD100?

Mike Reeter

Yes,I've got entry level gear,but it all matches:D

dorokusai

Sell the SDA's and get into some nice, high end monitors.

engtaz

Nice setup. Congrats

engtaz

schwarcw

Mike, give the 2.3's some time. They may just need to grow on you in this smaller configuration. They are obviously and overkill for the size of the room. If you like the SDA effect, try to latch onto a pair of CRS+'s. Or, try the non SDA Polk Monitor 7's. They would sound great in that room.

Also Doro's point about a nice set of monitors is a good idea. I like
Spendors. However, there are others like Usher, totem, etc. that have a great reputation. In some instances, you may want a small sub to augment the bass from the smaller monitors.

Good luck and let us know what you ultimately decide to do.

Mike Reeter

dorokusai wrote: »

Sell the SDA's and get into some nice, high end monitors.

The thought of moving the 2.3's into our HT set-up has crossed my mind...replacing them with some http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1210432696

The used variety.

dorokusai

I'd pick a better loudspeaker but I think you're on the right track. Monitors are alot of fun.

Mike Reeter

schwarcw wrote: »

Mike, give the 2.3's some time. They may just need to grow on you in this smaller configuration. They are obviously and overkill for the size of the room. If you like the SDA effect, try to latch onto a pair of CRS+'s. Or, try the non SDA Polk Monitor 7's. They would sound great in that room.

Also Doro's point about a nice set of monitors is a good idea. I like
Spendors. However, there are others like Usher, totem, etc. that have a great reputation. In some instances, you may want a small sub to augment the bass from the smaller monitors.

Good luck and let us know what you ultimately decide to do.

Carl,I am very fond of the 2.3's...I gave up my spot in the basement to our son,so there is no going back...besides,I really like my new space...just need to rethink which route to take.

CRS's have crossed my mind,I like the full bodied flavour of SDA

Ricardo

Tyler's are great speakers, but there are better...

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1208545654

Mike Reeter

Ricardo wrote: »

Tyler's are great speakers, but there are better...

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1208545654

Yes,It seems there is always a better choice...It's the choices that I can afford that make things difficult.

Don't you have a pair of Danes now?

Ricardo

I do. And I love them. I also have a pair of CSR+ that are very fun to listen to. Best of both worlds.

mulveling

Unfortunately sound-stage is going to be primarily a function of speaker quality and room size, IMO. 12'x12' is incredibly difficult to work with, and you hardly have any room to play with positioning.

I've read some agon posts a while back where some audiophiles stuck in the same room type (small, square) claimed success with positioning the 2ch right along (ie: firing down) the room's DIAGONAL. Theory being you have more depth to work with, and you slightly alleviate some of the parallel wall issues. Don't ever sit in the middle of the room, but then I don't think that's even possible in a 12x12.

That may be your only shot at improvement...there's otherwise no long wall vs short wall comparison to make, and your depth positioning is completely limited by the room.

Now normally attacking bass nodes via absorption is an incredible challenge, but ironically in such a small room (which will have much worse room modes), it should be feasible to get enough coverage to make significant difference. You'll need something like 2 GIK tri-traps (or two of the FAT panels) stacked in each corner, at a minimum. Recently I've found focusing absorption on the front wall (behind the speaks), with bookshelves & furniture on the side and back walls, sounds best - but don't know if this would work well in a small-room diagonal arrangement. Never tried such a thing myself.

Also, yes it may be possible those big speaks are far from optimal in a small room. A monitor speaker of small tower might be more optimal. Still, give the above suggestions a shot if you're fond of the speaks.

Mike Reeter

I would give about anything for a room that is about 16'x20' But,that isn't an option.

I've got a pair of RT55i's I'm going to set-up,just to see how they sound in this enviroment.

If I like what I hear,I will move on to some higher end monitors.